This is “why Turkiye”

Muted light, shifting moods, and a city overflowing with art on every corner

November unfolded with that quiet brightness Istanbul gets at the edge of winter—grey skies glowing softly, early evenings settling over the water, and a sense that the city was holding more inside its walls than usual. While the Biennial continued through the month, November belonged just as much to the larger Istanbul Culture Route Festival: film, photography, public installations, historical buildings lit with digital projections, and exhibitions tucked into unexpected spaces across the city. It was a month when I found myself moving constantly—crossing from Beyoğlu to Fatih, from cisterns to restored galleries, from global icons to intimate, quiet shows. It felt good to be pulled along by the city’s momentum.

Steve McCurry: “The Haunted Eye” – Tophane-i Amire

September 20 – December 2025

This was one of the highlights of the entire season. Inside the stone halls of Tophane-i Amire, McCurry’s photographs glowed with a kind of inner fire—portraits, landscapes, and moments that felt suspended between beauty and devastation. “Afghan Girl” was there, of course, but it was the 160 newer works that stayed with me: quieter stories, unexpected angles, images where color and expression held entire histories in a single frame. The architecture amplified everything—the high arches, the cool air, the way sound dissolved into the space. I walked slowly, letting each photograph expand, contract, and shift as I moved.

Address: Kılıç Ali Paşa Mah., Tophane-i Amire Kültür ve Sanat Merkezi, Beyoğlu, Istanbul

Photography Exhibition (Adjacent to McCurry) – Tophane-i Amire Complex

Autumn 2025

Next to the McCurry show was another photography exhibition—quieter, smaller, but equally captivating. The works leaned into experimental approaches: layered images, altered prints, and photographs that treated memory as something fluid rather than fixed. Some pieces felt almost like visual notes, fragments of places or moments held together by mood rather than narrative. It was the perfect counterbalance to McCurry—an intimate room where the world felt softer, more ambiguous, less certain.

Address: Kılıç Ali Paşa Mah., Tophane-i Amire Kültür ve Sanat Merkezi, Beyoğlu, Istanbul

Gaza Biennale Pavilion: “A Cloud in My Hand” – DEPO

September 19 – November 8, 2025

DEPO’s contribution to the season carried a different kind of weight. “A Cloud in My Hand” was created in collaboration with artists working under siege, and the works spoke from that reality—tele-interviews, ghostwritten narratives, shared production across distance and danger. Nothing felt decorative or softened; each piece held a directness that made the space feel both fragile and fiercely alive. It wasn’t an exhibition that asked for analysis. It simply asked you to stay present, to listen, to acknowledge. In the middle of so many festivals and events, this pavilion acted like the city’s point of conscience. I left quietly, and I am still thinking about it.

Address: Lüleci Hendek Cd. No:12, Tophane, Beyoğlu

Vidar Baki: “While No One Was Watching” – C.A.M. Gallery

September 20 – October 31, 2025

Although this exhibition closed at the end of October, I saw it during the transition into November, and it stayed with me. Vidar Baki’s paintings of children playing in derelict urban spaces carried a kind of haunting tenderness. The scenes were worn-down, abandoned, but not empty—full of movement, mischief, and resilience. The children in his canvases seemed to hold both vulnerability and defiance, claiming ruined spaces with a kind of quiet authority. The palette—dusty, muted, occasionally broken by sharp light—gave everything a cinematic stillness.

Address: Çukurcuma Caddesi No:38/A, Beyoğlu, Istanbul

Lucia Tallová: “Unstable Monuments” – Zilberman Istanbul

September 20 – November 19, 2025

This show felt like stepping into a cabinet of layered memories. Lucia Tallová works with collage, photography, and found objects, arranging them in ways that feel both architectural and emotional—structures built out of fragments. In the rooms of Mısır Apartmanı, her compositions unfolded like small monochrome worlds, balancing delicacy and tension. Some pieces looked like altars, others like collapsing landscapes, and all of them held a sense of instability that felt strangely familiar. I lingered longer than I expected, pulled into the tiny details hidden in corners and shadows.

