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Shining a spotlight on Istanbul’s contemporary art scene, Opera Gallery Dubai presents an eclectic mix of art forms
by some of the city’s finest artists. Featuring a master of mixed media productions and a young street artist who has
chosen Turkey’s street walls as his canvas along with a digital photographer with an eye on urban development,
a man who can turn media clippings of something catastrophic into an image of beauty and one of the most
noteworthy abstract artists of his time, The Istanbul Portfolio showcases the works of Ali Alısır, Hayal Incedogan, Olcay
Kus, Sencer Vardarman and Kemal Seyhan.
Finding his inspiration in urban development, Alısır uses his camera to snap images of skyscrapers that dot the skylines
of most cities today and transforms this into digital art. In one of his popular series, “Virtual Places”, he puts together
oversized photographs of famous buildings from across the world; however, when placed on top of each other,
the resulting image is extraordinary. The beauty of the architecture fades away and all that’s left is something that
looks like overlapping circuit boards - a computerised network rather than a city; his depiction symbolises the rapid
movement of information and the impact it has on individuals.
Incedogan’s range of work reflects the diversity of the entire exhibition as she has experimented with everything
from photography to paintings. Always one to segregate the elements in an artwork and highlight the beauty in
patterns, her current exhibit does the same but by providing a glimpse at her mixed media productions, made by
using different techniques and materials from equally different fields of art - music, cinema as well as literature.
Staying true to her style, she plays with patterns, resulting in a final piece that is as awe-inspiring and as beautifully
mystifying as looking through a kaleidoscope.
Traditional canvases do not work for Kus, who loves nothing more than to take to the street and transform urban
walls into art. Despite his age, he has made waves across Turkey in the world of street art and believes strongly in
encouraging his fans to delve deeper, making sure that his work is not necessarily understandable at a first glance.
Using images from everyday life, he uses an array of materials including newspapers, spray paint, acrylic, posters
and even stencils on his outdoor canvas. For him, it’s the sociological influence that street walls have that gets his
creative juices flowing and into his art.
Like Alısır, photographs are important for Vardarman, who takes mass media images of destruction and havoc or
photographs of simple landscapes and turns these into masterpieces through the way he arranges the images.
Never straying too far away from the believable, he analyses information about industry, history or urban culture
and arranges his series of images in a way that it appears credible to his audience. Since the images seem to work
so well together, his work forces people to re-examine the pictures and think about the message behind the image
and how they were made.
Just like the careful consideration that Vardarman takes when arranging his images, Seyhan is just as methodical
when creating his art and now he has become a representative for abstract art in his generation. While it is a form
of art that is often not seen as having a lot of rules, for him, it is a structured process and all his works are comprised
of the same elements: vertical, horizontal, colour and intensification. Always starting with black, he begins his brush
strokes horizontally and vertically and never lets colour define the space on the canvas. By the end of it, his canvas
is brimming with paint and thousands of strokes, resulting in an ultimate work of art.
The five artists exhibiting in this series work with different materials and in different media, but together, their unique
perspectives are representative of the burgeoning art scene from the cultural capital of Istanbul. Opera Gallery
Dubai has the pleasure of inviting you to participate in this artistic exploration of all that Turkey has to offer.
Gilles Dyan
Founder and Chairman, Opera Gallery Group
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Ali
Ali Alısır’s digital photography can be considered as an insightful
exploration of artistic and technological practices. In his “Virtual
Places” series, his oversized photographs of famous buildings from
around the world appear to be extravagantly manipulated acts of
architectural virtuosity. They show multiple buildings (or composite
buildings) repeated one atop the other into infinity. Thus, the
artworks appear bedazzling. The confusion of buildings relinquishes
all visible contact with architecture. The cityscape becomes a
gray-toned composite image of superimposed and overlapping
depictions of electronic circuits and close-ups of motherboards.
Within, and behind all this, we barely recognise the blurry urban
details. There lies the strength of Ali Alısır’s artworks.
Virtual places #037, 2011 Digital C-print, edition of 3 + 1 AP 175 x 116,5 cm - 68.9 x 45.9 in.
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Virtual places #005, 2010 Digital C-print, edition of 3 + 1 AP 175 x 116,5 cm - 68.9 x 45.9 in. Virtual places #016, 2010 Digital C-print, edition of 3 + 1 AP 116,5 x 175 cm - 45.9 x 68.9 in.
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Virtual places #001, 2011 Digital C-print, edition of 3 + 1 AP 144 x 290 cm - 56.7 x 114.2 in.
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Ali
Born in Istanbul, Turkey, 1978
Lives and works in Italy and Turkey
EducatioN
Since 2008 University lecturer at the Department of
Graphic of Yeditepe Fine Arts Faculty,
Istanbul, Turkey
2004 - 2006 MA, Accademia Italiana, Florence, Italy
1996 - 2000 Diploma, Yeditepe Fine Arts Faculty, Istanbul,
Turkey
Solo exhibitions
2012 Virtual Wars, art ON Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey
2011 Virtual Places, art ON Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey
2009 Virtual Bodies, Ekavart Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey
2008 Untitled, Adaevi, Istanbul, Turkey
Untitled, Galeri 5, Istanbul, Turkey
Group exhibitions
2012 Contemporary Art Fair, art ON Istanbul, Istanbul,
Turkey
2011 Crossroads, art ON Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey
Contemporary Young Artists, Dünya Göz Hastanesi,
Istanbul, Turkey
Contemporary Art Fair, art ON Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey
Traces of Humanity, BUFSAD, Bursa, Turkey
Art Beat, art ON Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey
If the Nature is Heaven, the City is Hell, CER Modern,
Ankara, Turkey
Photographs in Our Age, Istanbul Photography
Museum, Istanbul, Turkey
2010 Contemporary Art Fair, Akbank Sanat, Istanbul,
Turkey
ArtShow 2010, Istanbul, Turkey
2009 Contemporary Art Fair, Ekavart Gallery, Istanbul,
Turkey
2008 Artist 2008, Gallery Artist, Istanbul, Turkey
2007 Unstrained Reality, Grand Hotel Mediterraneo,
Florence, Italy
Untitled, Galleria il Bracolo, Rome, Italy
2006 Photo Digital Art Fair, Rome, Italy
Toscana Foto Festival, Toscana, Italy
Digifestival, Milan, Italy
Salerno Invita, Group show GIA, Rome, Italy
Touch - Neozone - Cloudnine, Florence, Italy
2005 Communication, Dlight Studio, Milan, Italy
ACQUISITon
Virtual Places #040, Istanbul Modern Museum of Art
Virtual places #035, 2010 Digital C-print, edition of 3 + 1 AP 116,5 x 175 cm - 45.9 x 68.9 in.
10 11

