Exhibitions Releases

Borusan Contemporary Announces Two Exhibitions From the Borusan Contemporary Art Collection on View in the U.S. in 2017, and Special Exhibition of Recent Work by Diana Thater in Istanbul

22 July 2017 Sat

June 27, 2017… Borusan Contemporary announced today three special exhibitions to be presented in 2017‒18; two in the U.S. and one in Turkey, the latter on the occasion of the Istanbul Biennial.

"BORUSAN CONTEMPORARY ANNOUNCES TWO EXHIBITIONS
FROM THE BORUSAN CONTEMPORARY ART COLLECTION ON VIEW IN THE U.S. IN 2017, AND SPECIAL EXHIBITION OF RECENT WORK BY DIANA THATER IN ISTANBUL

Highlights of Art Collection on view in special exhibitions in New York, NY, October 12‒November 4, 2017 and Ann Arbor, MI, July 29‒November 26, 2017

Diana Thater: A Runaway World on view at Borusan Contemporary, Istanbul, September 16, 2017‒February 18, 2018

June 27, 2017… Borusan Contemporary announced today three special exhibitions to be presented in 2017‒18; two in the U.S. and one in Turkey, the latter on the occasion of the Istanbul Biennial. Overture: Recent Acquisitions from the Borusan Contemporary Art Collection will be on view in a pop-up gallery in New York City in fall 2017, and Moving Image: Portraiture, the last in a suite of exhibitions also drawn from the collection, at the University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor. Diana Thater: A Runaway World was originally commissioned and organized by The Mistake Room, Los Angeles, in spring 2017. Borusan Contemporary will present an expanded iteration of this exhibition that includes three recent works that explore the plight of animals living in imminent danger of poaching as well as earlier works that offer a significant perspective of the divergent and intertwined strategies of her practice.

The U.S. exhibitions are organized by Kathleen Forde, Borusan Contemporary’s Artistic Director at Large. The Istanbul edition of Diana Thater: A Runaway World was co-organized by Ms. Forde and Cesar Garcia, Executive and Artistic Director of The Mistake Room.

Ms. Forde said, “The exhibitions in the U.S. function as a vibrant embodiment of the geographic reach, aesthetic range, and diversity of practices represented in Borusan Contemporary’s recent collecting activities in media arts. We are also delighted to present an augmented version of Diana Thater: A Runaway World in our gallery in Istanbul, including a recently completed work. By depicting the fragility of endangered species and their environs, Diana’s installations are vivid contemplations about our future and, hopefully, calls to action.”

In the United States:

Moving Image: Portraiture (July 29‒November 26, 2017) is the third and final exhibition in a series on view at the University of Michigan Museum of Art drawn from the Borusan Contemporary Art Collection. Presenting a contemporary spin on traditional notions of portraiture, it features work by Hannu Karjalainen, Daniel Rozin, and Marina Zurkow. The previous two exhibitions examined investigations of landscape and performance in time-based media art.

Overture: Recent Acquisitions from the Borusan Contemporary Art Collection (October 12‒November 5, 2017) features time-based media art produced by an international roster of influential artists: Jim Campbell, Daniel Canoger, U-Ram Choe, John Gerrard, Claudia Hart, Ali Kazma, Michal Rovner, and Allard van Hoorn. Investigating human perception and memory, the process of historical documentation, and shifting concepts of identity and environment, the works range from digitized landscapes and newly commissioned videos and interactive portraits. It will be on view at the 208 Bowery Gallery on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

In Istanbul:

Diana Thater: A Runaway World (September 16, 2017‒February 18, 2018) comprises five video-based installations: three newly commissioned and two earlier works to provide context for the artist’s examination of environmental issues. As Radical As Reality (2017) and A Runaway World (2017) were commissioned by The Mistake Room for the spring 2017 exhibition, that was also titled A Runaway World. The new installations incorporate video of elephants hunted by poachers for ivory; the last male Northern white rhinoceros, a species hunted to extinction for its horns; and the landscapes they inhabit. Thater and her crew gained unprecedented access to the creatures living in enclosures protected by armed guards. The videos are projected onto specially made X-shaped screens designed by the artist to create an immersive and somewhat disorienting experience.

Ms. Forde added, “The three exhibitions, singly and as a group, provide viewers with opportunities to see how leading contemporary artists are exploring time and space, motion and inertia, light and darkness, sound and silence, portraiture and landscape, and, in some cases, critical issues of the day. We are thrilled to be able to connect with audiences in Ann Arbor, New York, and, of course, our home base in Istanbul.”

Borusan Contemporary
Borusan Contemporary is a multi-platform program of exhibitions, events, educational activities, new commissions, and site-specific installations rooted in Borusan Contemporary Art Collection in Istanbul, Turkey. These activities are defined by their specific focus on media arts broadly defined, i.e. artists who work with time, light, technology, video, software, and beyond. Most of the program takes place at Perili Köşk Istanbul, and co-exists with the offices of Borusan Holding, in essence creating a unique museum in an office setting. The entire building including the galleries, office space, café, Borusan Art Store, and outdoor terraces with breathtaking views of the Bosphorus is open to the public on weekends.

www.borusancontemporary.com"