Serkan Özkaya
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Serkan Özkaya (born 1973) is a Turkish and American conceptual artist whose work deals with topics of appropriation and reproduction. He typically operates outside of traditional art spaces and often makes multiple versions of even his own work, including his most noted work David (inspired by Michelangelo). Özkaya's artworks are held in the permanent collections of the İstanbul Modern, Borusan Contemporary Art, and
Arter Arter is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Harry Arter * Jared Maurice Arter * Kingsley Arter Taft * Philip and Uriah Arter, after whom Philip and Uriah Arter Farm is named * Robert Arter * Solomon Arter, after whom Solomon Art ...
in
Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
, as well as three different 21c Museum Hotels locations—
Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...
;
Bentonville, Arkansas Bentonville is a city in and the county seat of Benton County, Arkansas, United States. The city is centrally located in the county with Rogers, Arkansas, Rogers adjacent to the east. The city proper had a population of 54,164 at the 2020 Unite ...
; and
Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
.


Early life and education

Özkaya grew up in
Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
, Turkey. At a young age, he began learning about
Western art The art of Europe, also known as Western art, encompasses the history of visual art in Europe. European prehistoric art started as mobile Upper Paleolithic rock and cave painting and petroglyph art and was characteristic of the period bet ...
through the study of reproductions of major artworks found in books. It is here his interests in the concepts originality, replication and emulation began. He attended
Istanbul University Istanbul University, also known as University of Istanbul (), is a Public university, public research university located in Istanbul, Turkey. Founded by Mehmed II on May 30, 1453, a day after Fall of Constantinople, the conquest of Constantinop ...
, graduating with both a bachelor and a master's degree in arts. He continued his graduate studies at
Bard College Bard College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The campus overlooks the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains within the Hudson River Historic District ...
. After leaving Bard with a master's degree in fine art, he received an art fellowship at
MacDowell Colony MacDowell is an artist's residency program in Peterborough, New Hampshire. The program was founded in 1907 by composer Edward MacDowell and his wife, pianist and philanthropist Marian MacDowell. Prior to July 2020, it was known as the MacDo ...
. Özkaya then returned to Istanbul University to study for his Ph.D. in German Language and Literature. In 2001, he published ''Genius and Creativity in the Arts'', a comparative study of the German works Moses und Aron (an opera by
Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian and American composer, music theorist, teacher and writer. He was among the first Modernism (music), modernists who transformed the practice of harmony in 20th-centu ...
), Doctor Faustus (a novel by
Thomas Mann Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novell ...
) and Die Philosophie der Neuen Musik (a book by
Theodor W. Adorno Theodor W. Adorno ( ; ; born Theodor Ludwig Wiesengrund; 11 September 1903 – 6 August 1969) was a German philosopher, musicologist, and social theorist. He was a leading member of the Frankfurt School of critical theory, whose work has com ...
).


