Ola Kolehmainen (Helsinki, 1964) plunged himself into the Turkish architecture constructed between the 500 to the 1600 in his Istanbul works. The initiative came as a Commission given by the Borusan Collection in Istanbul. The project was emphasized in Mosques designed by the Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan. Kolehmainen added to the plan the tradition of Sinan, the Byzantine architecture.
In addition to this commission, the Goethe Institute Istanbul invited him to half-year artist residence program. These two invites, a pure coincidence time-wise, provided him a full concentration to the work which was to change his professional life.
The result of this series celebrates volume, light and color of these sacred buildings and integrates profane items such as scaffolding and lighting appliances into the compositions. This approach to the antique, adds a whole new paradigm of investigation to the artists’ work where he has captured the sublime essence of this historic constructions and their mysticism.
During the half-year period besides his almost daily work in the Mosques from the 16th century designed by Sinan, furthermore Kolehmainen was given the opportunity to work alone inside the Hagia Sophia (5th century).
In this year’s edition of ArtInternational Istanbul that will take place from September 4th to 6th, we will be able to show in premiere some of the artworks in this series and an artist portfolio created exclusively for the occasion.
Istanbul Works is a Limited Edition artist portfolio made by Finnish photographer Ola Kolehmainen. Each box contains 12+1 artworks printed in archival quality paper (and a single image different from the rest).
The portfolio box is a Fine Arts edition and high quality archive with easy to handle removable folders conveniently designed for protection (gloves are not required).
Edition 21 + 5 AP.
420 x 597 mm (each of the artworks)
Box: 425 x 600 x 55 mm
Matadero Madrid presents Cada Respiro (Every Breath), a large audiovisual video installation created by Cuban artist Glenda León, who is recognised as one of the most influential creators of her generation. Curated by Christian Dominguez, Cada Respiro seeks not only to convey the link that exists between people and the world they inhabit, but also the potential within human beings to transform the world. The five screens that make up Cada Respiro depict images as distinct and monumental as land, the sky, fire and the sea, moving in a simulation of the motion of breathing, an act repeated time and again which, in confluence with the heartbeat, indicates life. It is the bridge between the world and the body, as each time we inhale we take something of the world into us, and every exhalation returns something of us to the world. The artist uses this motion to convey not only the link that exists between people and the world they inhabit, but also the potential within human beings to make a change. She provides a dash of optimism by showing that such transformation is not as distant a possibility as it sometimes seems.
Isabel Rocamora, Faith.(2015) Digital film for installation (2 K transferred to HD), three channel and single channel. 22’. Country of production: Israel/ Palestinian Territories/ UK
Synopsis
Faith is a three screen installation which poetically considers the conflict between the dominant monotheistic religions in Jerusalem through proposing a unification in their gesture of prayer.
Referencing the three image icon on a human scale, Faith presents a Jew, a Christian and a Muslim praying in time and place synchronicity. Here, the evident juxtaposition is accompanied by an uncanny similarity of inner state and gestural intention – softening difference and questioning segregation from a human, spiritual perspective.
The wilderness of the Holy Land serves as setting for the intimacy of worship, providing both a Biblical reference from which all three religions feed, and the expansiveness of a liminal desert scape – a promise of passage. Far from proposing a ‘normalisation’ of the current political situation between the Israeli State and the Palestinian and Christian communities, this triptych aims to re- evaluate the function of separation walls in the presence of Jerusalem’s fervour of communion.
In our 13th edition of Art Brussels that will take place from 25th to 27th of April, we will be presenting the work of Vasco Araújo, James Clar, Oleg Dou, Peter Halley, Ola Kolehmainen, Glenda León, Anna Malagrida, Mathieu Pernot, Gino Rubert, Sandra Vásquez de la Horra, Massimo Vitali and Gao Xingjian.
Galeria SENDA, Booth 1A 33.
