Rugül Serbest: Just Die Smiling Into My Eyes - Curated by Taner Ceylan

Pi Artworks Istanbul is pleased to present Rugül Serbest’s first solo exhibition at the gallery, curated by Taner Ceylan, Just Die Smiling Into My Eyes.

Just Die Smiling Into My Eyes presents an emotional map that explores the boundaries of love, longing, and social constraint. Through works that turn both her body and inner world into an expressive surface, Serbest places the viewer within a space of raw emotional and aesthetic tension.

The artist describes love as “a self-destruction filled with unreachable desires and irrational limits.” In this exhibition, love takes on divine and everyday forms—erotic, transcendent, and destructive. Art historical references, from Raphael to Courbet, Vermeer to Caravaggio, merge with Serbest’s personal experiences, mirroring the layered nature of love.

“Love drives me mad,” says Serbest. “I must deal with this curse—this part of myself that refuses to settle for less. Art, like love, is both murder and suicide.”

Curator Taner Ceylan describes the exhibition as follows:

“In this exhibition, we are plunged into a battlefield. The frontlines are fluid and shifting; the weapons, harsh and unforgiving. Heads fly through the air, hearts are torn from chests. Gazes cut through the soul. The instruments of murder lie scattered... and the greatest culprit is the spring flower that first deserved to die—smiling into my eyes. Roses, hyacinths, tulips chant in unison the lament of spring: ‘Just die smiling into my eyes.’”

Ceylan emphasizes art as a space of freedom and resistance:

“Art is, above all, a challenge for the artist. They must sever ties with society, family, and the familiar. Societies either cope with art—or they don’t. But in the end, even if it takes years, they are forced to make peace with it.”

Just Die Smiling Into My Eyes is a bold and uncompromising exhibition that reflects on the extremes of love, the intensity of desire, and the transformation of womanhood through art. A fierce monologue—and a daring confrontation with the viewer.

The exhibition is on view at Pi Artworks Istanbul until 28 June 2025.
Gallery hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 10:00 – 18:30.

For press images, further information, or interview requests, please contact:
ed@piartworks.com