Galeri Soyut, which has been bringing together art enthusiasts with the most accomplished and distinguished contemporary artists since its opening, continues the art celebration with very special exhibitions in January. One of the January events of the gallery is the exhibition titled “Silence,” consisting of the recent works of the painter Ilgın Erdem. Curated by art writer İbrahim Karaoğlu, the exhibition will open on January 5th, featuring around twenty paintings by the artist and can be visited until January 23rd.
Continuing her work in her studio in Adana, Ilgın Erdem also participates in art fairs, prestigious art workshops, and numerous domestic and international exhibitions.
The artist describes her artistic journey and poetics as follows: “The societal processes I experience and their reflections deeply influence me. My fundamental pursuit is women, and I am intrigued by the transformative nature of their imagery. Rather than seeking perfection in the female element, I find it captivating to depict emotions related to experiences within a closed composition. My goal is to create a dynamic relationship between my works, forming new atmospheres through interactions within the concept of time.”
For the context of her latest exhibition, a special catalog has been prepared. Written by art writer İbrahim Karaoğlu, the catalog includes a selection of Ilgın Erdem’s paintings.
Curator İbrahim Karaoğlu describes the “Silence” exhibition as follows: “Each painting, a record of intense emotions, takes us to Erdem’s unique world. The clear, pure, and innocent states when one loses their voice and is unheard are her fundamental pursuit. She adds innocence to each portrait: ‘As we move away from our childhood, we question our distance from the innocence we lost.’ These paintings are a sum of pure and innocent moments. By directing lines and colors with deep sensitivity, she depicts the innocence of the portraits with the melancholy of wildflowers. These magical portraits, laden with dramatic intensity, create a heart-to-heart connection with the viewer. Each painting carries the density of silent emotions, metaphors, allegories.”
He continues, “Sometimes, our minds experience other moments as if we are not in the present moment; we recall past time fantasies, and our dreams get mixed up. We long for the old taste of longing but can’t find it. Ilgın Erdem recalls Nietzsche’s statement: ‘Childhood is a state of innocence, forgetting, and starting again.’ She reunites the viewer with themselves within her paintings. She presents her paintings with a sincere narrative, free from constraints and artificiality. She seeks Schopenhauer’s lost paradise: ‘The period of innocence and happiness is the paradise of life, the lost paradise.'”
“She reshapes the relationship between what is clear and pure and innocence. She makes us sense that purity is the best-described form of beauty. In her paintings reflecting moments of absolute purity and innocence, she most often dresses the figures in flowers. Flowers symbolize love, loyalty, and beauty; they evoke and suggest. The emotional depth of these associations adds even more to the mystery of purity. And flowers also add a sense of time.”
“The breathtaking faces filled with silence in Ilgın Erdem’s paintings evoke tonal images of silence. She brings them together with the roar of the silence within us. And silence becomes a symphony, a hush,” he concludes.