Hayal
Hayal Incedogan has produced works in many areas including
photography installation, new media and particularly painting.
Having isolated the forms and shapes in her early photographs,
she produced non-figurative works, developed with an empirical
narration on the contemporary interpretations of the motifs. Yet, her
current works include mixed media productions designed by using
different materials and techniques and mainly large-scale and
atmospheric paintings, nurtured from diverse creative fields, such
as music, cinema and literature. Hayal İIncedogan’s artworks
presented in this catalogue are intended to stimulate the viewer’s
imagination; the superimposition of patterns can be interpreted
freely, as if diving into the magic world of a kaleidoscope.
Vertigo series vol. I, No. 4, 2013 UV print on digital light box, edition of 5 + 1 AP 70 x 70 x 6 cm - 27.6 x 27.6 x 2.4 in.
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Vertigo series vol. I, No. 3, 2013 UV print on digital light box, edition of 5 + 1 AP 70 x 70 x 6 cm - 27.6 x 27.6 x 2.4 in. Vertigo series vol. I, No. 5, 2013 UV print on digital light box, edition of 5 + 1 AP 70 x 70 x 6 cm - 27.6 x 27.6 x 2.4 in.
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Vertigo series vol. I, No. 1, 2013 UV print on digital light box, edition of 5 + 1 AP 70 x 70 x 6 cm - 27.6 x 27.6 x 2.4 in. Vertigo series vol. I, No. 2, 2013 UV print on digital light box, edition of 5 + 1 AP 70 x 70 x 6 cm - 27.6 x 27.6 x 2.4 in.
16 17

