THE LAST DAYS FOR “BOTH EXISTING AND NON-EXISTENT” EXHIBITION

Anna Laudel Gallery is hosting the solo exhibition of contemporary artist Halil Vurucuoğlu, who has been developing painting and sculpture for many years with the technique of cutting paper and tearing off layers. The artist, with whom we met at the press preview, shared the inside of his exhibition with Sanayi313 PAPER.

The starting point of the exhibition is the 12-thousand-year-old Dipsiz (Bottomless) Lake, that was caused to dry out during the treasure excavation in Gümüşhane. By researching the impact of human factor on nature and the environment, he produces his artworks in the direction of raising awareness.

Based on how much paper he consumes, which is the raw material of his production, he carries out a new production by making pulp from wastepaper. Stating that he only transforms the papers he uses in his daily life, Vurucuoğlu combines his sculptures and paintings with natural materials such as vinegar, salt, and carbonate, using as little glue as possible. We can observe in his works that when he combines paper, which he describes as a “simple but complex material”, with the tearing technique, he can handle it in a more expressive and liberating way. After the disintegration stage where the whole disappears, it creates a new whole, a kind of reincarnation of paper. We can see that some exhibitions, which set out with environmental sensitivity, are often closer to pessimism. At this point, Vurucuoğlu’s sculptures inspired by tree mushrooms appear in the last step of the exhibition, as if representing the existence of hope for the audience – inspired by the transformative and healing effect of tree fungi.

Adorned with pastel colors and full of the impressiveness of the tearing technique, “Both Existing and Non-existing” is worth seeing. You can visit the exhibition, which is a great way for transition to the spring months, at Anna Laudel until April 22, 2022.