Ahmet Civelek’s exhibition ‘Man Amongst Men’ opened at OG Gallery

Ahmet Civelek opened his solo exhibition in Istanbul after a five-year hiatus. In this exhibition ‘Man Amongst Men’, he is showcasing his body as material. As an American-Turkish artist, Civelek is redefining himself as a wrestler. He is adding a new series to the male portraits in contemporary art history, referencing those portraits with poses and gestures that reveal his fragility, emotions, and feelings of being caught in between. In this exhibition, viewers encounter a wrestler who is not a reality-defying, muscle-bound figure created with meticulous detail, but rather one that avoids grotesque exaggerations. The sashes hanging around are severed from their victories in the arena, standing inside a white cube as the bodies that Civelek has defeated.

Founder of OG Gallery,  Senem Özgören’s interview with Sidni Karavil about Ahmet Civelek's new exhibition at OG Gallery, in Turkish on Paper 313 can be accessed here.