Address: İstiklal Caddesi No:163, Mısır Apartmanı, Kat 3, Daire 10, Beyoğlu, Istanbul

18th Istanbul Biennial – Continuing Venues

September 20 – November 23, 2025

Though October was my deep dive into Zihni Han and the major Biennial stops, the exhibition continued through November across its remaining Beyoğlu–Karaköy venues. For anyone who hadn’t yet explored them, this month offered a final chance. Smaller spaces held video works, installations focused on preservation and precarity, and archival gestures that echoed the Biennial’s themes of endurance and future possibilities. Even when seen in fragments, the project maintained its atmospheric, slow-burning tone.

Address: Various venues across Beyoğlu and Karaköy

Cooler days, long shadows, and the city opening itself room by room

October arrived with that unmistakable shift in Istanbul’s air—the heat loosens its grip, the light softens, and suddenly the city feels ready for art again. This month belonged to the 18th Istanbul Biennial, the first phase of a three-year project shaped around the image of a three-legged cat: moving differently, balancing unevenly, but still moving forward. I spent the month following this rhythm through Beyoğlu and Karaköy, visiting the Biennial’s main venues, each carrying its own atmosphere, its own questions, its own pace.

18th Istanbul Biennial: “The Three-Legged Cat” – Zihni Han

September 20 – November 23, 2025

Zihni Han became my starting point—not just because it holds such a large portion of the Biennial, but because the building itself seems to echo the exhibition’s themes. Spread over multiple floors, it felt like moving through chapters rather than rooms. At the top, the city opened up in every direction, framing sculptural forms that at first looked playful—oversized toys, strangely disarming—until their undercurrents of hierarchy and competition began to surface. On the floors below, quieter works drew me in: notebook drawings that held the weight of daily life under pressure, delicate objects hinting at ecological transformation, soft plastic sheets hanging like thresholds that asked who gets included and who remains outside. Further down, a film about a Paris nightclub wove communities and memories together, and a series of paintings lingered on resistance, ruin, and survival. By the time I reached the ground floor, everything felt condensed again—colorful, textile, comforting, a small space to breathe before stepping back into the city.

Address: Müeyyetzade Mah., Tophane İskele Cd. No:12, Beyoğlu, Istanbul

18th Istanbul Biennial – The Greek School (Kırmızı Mektep / The Red School)

September 20 – November 23, 2025

The Greek School in Fener is one of those buildings that already carries centuries of presence, and walking into it as part of the Biennial added a strange sense of layering—past, present, and future possibilities all pressed together. The works here leaned toward storytelling: pieces that followed personal histories, fragments of collective memory, and the emotional residue of places that have changed or disappeared. The vaulted ceilings and deep red brick made everything feel a little more resonant, a little slower. Some installations explored belonging and displacement; others centered on endurance, preservation, and what it means to carry one’s past forward. As I moved from one floor to the next, I kept noticing how the building shaped the viewing experience—echoes, stair landings, corners of rooms where objects seemed to settle naturally. It was one of the most atmospheric stops of the month.

Address: Fener Rum Erkek Lisesi, Vodina Cd. No: 6, Fener, Fatih

18th Istanbul Biennial – Anadolu Han

September 20 – November 23, 2025

Anadolu Han offered a quieter mood—more contained, almost introspective. The works here circled themes of self-preservation and vulnerability, two of the Biennial’s central ideas. Objects made from fragile materials sat beside heavier, more grounded pieces; videos unfolded slowly in dim corners; and soundscape works created gentle pockets of stillness. I found myself slowing down unconsciously, letting each installation reveal itself at its own pace. Some works spoke to solitude, others to endurance, and others to the act of holding on to one’s identity in times of upheaval. It felt like the Biennial’s softest, most intimate venue.

