Koray Ariş, 1944

A graduate of the Şadi Çalık workshop at the sculpture department of Istanbul University’s State Academy of Fine Arts, Koray Ariş went on to work in Emilio Greco’s Sculpture Workshop in Rome between 1969 and 1971. The artist stayed in Rome to open his own workshop in 1971 before returning to Turkey in 1975 to start teaching at his alma mater. He continues working in his workshop in Istanbul, Çatalca.

Since his school days, the artist creates predominantly figurative works, initially with materials like mud, bronze, wood, and leather. His early sculptures focus on inert forms like tombstones, trunks of adults and children, and flower figures. Later on, he adopts an abstract style upon researching abstract art. As he seeks an organic connection between form and material, he creates plain shapes that move with a slight momentum instead of static sculptures. Declaring that he prefers to remain untethered to any style or school, Ariş dreams up forms akin to wobbler toys moving with the push of an audience member. Placing interactivity at the heart of his approach to art, the artist creates tactile and auditory works. Reminiscent of a world of mobile toys and historical fairytale characters, these sculptures invite viewers to a world the artist designed by allowing them to feel the form and the material.

Stripped of all details, the “Movement and Equilibrium Series,” find the form of the sculpture in its purest possible state, indicating the points of intersection between modern thinking and life. Believing that balance is also crucial in life, the artist points out that these works emphasize a movement and a spiritual attitude.