Career


Notable works in serial form

''Dear Sir or Madam'' (1996–2009) is a collection of letters and other correspondences between Özkaya and cultural institutions, dignitaries and curators. It is his own paper trail of bureaucracy in inaction. In the collection, among others, are his letters to the Louvre asking that he be allowed to hang the
Mona Lisa The ''Mona Lisa'' is a half-length portrait painting by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described as "the best known, the most visited, the most written about, ...
upside down, and a letter to the German Bundestag that they permit him to re- wrap the Reichstag. Often, the letters do not deserve a response but curiously, they have usually been treated with official but unthinking courtesy, read perhaps but not comprehended—answered and then often passed along the bureaucratic chain. In 2009, ''Dear Sir or Madam'' was exhibited at the Slag Gallery in New York along with works from the same period. Among them was ''Proletarier Aller Laender'' (1998-2009) or ''Proletariat of all Countries'', as it is also known in English, a collection of red plastic foam figurines glued to the floor. In viewing this work, the audience is most likely forced to trample on the little figures as if to trample on the working classes. However, the
proletariat The proletariat (; ) is the social class of wage-earners, those members of a society whose possession of significant economic value is their labour power (their capacity to work). A member of such a class is a proletarian or a . Marxist ph ...
, which the figurines represent, in "their resilience and ultimate power always springing back, indestructible". Other works in the exhibition included the golden sculptures ''Levitation by Defecation'' (2008), ''Shit on a Stick'' (2008), and ''Goldenboy'' (2006), "a fiberglass figure painted in gold acrylic and dangling a couple of feet off the ground by a noose". In 2000, Özkaya collected roughly 30,000 slides from artists, galleries, and institutions and showed them on one of the largest galleries in the main pedestrian street in Istanbul, at the Kazim Taskent Art Gallery. ''What A Museum Should Really Look Like (Large Glass)'' presented a giant mosaic of individual images. During the day, the slides were readable from the inside of the gallery and at night, with the lights on, they became a scene for the street. This piece was later initiated in Utrecht, the Netherlands in a much larger scale with 100,000 slides. The collage of thousands of pieces of artwork was collected through an online advertisement. All of the works were arranged in the mosaic with no coherent order and no editorial or curatorial control from Özkaya. In 2003, Özkaya turned the front and back covers of the
Turkish language Turkish ( , , also known as 'Turkish of Turkey') is the most widely spoken of the Turkic languages, a member of Oghuz languages, Oghuz branch with around 90 million speakers. It is the national language of Turkey and one of two official languag ...
newspaper, ''
Radikal ''Radikal'' () was a daily liberal Turkish language newspaper, published in Istanbul. From 1996 it was published by Aydın Doğan's Doğan Media Group. Although Radikal did not endorse a particular political alignment, it was generally consider ...
'' into drawings. This act enabled the reader to acquire a limited edition artwork for the price of the newspaper. In early 2004, it was part of a group exhibition named "The Poetics of Proximity" at the Guggenheim Gallery at
Chapman University Chapman University is a private research university in Orange, California, United States. Encompassing eleven colleges, the university is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity". The school maintains its foundi ...
. In similar fashion, in subsequent years, some pages of several other newspapers were also hand-rendered and appeared as a print of the drawings. The overall piece, entitled ''Today Could Be A Day Of Historical Importance'' was executed in Sweden with ''
Aftonbladet (, lit. "The evening paper") is a Swedish language, Swedish daily tabloid newspaper published in Stockholm, Sweden. It is one of the largest daily newspapers in the Nordic countries. History and profile The newspaper was founded by Lar ...
'', in Germany with Freitag, and in the US with ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' and ''
The Courier-Journal The ''Courier Journal'', also known as the ''Louisville Courier Journal'' (and informally ''The C-J'' or ''The Courier''), and called ''The Courier-Journal'' between November 8, 1868, and October 29, 2017, is a daily newspaper published in ...
''. The last of which was created in collaboration with the non-profit artwithoutwalls. ''The New York Times'' version in the "Weekend Arts" section appeared ''
mise en abyme In Western art history, ''mise en abyme'' (; also ''mise en abîme'') is the technique of placing a copy of an image within itself, often in a way that suggests an infinitely recurring sequence. In film theory and literary theory, it refers to t ...
'' with Özkaya's drawing appearing as an inset in the page and an even smaller drawing appearing as an inset of that, and so on, creating a
Droste effect The Droste effect (), known in art as an example of ''mise en abyme'', is the effect of a picture recursion, recursively appearing within itself, in a place where a similar picture would realistically be expected to appear. This produces a loo ...
. In 2005, Özkaya created '' David (inspired by Michelangelo)'', a double-sized golden replica of
Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (6March 147518February 1564), known mononymously as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was inspir ...
ʼs ''David'' based on a 3D computer model by Marc Levoy of
Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
