By Janet Ekstract
ISTANBUL- The 17th edition of Contemporary Istanbul, CI, the iconic international art fair, opened on Saturday with a broad range of eclectic art including sculpture. A major highlight of the show is a special NFT video created by famous fashion designer Hussein Chalayan whose creation is the first thing visitors will notice as they approach CI in Tersane – a historical location that was a former shipyard in the 15th century. This year’s fair has its fair share of fashionistas, wannabes and art aficionados.
CI 2022 includes 60 contemporary art galleries from at least 25 countries. Highlights of the show include artwork by Iranian, Japanese, Arabic, German, French, Dutch, Turkish, a few American artists and a host of other artists from a variety of countries with a variety of eclectic mediums that include glass sculptures, NFTs, weavings, carving, paintings, wall hangings and stone-brass-olive wood sculptural delights. The art fair whose main sponsor is Akbank, is also sponsored by Turkish airlines and a number of other top companies. More than 1,500 artworks from 600 different artists are being showcased at Tersane this year.
A major priority at CI for this show includes a number of diverse contemporary art initiatives from a variety of regions in Türkiye. These include are projects, Antalya – Baksi Museum, Bayburt -Malat-Hane, Bursa – Lolading, Diyarbakir – Noks Art Space, Istanbul – OMM, Eskisehir, Viable, Istanbul – Video-IST, Balikesir, Kvareli Foundation for Contemporary Art from Tblisi. And what makes the 17th edition of CI even more unique and special are the 14 galleries who are first-time participants at the show that include top galleries from Sofia, Bucharest, Belgrade, Dusseldorf, New York, Paris, Istanbul, Tblisi, Iran, Dubai, Barcelona, Beirut, Italy, Bratislava, Berlin, Marbella and Malmo.
CI has something for every type of artistic taste whether it’s seeking colorful, whimsical work created from wood sculpture and paint on canvas or original NFTs such as Hussein Chalayan’s whimsical art video or examples of NFT artwork that showcases a variety of scenes via video or smaller sculptures making social statements with elephants and hippos or shiny retro installations featuring Marilyn Monroe, Amy Winehouse and Kurt Cobain. And there’s always the small but striking sculpture entitled Superman that can be viewed in its outdoor and indoor installations in strikingly different art mediums. The show can be seen through September 22 with free transport from Kabatas, Karakoy and Kadikoy daily on a rotating schedule.
