Overview
With a body of work spanning a number of decades, spent between Istanbul and Vienna, Kemal Seyhan (b. 1960) has adopted the painterly surface as his primary language, in order to convey a sense of the varieties of historical change through time. From his large scale canvases imbued with sculptural properties, to site-specific interventions, and his more recent graphite works on paper, the artist works within a deceptively restricted range—horizontal and vertical application of color on color. Yet the added layers here, one after another, in the form of an irregular stratigraphy, oftentimes executed over finished works from earlier years, reveals the patina effect in his work: The more layers of wet fresh paint are added, the more the bottomless depth of this chaotic, nonlinear time is exposed, but the point of departure is never again reached.
Working beyond the depleted palette of European abstraction but also in parallel dialogue with modernism, Seyhan turns to the monochrome and the colorfield as a means to address himself to the history of art, from a perspective different than simply a chronology of ‘pictures’. Yet, instead of historical forms of the past, what the artist sees here is a novel method to excavate time through the pure material of painting—dark paint, graphite, canvas on canvas, the contoured space itself. Consequently, Seyhan is now able to move seamlessly between painting and experience, as if it were possible to describe the continuity between past and present as physical objects. Far away from the theoretical demands of conceptualism and the ends of painting, Seyhan’s work is largely anchored in the persistence of painting as a bodily activity, unmediated by narratives, seeking always new beginnings.
Works
Exhibitions
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Kemal Seyhan
FUTUREGARDEN 26 Feb - 23 Apr 2022 IstanbulPi Artworks Istanbul is pleased to present FUTUREGARDEN, the fourth solo exhibition at the gallery by Kemal Seyhan, one of Turkey’s most prolific contemporary painters. Conceived as a site-specific intervention...Read more -
Osman Dinc | Maude Maris | Selma Parlour | Kemal Seyhan
Intersections 1 Sep - 2 Oct 2021 LondonPi Artworks London is delighted to present Intersections, a group exhibition comprising work by Osman Dinc (b.1948, Turkey), Maude Maris (b.1980, France), Selma Parlour (b.1976, United Kingdom) and Kemal Seyhan...Read more -
Kemal Seyhan
Kemal Seyhan 13 May - 30 Jun 2021 LondonPi Artworks London is proud to present inaugural solo exhibition by Vienna-Istanbul based artist Kemal Seyhan. For his debut solo exhibition in the UK, Seyhan will present signature paintings from...Read more -
Kemal Seyhan
1 Apr - 10 May 2021 IstanbulNew series focuses on meditative colours inspired by nature and compositions created by repetition. A painterly stratum is created on each canvas by kilograms of paint applied via thousands of...Read more -
Kemal Seyhan
Untitled - Poetics of Inner Space 11 May - 31 Jul 2018 IstanbulPi Artworks Istanbul is pleased to present Kemal Seyhan's solo exhibition Untitled / Poetics of Inner Space between 12 May - 30 June 2018 at our space in Karaköy. In addition to the artist's paintings, new sculptures will be exhibited for the first time, being produced with materials Seyhan never used before.Read more
Biography
Kemal Seyhan, b.1960, Kayseri, lives and works in Vienna, Austria and Istanbul, Turkey
Major exhibitions include; FUTUREGARDEN (solo), Pi Artworks Istanbul, Turkey (2022); Kemal Seyhan, Pi Artworks London, UK(2021);Kemal Seyhan, Pi Artworks Istanbul, Turkey(2021); Untitled – Poetics of Inner Space (solo), Pi Artworks Istanbul, Turkey (2018); Syntax (solo) Osthaus Museum Hagen, Germany (2017); Freundschaftsspiel Istanbul, Freiburg, Museum for Modern Art Freiburg, Germany (2016); Ondas Negras (solo), GPLSpaceVI, Vienna, Austria (2015); 41 Meter (solo), Zorlu Center, Istanbul, Turkey (2013); Sieben Grengänge, House Wittgenstein, Vienna, Austria (2011); Kemal Seyhan (solo), Cora Hölzl Gallery, Dusseldorf, Germany (2010). Major collections include; Ferdinandeum, Tiroler State Museum, Innsbruck, Austria; Arch Driend Collection, Vienna, Austria; Die Roland Madesta, Nürnberg, Austria; Istanbul Modern Museum, Istanbul, Turkey; Museum Evliyagil, Ankara, Turkey.
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Events
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Art Basel Hong Kong
23 - 25 Mar 2023Featuring and highlighting premier galleries across Asia and beyond, Art Basel Hong Kong began in 2013. Through its diverse range of international galleries it provides...Read more -
Artissima 2021
MAIN SECTION 5 - 7 Nov 2021Pi Artworks is pleased to be a part of MAIN SECTION at Artissima 2021, Oval, Torino. Hall: WHITE | Booth: 12 Artists presented: Fabio...Read more -
Contemporary Istanbul 16th Edition
Galleries Section 5 - 10 Oct 2021Pi Artworks is delighted to be part of ‘Galleries Section’ of the 16th edition of Contemporary Istanbul. Contemporary Istanbul with its 16th Edition will occur...Read more -
Contemporary Istanbul 15th Edition
Galleries Section 1 - 6 Jun 2021Pi Artworks is pleased to announce participation in the Contemporary Istanbul 15th Edition. Artist presented: Serdar Acar Osman Dinç Gülay Semercioğlu Kemal Seyhan Özer Toraman...Read more -
Kemal Seyhan
NOC Whampoa 1 - 31 Mar 2020Kemal Seyhan's work is now exhibited in NOC Whampoa in Hong Kong, a special place offering a curated experience of coffee with high taste in...Read more -
Artissima
Galleries Section 31 Oct - 3 Nov 2019Artists presented: Ana Cvorovic | Osman Dinc | Golden Family: Matt Golden - Natsue Ikeda | Maude Maris | Kemal SeyhanRead more