Hayal
Born in Istanbul, Turkey, 1980
Lives and works in Istanbul and Izmir, Turkey
Education & Academic and Institutional Studies
Since 2005 Research assistant at Dokuz Eylül University
Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Basic
Arts, Konak, Turkey
2005 - 2008 MA, Dokuz Eylül University, Faculty of Fine
Arts, Department of Painting, Konak, Turkey
2003 - 2007 K2 Contemporary Art Center and Artist
Initiative, Izmir, Turkey
1999 - 2004 BA, Dokuz Eylül University, Faculty of Fine Arts,
Department of Painting, Konak, Turkey
Solo exhibitions
2012 Wild is the Wind, American Hospital Art Gallery
“Operation Room”, Istanbul, Turkey
Selected group exhibitions
2011 Crossroads II, art ON Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey
Contemporary Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey
International Contemporary Art Fair, Lütfi Kırdar
Convention Center, Istanbul, Turkey
30 th Contemporary Artists Istanbul, curated by Fulya
Erdemci, Basak Senova and Arzu Yayıntas, Akbank
Art Gallery, Beyoglu, Istanbul, Turkey
2010 Last Six Decades of Turkish Art, Huma Kabakcı Collection
Exhibition, Osthaus Museum, Hagen, Germany;
Museum Moderner Kunst, Goslar, Germany; Modern
Hungarian Gallery, Pecs, Hungary
10 years of Kasa Gallery, Sabancı University, Kasa
Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey
2009 Ghost Concrete, Sad Turkeyee, Stubborn Hill, Institut
francais,İIzmir, Turkey
View, Trace, Memory II, Ahmet Adnan Saygun Art
Center,İIzmir, Turkey
In Search of Lost Reality: New Generation,
Gallery Nev, Ankara, Turkey
Plastic Tree Vol. III, curated by Ekrem Yalcındag,
Dirimart Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey
2007 Open Studio, New York School of Visual Arts,
New York, USA
2006 Meltem of Istanbul, Turkish and German Artists
from the Elgiz Collection, curated by Dr. Necmi
Sönmez, Project 4L Elgiz Contemporary Art
Museum, Istanbul, Turkey
2005 Gemini Muse 2005 Project, Young Artists in European
Museums, curated by Fulya Erdemci, Pera Museum,
Istanbul, Turkey
The Little, The Cheap, The Trash, Absolutely
Passionate, HIAP Studios, Helsinki, Finland
Alice vs. Alice, Sabancı University, Kasa Gallery,
Istanbul, Turkey
2004 Go! Cheap Art from Izmir, Liquidation Total Art
Space, Madrid, Spain
Secret Face, K2 Contemporary Art Center, Izmir,
Turkey
Not the Surface but Itself, K2 Contemporary Art
Center, Izmir, Turkey
2003 New Suggestions, New Proposals 11, Borusan Art
Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey
Residence
2007 Hayal İIncedogan was granted by the New York
School of Visual Arts - Department of Painting
and Integrated Media.
She prepared an “Open Studio” exhibition at
the end of the program.
ACQUISItions
Proje 4L Elgiz Contemporary Art Museum Collection
Huma & Nahit Kabakcı Collection
Republic of Turkey- Ministry of Foreign Affairs Collection
Vertigo series vol. I, No. 6, 2013 UV print on digital light box, edition of 5 + 1 AP 70 x 70 x 6 cm - 27.6 x 27.6 x 2.4 in.
18 19