. The sculpture was first intended to be part of the 9th International Istanbul Biennial. Unfortunately, the statue crashed and was destroyed while in the process of being installed at Şişli Square. Özkaya created two new versions of the replica at a studio in
EskiÅŸehir EskiÅŸehir ( , ; from 'old' and 'city') is a city in northwestern Turkey and the capital of the EskiÅŸehir Province. The urban population of the city is 821 315 (Odunpazari + Tebebasi), with a metropolitan population of 921 630. The city is l ...
, one of which was to be placed in the local Sazova Science, Art and Culture Park. The other was acquired by 21c Museum Hotels in
Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...
. On its way to Louisville, the piece made a stop in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. Although just a mere copy, the statue made quite a spectacle, as the artist intended, attracting the attention of tourists and residents as it was transported uncovered lying horizontally on a semi-trailer truck. The giant 30-foot statue is currently featured in front of the museum hotel on West Main Street in Louisville. In ''A Sudden Gust of Wind'' (2007 –2013), Özkaya depicted the journey of a stack of papers blown away by the wind. The original work was made with basic materials: standard A4 paper, thread, and glue. The piece was inspired by ''Ejiri in Suruga Province (A Sudden Gust of Wind)'', a 19th-century Japanese woodcut by
Hokusai , known mononymously as Hokusai, was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist of the Edo period, active as a painter and printmaker. His woodblock printing in Japan, woodblock print series ''Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji'' includes the iconic print ''The Gr ...
, and ''A Sudden Gust of Wind (after Hokusai)'' (1993) by
Jeff Wall Jeffrey Wall, Order of Canada, OC, Royal Society of Canada, RSA (born September 29, 1946) is a Canadian photographer. He is artist best known for his large-scale back-lit Cibachrome photographs and art history writing. Early in his career, he h ...
. One version of the installation was first exhibited at the Boots Contemporary Art Space in St. Louis, Missouri. Another version of the work was acquired by 21c Museum Hotel and installed at their third location in
Bentonville, Arkansas Bentonville is a city in and the county seat of Benton County, Arkansas, United States. The city is centrally located in the county with Rogers, Arkansas, Rogers adjacent to the east. The city proper had a population of 54,164 at the 2020 Unite ...
. This version utilizes about 400 metal sheets scattered in a large gallery space. ''Bring me the head of…'' (2007–2015) is the edible form of a teddy bear's head on a plate. Instead of working with museums or galleries, in this series, Özkaya collaborated with restaurants and chefs and they decided the ingredients—that is the material of the sculpture. This work was made in collaboration with M on the Bund in
Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...
, offered at Freemans' Restaurant in New York in 2007 as a part of the Performa Biennial, at Changa in Istanbul in 2008, as street food in
İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...
in 2009, at Capital M in
Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
in 2012, and at the Hive in
Bentonville, Arkansas Bentonville is a city in and the county seat of Benton County, Arkansas, United States. The city is centrally located in the county with Rogers, Arkansas, Rogers adjacent to the east. The city proper had a population of 54,164 at the 2020 Unite ...
in 2014. In ''One and Three Pasta'' (2012), Özkaya collaborated with the architect George L. Legendre, a professor at Harvard University. Using Legendreʼs mathematical equations (published in
Pasta By Design ''Pasta by Design'' is a book by George L. Legendre, with a foreword by Paola Antonelli, and photography by Stefano Graziani. It is based on an idea by Marco Guarnieri. Overview ''Pasta by Design'' spans the fields of architecture, food, and popu ...
and reviewed in the
New Scientist ''New Scientist'' is a popular science magazine covering all aspects of science and technology. Based in London, it publishes weekly English-language editions in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. An editorially separate organ ...
), they created a series of computer-generated replicas of 92
types of pasta Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * ...
and 3D-printed them in nylon. The actual pieces of pasta were displayed next to their ideal nylon replicas, along with the generative equations of each shape. One and Three Pasta references to canonical works like Joseph Kosuthʼs One and Three Chairs and
Donald Judd Donald Clarence Judd (June 3, 1928February 12, 1994) was an American artist associated with minimalism.Tate Modern websit"Tate Modern Past Exhibitions Donald Judd" Retrieved on February 19, 2009. In his work, Judd sought autonomy and clarity for ...
ʼs Untitled stacks. ''An Attempt at Exhausting A Place…'' is a series of works in which the artist "dissolves the white cube" and the usual constraints of a traditional art space. Four projectors are used to display a live feed of the scene beyond the wall on which they are projected. The work was exhibited as part of Özkaya's solo exhibition at the Postmasters Gallery in New York, running from May 14 to June 18, 2016. In a similar installation at İstanbul Modern, a projection on one its interior walls treated the view to a scene of the
Bosphorus Strait The Bosporus or Bosphorus Strait ( ; , colloquially ) is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul, Turkey. The Bosporus connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara and forms one of the continental b ...
, making the wall seem transparent. A version of the work is also presented in a permanent exhibition at the lobby of the 21c Museum Hotel in
Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
.


