The Sculpture Garden – New Acquisitions

Istanbul Modern’s Sculpture Garden opened with the exhibition “New Acquisitions.” Aiming to showcase the stages of progress in modern sculpture in Turkey, the Sculpture Garden presents works by four influential sculptors in this new exhibition.

Curated by Levent Çalıkoğlu and featuring sculptures by Meriç Hızal, Koray Ariş, Rahmi Aksungur and Seyhun Topuz, “New Acquisitions” predominantly gathered the artists’ recent works.

While displaying similarities, these artists represent four different artistic viewpoints, all members of a generation of artists active post 1980. The common trait of these four artists who work with distinct material and narrative conditions is the combination of sculpture and the notion of design. Instead of the act of sculpting, all four artists construct their work with a search for alternative materials, designating sculpture as an issue of mass and space. Some employ forms of nature, some provide us with never-before-seen, new experiences through an abstract narrative.

Appreciating the significance of outdoor exhibitions hosted by a private museum, Istanbul Modern invited this new generation of sculptors to envision and conceive site-specific works.

Opened in January 2006, the first exhibition of sculpture in the Temporary Exhibition Gallery aimed to display the stages of progress in modern sculpture that first emerged in Turkey in the 1950s, situate it in the sociocultural environment of its time, and present its evolution through works by artists from different generations.


Curator: Levent Çalıkoğlu