Olcay
Olcay Kus, a very young artist representing the Street Art movement
in Turkey, transforms urban walls onto canvases through spray paint,
graffiti, poster, newsprint paper and stencils and basically reforming
the canvas them to walls. The artist works with images we frequently
come across in daily life. He then transfers these images onto
canvases using daily newspaper pages. He says his works are “the
reflection of street walls, which (…) have a sociological and anthropological
importance”. His creativity is nurtured by the ephemeral
aspect of the posters, flyers, graffiti and notes that are posted on
walls every day and then torn apart. This repetitiveness results in
impressive visuals and is an inspiration for Olcay Kus. The themes of
his works are diversified, but generally focused on a single subject.
One of the artist’s aims is to produce visuals that are not easily
understandable at first sight, by bedimming the topic through the
various materials he uses (paper, glue, acrylic, spray paints).
Two brothers, 2012 Mixed media on canvas 180 x 250 cm - 70.9 x 98.4 in.
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Four cars, 2011 Mixed media on canvas 120 x 160 cm - 47.2 x 63 in. Four bunnies, 2012 Mixed media on canvas 200 x 150 cm - 78.7 x 59.1 in.
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Six buddies, 2012 Mixed media on canvas 180 x 250 cm - 70.9 x 98.4 in. Substantial auto, 2011 Mixed media on canvas 120 x 160 cm - 47.2 x 63 in.
24 25

Olcay
Born in Izmir, Turkey, 1985
Lives and works in Istanbul, Turkey
EducatioN
1999 - 2003 Dokuz Eylül University, Faculty of Fine Arts,
Department of Painting, Fahri Sumer Studio,
Konak, Turkey
1999 - 2004 Izmir Isılay Saygın Anatolian High School,
Izmir, Turkey
Solo exhibitions
2011 An Ordinary Day, art ON Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey
“Operation Room”, Istanbul, Turkey
2006 Cetin Emec Art Gallery, Izmir, Turkey
Iletisim Bookstore, Izmir, Turkey
Group exhibitions
2011 Volume II, Galeri Espas, Istanbul, Turkey
Cer Modern, Ankara, Turkey
Hikikomori, Piha Collective Art, Istanbul, Turkey
2010 Galatea Art Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey
Justice and Tolerance, Piha Collective Art, Istanbul,
Turkey
10 th Sefik Bursalı Competition Exhibition, Turkey
Söbütay Özer Competition Exhibition, Ankara, Turkey
Dokuz Eylul University, Konak, Turkey
Young Artists Competition Exhibition, Turkey
2007 Global Warming, Competition Exhibition of
Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Ankara,
Turkey
Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Competition
Exhibition, Izmir, Turkey
2006 Nuri Iyem Competition Exhibition, Istanbul, Turkey
2006/07 Turgut Pura Competition Exhibition, Izmir, Turkey
2005/07 Turk Collage, Competition Exhibition, Izmir, Turkey
2005 Performance Exhibition at Dokuz Eylul University
Painting Department Gallery, Izmir, Turkey
Cetin Emec Art Gallery, Izmir, Turkey
AWARDS
2010 Turgut Pura Foundation 29 th Painting and
Sculpture Competition, “Municipality of Konak”
Prize
2007 Izmir Narlıdere Municipality Painting Competiton,
Honor Prize
No country for old man, 2012 Mixed media on canvas 180 x 250 cm - 70.9 x 98.4 in.
26 27

Sencer
VARDARMAN
Sencer Vardarman’s artworks are in fact the combination of fragments
of mass media images originally representing catastrophes
or landscapes. Vardarman transforms the designed effects of these
into attractive sceneries. In his hands, the terrible catastrophes
or ordinary landscapes become magnificent, beautiful but alien
scenario’s. In his artistic research that analyses information about
industry, history or urban culture, Vardarman uses similar methods:
he displays series of images so that they look credible to the viewer.
The aesthetics of the arrangements also create reconciliation
between the images and the viewer as the viewers become
engaged in re-evaluating the information and thinking about the
use and meaning of these images and matter of their creations.
Istanbul, 2011 Digital C-print, edition of 3 + 1 AP 158 x 100 cm - 62.2 x 39.4 in.
28 29

