OPTIMISM OF THE MIND

 

Daire Sanat presents Evren Erol’s fourth solo exhibition entitled Optimism of the Mind between 12 May and 23 June 2018.

 

Evren Erol considers art as a distinguished space of self-expression and critique offering unlimited freedom in inventing alternative ways of perceiving the present reality. For Erol, his sculptures are all representations of the ideas and the concepts shaping his existence as well as the subliminal changes he goes through.

 

With Optimism of the Mind, Evren Erol turns the space of Daire Sanat into a surreal house belonging to an indefinable “individual” devoid of any identity. Finding a refuge in his inner world in a house totally isolated from social life, this individual questions and tries to cope with concepts of anxiety, fear, and hope. Under the urge of protecting himself from both external factors, and dangerous conditions and thoughts provoked by reason, he struggles to survive building for himself a secure inner world and living space.

 

Unlike his previous exhibitions, Optimism of the Mind brings together not only Erol's sculptures but also his designs and installations in a constructed spatial context. The exhibition is intended to offer the audience a lived experience raising several questions about the effects of social, ideological, economic and cultural pressures on individuals and the defense mechanisms they invent in response.

 

In this house built from sculptures, designs and installations reflecting the agoraphobic personality of the individual living in it, the audience is encouraged to answer to a very specific question: “Can reason, considered by many as a pessimistic faculty of understanding and thinking, be still associated with optimism that is always hopeful of a better future?”

 

Daire Sanat is pleased to present the solo exhibition of Evren Erol entitled Optimism of the Mind consisting of the artist’s site-specific sculptures and installations. The exhibition will be on view from 12 May to 23 June 2018 at Daire Sanat in Cihangir, between 11 am and 6.30 pm from Tuesday to Saturday.

Evren Erol

 

Born in Istanbul in 1977. He graduated from Department of Serigraphy at Yıldız Technical University in 1998 and from Department of Sculpture at Marmara University Faculty of Fine Arts in 2003. In his practice, Erol focuses on basic metaphors such as change, transformation, contrast, refusal, and acceptance. In addition to his solo exhibitions “Discovering the Self” in 2012 (Artgalerim, Istanbul), “The Red Line” in 2015, and “Creations/Creatures of Reason” in 2016, he participated into many group exhibitions and symposiums. Following his exhibition at Daire Sanat, he will hold his first solo exhibition abroad entitled “The Butterfly Effect” at “Arsham/Fieg Gallery” in New York Soho between 27 September and 29 October 2018.