Speaking at the exhibition’s launch ceremony, the Turkish painter who donated one of his paintings, the “Green Galata” to the National Art Gallery, said his paintings are inspired by tradition and the miniature art of great masters of the East, whose style is different from western art
TIRANA, April 13 – The legendary beauty of Istanbul is being showcased in Tirana in the first solo exhibition by internationally renowned Turkish artist Devrim Erbil in Albania. Named “From Istanbul with love,” the exhibition features a selection of some thirty large size acrylic on canvas paintings focusing on Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city and the country’s economic, cultural and historical heart.
“The legendary beauty of this city and the panoramic views created by mankind have inspired artists over centuries, giving life to Turkish art,” organizers say.
Speaking at the exhibition’s launch ceremony, the Turkish painter who donated one of his paintings, the “Green Galata” to the National Art Gallery, said his paintings are inspired by tradition and the miniature art of great masters of the East, whose style is different from western art.
“I came to Albania to get to know this country and this exhibition is only the beginning of cooperation which will continue in the academic field. I think art is the best way to bring people together and the only hope of mankind in these times of pain,” said Erbil.
Curator Beste Gursu described Erbil’s paintings of Istanbul as the combination of a child’s frankness and the inherited traditional spirit.
Artan Shabani, the director of the National Gallery of Arts, said Erbil’s exhibition features the topic of the figurative aerial views of Istanbul and its suburbs and rhythmical, poetic and abstract images.
The exhibition curated by Beste Gursu was brought to Tirana by the Turkish Embassy and the Yunus Emre cultural centre in Albania. The show will remain at the National Art Gallery in Tirana for one month from April 15 to May 17.
Born in Usak, Turkey, Erbil, 78, graduated in painting from the Istanbul State Academy of Fine Arts in 1955. On a scholarship from the Spanish government, he continued his education and research in Madrid and Barcelona and later in Paris and London.
His works have been shown in hundreds of exhibition in Turkey and abroad while some of them are part of the state museums of painting and sculpture in Ankara, Istanbul and Izmir.
A passionate lover of Istanbul, Erbil has created hundreds of works on the city depicting areas like Suleymaniye, Galata and the moves of the Bosphorus from an aerial perspective. His works have created an iconic image of this great metropolis.