Coast line, 2011 Digital C-print, edition of 3 + 1 AP 120 x 160 cm - 47.2 x 63 in. Salad prayers, 2011 Digital C-print, edition of 3 + 1 AP 120 x 61 cm - 47.2 x 24 in.
30 31

Once upon a time, 2012 Digital C-print, edition of 3 + 1 AP 100 x 300 cm - 39.4 x 118.1 in.
Horses, 2012 Digital C-print, edition of 3 + 1 AP 81 x 300 cm - 31.9 x 118.1 in.
32 33

Sencer
VARDARMAN
Born in Istanbul, Turkey, 1970
Lives and works in Berlin, Germany and Istanbul, Turkey
EducatioN
2003 - 2006 MA, Institute for Art In Context, University of
Arts, Berlin, Germany
2002 - 2003 “Meisterschuelerstudium”, Fine Arts, by Prof.
K. Sieverding, University of Arts, Berlin, Germany
1998 - 2002 “Hochschulabschluss”, Fine Arts, by Prof.
K.Sieverding, University of Arts, Berlin, Germany
1992 - 1997 BA, Fine Arts, Department of Photography,
Mimar Sinan University, Istanbul, Turkey
1987 - 1991 Economics, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey
GRAnTs
2009 KWW-Art, Science, Economy Scholarship, Stiftung
Künstlerdorf, Schöppingen, Germany
2007 Project Grant of Berlin (Stipendium der Kulturverwaltung
des Berliner Senats), Berlin, Germany
2002 GASAG Artprice, Berlin, Germany
2001 Digitale Bildwelten, Mansion, Artprice of
Kreissparkasse, Recklinghausen, Germany
SOLO exhibitions
2012 Virtual News, art ON Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey
2008 New order II, OKK / RAUM 29, Berlin, Germany
2006 New order I, SOX36, Berlin, Germany
SELECTED GROUP exhibitions
2011 Unique and Limited, art ON Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey
2010 Urban Memories, Altes Museum Neukoelln, Berlin,
Germany
CELEBRATION!, Uqbar, Berlin, Germany
R_EVOLUTION?, Art practice political interventions
collaborative acting, Arttransponder, Berlin, Germany
10 Years at Kasa, Kasa Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey
2009 What Comes Next?, Post-wall realities and
emergence of new aesthetic theories, Meinblau
Berlin, Germany
Taswir, Pictorial Mappings of Modernity and Islam,
Martin Gropius Bau, Berlin, Germany
1000+1 Prax(e)is, Thessalonica Biennale:2.,
Thessalonica, Greece
2008 Istanbul Diptychs, Istanbul Centre in Brussels,
Brussels, Belgium
Owl’s Frames / Baykusun Kareleri, Pera Museum,
Istanbul, Turkey
2007 Capital, Lund, Sweden
Cover, Gallery Metro, Berlin, Germany
Reality Crossings, 2. Fotofestival Mannheim,
Ludwigshafen, Heidelberg, Germany
Legal Tender, Kasa Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey
Förderkohle, NBK, Berlin, Germany
2006 Rio, Artnews Projects, Berlin, Germany
All about Lies, Apartment Project, Istanbul, Turkey
Mixed Hypnose, Fleisch Zeigt, Berlin, Germany
Outliners, Arttransponder e.V., Berlin, Germany
2005 Waiting Room, Apartment Project, Istanbul, Turkey
Focus Istanbul, Martin Gropius Bau, Berlin, Germany
About Beauty (Web Project: Beauty and Public
Space), HKW House of World Cultures, Berlin, Germany
2004 Thieving City, Akbank Center for Art and Culture,
Istanbul, Turkey
Metamorphosis, 20. IFSAK - Istanbul Photography
Days, Istanbul, Turkey
Berlin-Istanbul Vice-Versa, Künstlerhaus Bethanien,
Berlin, Germany
Big Boys Toys, Gallery Design Transfer, Berlin, Germany
2001 On Image We Trust, 21. Istanbul Modern Art Exhibition,
AKM, Istanbul, Turkey
Alone, 2012 Digital C-print, edition of 3 + 1 AP 120 x 136 cm - 47.2 x 53.5 in.
34 35