Other notable works

''Atlas'' (2011) is a contribution to a walking museum wherein Özkaya constructed a rock to be strapped to the curator's back and promenaded daily throughout the streets of New York. The idea was to make "the museum" itself wander around the streets of the city with Özkaya's new piece, a giant rock. ''Radisson/Picasso'' (2012), a pair of Radisson Hotel matchboxes with the text of one of which has been changed to read "Picasso" instead of "Radisson" and was displayed alongside the original. ''Mirage'' (2013) was installed at the Postmasters Gallery in New York and consisted of a shadow of a passenger airplane that crossed the room for 45 seconds every four minutes. The shadow here was considered not as the mere absence of light, but rather as a material in and of itself which could then be sculpted. The work was also exhibited as part of the Borusan Contemporary Art Collection's Overture: New Acquisitions (2015) at Perili Köşk in Istanbul. ''MyMoon'' (2015 – present) is another artwork by Özkaya, a large round rock floating in the sky, that is visible only through a
smartphone A smartphone is a mobile phone with advanced computing capabilities. It typically has a touchscreen interface, allowing users to access a wide range of applications and services, such as web browsing, email, and social media, as well as multi ...
via the MyMoon app. Using the phone's GPS and compass, MyMoon app detects the object in the sky and makes it visible. MyMoon rotates in close proximity to the earth's moon in the sky. Yet unlike the earth's satellite, it is visible outdoors and indoors. In October 2017, Özkaya presented his latest major work ''En attendons'' (''We Will Wait'') at the Postmasters Gallery. The work is a recreation of
Marcel Duchamp Henri-Robert-Marcel Duchamp (, ; ; 28 July 1887 – 2 October 1968) was a French painter, sculptor, chess player, and writer whose work is associated with Cubism, Dada, Futurism and conceptual art. He is commonly regarded, along with Pablo Pica ...
's '' Étant donnés'' from which Özkaya's also gets its name in
anagram An anagram is a word or phrase formed by rearranging the letters of a different word or phrase, typically using all the original letters exactly once. For example, the word ''anagram'' itself can be rearranged into the phrase "nag a ram"; which ...
form. Özkaya claims to have discovered a secret hidden within Duchamp's piece. He proposes that it is not only a peephole into a
diorama A diorama is a replica of a scene, typically a three-dimensional model either full-sized or miniature. Sometimes dioramas are enclosed in a glass showcase at a museum. Dioramas are often built by hobbyists as part of related hobbies like mili ...
but that, under proper lighting, it also functions as a
camera obscura A camera obscura (; ) is the natural phenomenon in which the rays of light passing through a aperture, small hole into a dark space form an image where they strike a surface, resulting in an inverted (upside down) and reversed (left to right) ...
that projects the French artist's self-portrait on a surface opposite the peephole. According to Özkaya, there is more to ''Étant Donnés'' than previously thought; that the work, which took Duchamp more than 20 years to create, projects an image of Rrose Sélavy, "Duchamp’s female alter ego."


