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until 28.10. | #3991ARTatBerlin | neugerriemschneider presents from 16. September 2023 the exhibition “In Circulation” of the artist Cevdet Erek.
Cevdet Erek’s first solo exhibition at neugerriemschneider opens at the Linienstraße location to coincide with Berlin Art Week and the autumn edition of Gallery Weekend Berlin. Erek explores the diverse interfaces between sound, space, perception, reception and time. In site-specific installations and sound works, he explores these rhythmically, as it were, drawing on his extensive experience as an architect, musician and sound designer. in circulation presents concentrated sculptural reflections on sound as a lived feeling and its physical manifestations.
The three works Daf without Skin (2021), Larger Daf without Skin (2023) and Ruler Daf without Skin (2021) have their origins in Erek’s many years as a percussionist and the resulting deep sense of instruments, their use and texture. Developed in collaboration with instrument maker Sami Hosseini, the works refer to the frame drum of the same name. Held gently in the hand on the body, the characteristic rustling of the daf is created by metal rings hitting the taut membrane when the instrument is moved or struck. Erek’s works vary this technique; they have no drumhead and are suspended from a barely visible string, rebalancing the connection between sound and movement and action and interaction. Daf without Skin and its enlarged counterpart Larger Daf without Skin retain the circular shape of the model and, supposedly floating, are reminiscent of nimbuses waiting to be worn. When played, the sounds of the modified drums are directed towards the person in their respective centre. Ruler Daf without Skin straightens the wooden frame of the daf, figuratively translating cyclical time into linear. Its metal rings function as markers along a cryptic scale or records of a novel notation of time.
The Mother Ear (2023), the first figurative sculpture in Erek’s oeuvre, which is primarily characterised by soundscapes, environments and her objects, is based on a portrait of his mother moulded from silicone. Influenced by ancient reliefs, Dadaist assemblages and contemporary animatronic works, among others, the monochrome figure wears binaural microphones in its ears. This alludes to the so-called artificial head, which is used to create spatial sound experiences – acoustic immersions based on the anatomical similarity between the listeners and the head replica used for recording. While the latter is usually devoid of individual features, The Mother Ear was designed as a touching homage based on the appearance, and therefore the listening experience, of a particular person. Following Erek’s notes, the sculpture moves rhythmically as if to a silent beat and twitches involuntarily as if corresponding to a neurological reflex, so that portraitist and sitter merge in the work. In the adjacent room is a sound library with new sound works by the artist that relate to The Mother Ear and the three Daf without Skin sculptures.
Works by Cevdet Erek (b. 1974) have been shown in solo exhibitions at international museums and institutions, including Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart, Berlin (2019); Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago (2019); 5. Ruhrtriennale, Bochum (2019); M HKA Museum van Hedendaagse Kunst, Antwerp (2018); MUAC Museo Universitario Arte Contemporáneo, Mexico City (2017); Turkish Pavilion, 57th Venice Biennale, Venice (2017); Spike Island Artspace, Bristol (2014) and Kunsthalle Basel, Basel (2012). The artist also participated in Manifesta 14, Pristina (2022); Singapore Biennale, Singapore (2022); 11th Shanghai Biennale, Shanghai (2016); 20th Biennale of Sydney, Sydney (2016); 14th. Istanbul Biennial, Istanbul (2015); the 5th Marrakech Biennial, Marrakech (2014); the Sharjah Biennial 11, Sharjah (2013); the 7th Asia Pacific Triennial, Brisbane (2012) and dOCUMENTA (13), Kassel (2012). Erek lives and works in Istanbul.
Location : Linienstraße
Exhibition dates : Saturday, 16. September until Saturday, 28. October 2023
To the Gallery
Image caption: Courtesy of neugerriemschnieder
Exhibition Cevdet Erek – Galerie neugerriemschneider | Zeitgenössische Kunst in Berlin | Contemporary Art | Ausstellungen Berlin Galerien | ART at Berlin
