ABU DHABI ART: HÜSEYİN BAHRİ ALPTEKİN, SEMİHA BERKSOY, İPEK DUBEN, NURİ KUZUCAN, AYÇA TELGEREN, BURCU YAĞCIOĞLU

For the 2025 edition of the Abu Dhabi Art, Galerist is pleased to participate with a distinctive selection that reflects Turkey’s artistic heritage through an intergenerational and multilayered perspective. Showcasing works by Semiha Berksoy, Hüseyin Bahri Alptekin, İpek Duben, Nuri Kuzucan, Ayça Telgeren, and Burcu Yağcıoğlu, spanning different periods and techniques, this presentation highlights the gallery’s enduring commitment to dialogue across generations, equal gender representation, and conceptual depth.

Since its inaugural participation in the fair in 2017, Galerist has continued to foster cultural connections and to communicate its curatorial approach in mutual exchange with the region’s art community. This year’s exhibition offers international audiences a glimpse into the evolving narratives and diverse expressions of Turkish modern and contemporary art through a thoughtfully assembled selection.

The selection brings together works embedded in ongoing thematic explorations within each artist’s practice, weaving connections between personal narratives and broader social and urban contexts. Semiha Berksoy, a pioneering figure in Turkey’s cultural history, was not only the country’s first internationally acclaimed opera singer but also a prolific painter; her emotive works act as a visual diary, capturing key moments from her life and career. Hüseyin Bahri Alptekin offers a critical reflection on globalization and consumer culture, while İpek Duben confronts issues of gender, migration, and cultural bias through a multidisciplinary lens. Nuri Kuzucan’s paintings explore the psychological and spatial complexities of urban life through light, shadow, and architectural forms. Ayça Telgeren transforms personal memory into tactile visual language through intricate hand-cut paper compositions as well as concrete sculptures, and Burcu Yağcıoğlu’s multimedia works investigate the intersections of nature, knowledge, craftsmanship, and imagination.