Mehmet Güleryüz. Forty Years of Drawing: Retrospective Drawing Exhibition 1963-2003

by Nihal Elvan, Ed.
Yap¹ Kredi Cultural Activities Arts and Publishing, Istanbul Turkey, 2003
127 pp. Paper, 20,000,000 Turkish lira
ISBN 975-08-0705-7.
Available from Yapi Kredi Kazim Taskent Sanat Gale, Istiklal Cad 285, Beyoglu, Istanbul 80050, Turkey
Website, www.ykykultur.com.tr; email, kulturmerkezi@ykykultur.com.tr.

Reviewed by Aaris Sherin
Department of Art
University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA 50614-0362 U.S.A.

aaris.sherin@uni.edu

After spending a long active day on a tour of the famous historical sites of Istanbul, Turkey, I was completely exhausted, in early 2004, when I stumbled into the Yap¹ Kredi Kâz¹m Taskent Art Gallery. There, I was delighted to find the work of Mehmet Güleryüz (b. 1938), an accomplished Turkish artist who, while all but unknown to Westerners, has developed the use of the lyrical line to its most masterful level. A selection of his works on paper is reproduced in this catalogue, which accompanied the exhibition I saw, with a text in both Turkish and English. As the title indicates, the catalogue covers four decades, beginning when the artist was 25. It includes his early drawings for the theatre, along with a sampling of works he produced in Paris, New York, and his native Istanbul. As a young man, he enrolled at the Fine Arts Academy in Istanbul, but Güleryüz soon dropped out because (by his estimation) the academic training there was far too regimented. He chose instead to join the theatre, where he acted on stage, while also working concurrently as a designer of costumes and theatre sets. The drawings he made for the theatre then were informed by the same kind of gestural verve that underlies his later work.

In almost every drawing by Güleryüz, there is evidence of a discerning and often dark humor. Whether working with a Rotring pen, fabric paint, or colored ecoline, no subject escapes from the critical net of his judgment and interpretation. The human figure, which is almost his exclusive subject, is processed and then freshly recast as both a reflection and an exaggeration of an inner persona. The resulting drawings are characterized by such presence and intensity that one cannot resist being captivated by them.

In addition to a folio of drawings, this printed catalogue includes photographs of Mehmet Güleryüz, his studio, and his artist's materials. Central to several of these are boxes of drawings and stacks of sketchbooks that provide some indication of just how prolific this artist has been over the past four decades. His sketchbooks are sumptuous, made of leather, and thick with well-used pages. While the exhibition included sample sketchbooks in glass vitrines, as well as a video of sketchbook pages being turned, readers of the catalogue will have to be content with the photographs of them and the comparatively small number of works in the folio. In the end, given Güleryüz’s rate of production, the combined experiences of the exhibition and the catalogue can be but a partial reminder of the total life work of this interesting man.

Güleryüz’s drawings come alive when framed and installed in a gallery space. His work is far more powerful when viewed in person, in part because its gestural lines (both pen and brush) become more observable. However, this catalogue is a reasonably good alternative for those who may be unable to travel to Istanbul. The artwork of Mehmet Güleryüz has been exhibited in Paris, Warsaw, New York and Brussels. He currently lives and works in Istanbul.

(Reprinted by permission from Ballast Quarterly Review.)