Exhibitions


Selected solo exhibitions

*''Lives and Works in Utrecht'' (2002), BeganeGrond, Utrecht, The Netherlands *''Minerva Street'' (2003), Galerist,
Istanbul, Turkey Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With a population over , it is home to 18% of the population of Turkey. Istanbul is among the largest cities in Europe and in th ...
*''Monet: A Retrospective (2006)'', Künstlerhaus Bethanien,
Berlin, Germany Berlin ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the highest population within its city limits of any city in the European Union. The city is also one of the states of ...
*''When He Came Back to His Senses, The Monster Was Still Waiting in Front of the Cave'' (2006), Galerist, Istanbul, Turkey *''Bring Me the Head Of…'' (2007), M on the Bund,
Shanghai, China Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...
*''A Sudden Gust of Wind'' (2008), Boots Contemporary Art Space,
St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...
*''Dear Sir or Madam'' (2009), Slag Gallery New York City, NY, (2009) *''Today Could Be a Day of Historical Importance'' (2010), Slag Gallery,
New York City, New York New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harb ...
*''Homo Practicus'' (2010), Geleri Nev, Istanbul, Turkey *''ATLAS'' (2011), New York City *'' David (inspired by Michelangelo)'' (2012), 21c Museum Hotel,
Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...
*''One and Three Pasta'' (with George L. Legendre) (2012), Galerist, Istanbul, Turkey *''Mirage'' (2013), Postmasters Gallery, New York City *''Today Was Really Yesterday'' (2014), Galerist, Istanbul, Turkey *''Sudden Gusts of the World'' (2014), curated by Marta Smolinska, Galeria Miejska Arsenal, Poznan, Poland *''One and Three Pasta'' with George L. Legendre (2014), Postmasters Gallery, New York City *''An Attempt at Exhausting a Place in New York'' (2016), Postmasters Gallery, New York City *''We Will Wait'' (2017), Postmasters Gallery, New York City


Selected group exhibitions

*''Side-Effects'' (2004), curated by WHW group: Natasha Ilic, Sabina Sabolovic and Ana Devic, WHW Gallery, Zagreb Croatia, *''public.exe'' (2004), curated by Anne Ellegood, Michele Thurz, Exit Art, New York City, NY, *''Situated Self City'' (2005), curated by Mika Hannula, and Branco Dimitrijevic, Museum Helsinki,
Helsinki, Finland Helsinki () is the capital and most populous city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipality, with  million in the capital region and ...
*''9th International Istanbul Biennial'' (2005), curated by Vasif Kortun, Charles Esche, Istanbul, Turkey, *''7th Biennial of Video and New Media'' (2005), Santiago de Chile, Chile *''SHIFTscale – Extended Field of Contemporary Sculpture'' (2006), curated by Mika Hannula, Hanno Soans and Villu Jaanisoo, Kumu Art Museum, Tallinn, Estonia *''Pre Emptive'' (2006), curated by Philippe Pirotte, Kunsthalle Bern,
Bern, Switzerland Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...
*''Modern and Beyond'' (2007), curated by Fulya Erdemci, Santral Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey *''PERFORMA07'' (2007), curated by Roselee Goldberg with Defne Ayas, New York City *''A Series of Coincidences'' (2009), curated by Regine Basha, Cabinet, New York City *''Ohne Hintersinn'' (2009), curated by Benjamin Fellmann, Istanbul, Turkey *''Drawn From Photography'' (2011), curated by Claire Gilman, The Drawing Center, New York City *''Carnal Knowledge: Sex + Philosophy'' (2012), curated by Christopher Eamon and Beth Stryker, Leslie Tonkonow Gallery, New York City *''Certainty and Vision'' (2013), curated by Peter Lang and Moritz Gotze, Frankesche Stiftungen zu Halle, Saale, Germany *''ZEITRAUM'' (2015), curated by Marta Smolińska, Zamek Cultural Center,
Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...
, Poland *''The Museum Imagined'' (2015), curated by Lilly Wei, Danese/Corey Gallery, New York City *''this one is smaller than this one'' (2016), curated by Paulina Bebecka, Postmasters Gallery, New York City *''Truth or Dare: A Reality Show'' (2017), curated by Alice Gray Stites, 21c Museum Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee


Selected publications

* * * * * * * *


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ozkaya, Serkan 1973 births Living people American conceptual artists American male artists American people of Turkish descent Bard College alumni Deutsche Schule Istanbul alumni Istanbul University alumni Turkish conceptual artists Turkish male artists Date of birth missing (living people)