Kemal
SEYHAN
When it comes to Turkish abstract painting, Kemal Seyhan is the
most significant figure of his generation. Seyhan’s paintings from
the last two decades are narrated with a narrow language,
comprising of four words: horizontal |vertical |colour |intensification.
While he pieces the words of this narrow vocabulary together,
the artist restricts himself to a series of rules: starting with black, he
applies vertical and horizontal on the canvas lengthways;
avoiding simple topological relations on the surface of the work
- such as large-small, including-included, inside-outside; not using
the colour to define the space on the canvas; putting it mainly
under intensification’s order; creating an excelled surface that
disables any 3D illusion; leaving everything else (except for the
surface) the back or sides of the canvas out of attention… The
works are implemented by applying this vocabulary and rules on
canvas deck of times. Kilos of paint are used to colour the canvas
and thousands of spatula strokes to create strata.
Untitled, 2012 Oil on canvas 230 x 160 cm - 90.5 x 63 in.
36 37

Untitled, 2012 Oil on canvas 190 x 230 cm - 74.8 x 90.5 in.
Untitled, 2012 Oil on canvas 180 x 230 cm - 70.9 x 90.5 in.
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Untitled, 2012 Oil on canvas 190 x 270 cm - 74.8 x 106.3 in.
Untitled, 2012 Oil on canvas 230 x 160 cm - 90.5 x 63 in.
40 41

Keymal
Born in Kayseri, Turkey, 1950
Lives and works in Istanbul, Turkey
EducatioN
1987 - 1996 Fine Arts, by Prof. Adolf Frohner, Department
of Painting and Graphic, Hochschule für
Angewandte Kunst, Vienna, Austria
1985 - 1987 Art history and philosophy, Vienna University,
Vienna, Austria
1978 - 1981 Sociology, Bogaziçi University, Istanbul, Turkey
SELECTED exhibitions
2012 art ON Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey
Turkish Contemporary Art, Korea
2010 Contemporary Istanbul Art Fair, artSümer, Istanbul,
Turkey
Time to Time, artSümer, Istanbul, Turkey
Artists Pick Artists, artSümer, Istanbul, Turkey
Galerie Cora Hölzl, Düsseldorf, Germany
2009 New works, artSümer, Istanbul, Turkey
Contemporary Istanbul Art Fair, artSümer, Istanbul,
Turkey
Second encounter, organised in parallel to the 11 th
Istanbul Biennial, artSümer, Istanbul, Turkey
2008 artSümer, Istanbul, Turkey
2007 BM Suma, Istanbul, Turkey
2005 Milli Reasurans Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey
Group exhibition, Galerie Gabriel,
Vienna, Austria
2004 21. Jahrhundert, 20-er Haus, Vienna, Austria
2002 21. T-art, Galerie AAI, Vienna, Austria
2000 Galerie Museum auf Abruf, Vienna, Austria
1991 Niemand auf Reisen, stage design,
directed by Gül Gürses
1988 Reaktionen, Vienna, Austria
1987 Interaktion, 1 st Vienna Art Symposium, Vienna,
Austria
AWARDS
Province of Niederösterreich award
Fellowship, Sussman Foundation, 1995
Province of Vorarlberg award, 23 rd Austria Graphic
Competition, 1993
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