Nazif Topcuoglu, Lamentations, 2007, c-print mounted on foam board, 114 x 171 cm, courtesy of Green Art Gallery, Dubai.
The 4th edition of Art Dubai took place last week at the Madinat Jumeirah Arena. Participating in the fair was Dubai's Green Art Galley, whose director, Yasmin Atassi, answered a few questions from Whitewall via email about her choice to present a solo artist booth.
WHITEWALL: Why is it important for you to be supporter and point of reference for the regional trends in modern and contemporary art practices, in contrast with international trends?
YASMIN ATASSI [Director of Green Art Gallery]: Green Art Gallery was established in Dubai as early as 1995, at a time when regional art was not promoted widely and was not considered as “sexy” or “in” as it is today. We wanted to provide a platform for both emerging and established artists from the region whose work had substantial amount of depth and substance, but who had no outlet to show their work or a gallery to manage their careers. As a gallery based in Dubai, we believe that it is our job to promote art from the region (Middle East, North Africa, and Turkey) both regionally and to international audiences.
WW: Why did you choose to send one and only one artist to the fair in Dubai?
YA: An artist-focus stand in my opinion is very important in a fair. As you probably know, they are becoming much more common as galleries realize that this is the best way to show an artist’s work. Collectors are then exposed to the artist’s body of work, which is very different than when you place a piece or two in a fair. In the case of Nazif, this is especially true as he is not known in the region but only in Turkey and internationally. So we had to show his work exclusively to allow regional collectors to fully absorb his practice. Of course for a gallery this is much riskier but I think such a statement is very important to make. We did not regret our decision at all as we had a great fair and a fantastic response from collectors and institutions. And this will be a regular strategy in our gallery’s participation in future fairs.
WW: Duality is a main characteristic of Nazif Topçuoğlu's works of art. Is it the reason why you chose him in particularly? Is it because his work reflects several point of views, several extreme and antagonist subjects like passivity and agressiveness, or masculinity and femininity?
YA: We have been following Nazif’s work for a while now before we signed with him. The strength of the work of course is the paradoxes it deals with as you mentioned. Another important point in his work is that at the beginning it appears so beautiful...the setting, the women, the lighting, etc...but then as you look closely you realize that it is actually quite disturbing! I particularly selected him for the fair as I felt that his work really pushed boundaries and he has an amazing knowledge of art history, which is very prevalent in his work, coupled of course with the strength of the work. These are really the three main criteria we look for when considering an artist.
Nazif Topcuoglu, Triptych, 2008, 3 panels-each 180 x 120 cm, c-print mounted on foam board, AP1, courtesy of Green Art Gallery, Dubai.