Address: Bankalar Cd. No: 2, Karaköy, Beyoğlu

18th Istanbul Biennial – Tütün Deposu / Tobacco Warehouse

September 20 – November 23, 2025

This space carried the Biennial’s more conceptual edge—works that leaned into structural questions, social tensions, and the fragility of the systems we rely on. Some pieces pushed directly into political territory; others used abstraction or found materials to gesture at broader anxieties of the present moment. The building itself, with its rough brick and narrow corridors, held these tensions beautifully. I lingered over a few installations that used repetition and rhythm, as though they were trying to carve order out of instability. It was the venue that felt most like a conversation—sometimes uncomfortable, sometimes surprising, always in motion.

Address: Lüleci Hendek Cd. No:12, Tophane, Beyoğlu

18th Istanbul Biennial – Additional Venues Along the Route

September 20 – November 23, 2025

The Biennial’s remaining stops along the Beyoğlu-Karaköy path—smaller hans, restored workshop floors, and transitional spaces—each contributed a brief but meaningful moment. Some held single-channel videos looping quietly; others focused on archival gestures, small objects, or installations exploring the precariousness of present-day life. Moving between them gave shape to the Biennial’s overall tone: a mixture of resilience, tenderness, and the uneven rhythm reflected in the three-legged cat that inspired this edition.

Address: Various venues across Beyoğlu and Karaköy

September 1–30, 2025

Warm days, cooler nights, and the slow return of Istanbul’s autumn art season

Early September moved quietly this year. The city was still exhaling the last of summer—slow ferries, softer evenings, and a kind of looseness in the streets that always seems to happen before the art season begins again. By mid-month, though, everything shifted. Galleries reopened their doors, familiar banners went up across Beyoğlu, and that subtle current of anticipation returned. The second half of the month unfolded in full color, with some of the first major exhibitions of the season and the 20th anniversary of Contemporary Istanbul anchoring the week.

Contemporary Istanbul 2025 – 20th Anniversary Edition

September 24 – September 28, 2025

Contemporary Istanbul returned to Tersane for its 20th year, and the fair felt both celebratory and steady—full of that familiar hum of people moving at different speeds, wandering from one hall to the next. The Focus America section brought a sharp energy into the mix, introducing New York’s visual rhythm into Istanbul’s already rich conversations. I walked through the fair slowly, letting the contrasts settle: bold lines, crowded walls, quiet pieces tucked into corners, and the open waterfront just beyond the buildings. It felt expansive without being overwhelming, and I left thinking about how much the fair has evolved—and how naturally it now fits into the city’s autumn pulse.

Address: Tersane Istanbul, Beyoğlu, Istanbul

Elif Uras: “Earth on Their Hands” – Galerist

September 16 – November 8, 2025

Galerist opened the fall season with Elif Uras’s ceramics, and the show unfolded with a kind of elegant confidence. Her sculptural forms blend İznik-inspired surfaces with contemporary shapes that feel grounded, bodily, and expressive. In the gallery’s soft light, the glaze and patterning wrapped around each curve like thoughts circling a memory—historical, but also very present. I found myself walking around the pieces more than once, noticing how they shifted when seen from different angles. It was a quiet but deeply satisfying exhibition to begin the season with.

Address: Meşrutiyet Caddesi No:67/1, Passage Petits-Champs, Tepebaşı, Beyoğlu

Juliette Minchin: “Where the River Burns” – Zeyrek Çinili Hamam

September 19, 2025 – January 18, 2026

Visiting this exhibition inside the Byzantine cistern beneath Zeyrek Çinili Hamam felt like stepping into another layer of time. Juliette Minchin’s wax, tin, and paper works glowed softly in the cool, vaulted space, their textures merging with brick and shadow. Her themes—ritual, purification, care—took on a fuller intensity underground, where everything echoed gently and the stillness felt almost ceremonial. It was the kind of exhibition that asks you to slow down, breathe differently, and let the atmosphere settle into you.

Address: İtfaiye Caddesi No:44, Zeyrek, Fatih

Sea Breezes, gallery walls, and the Pulse of Istanbul

It was a hot, sunny week, But, as usual, the breeze off the Bosphorus cooled things down, and the light had that golden, flickering quality that makes everything feel cinematic. I followed that light—from exhibitions to busy docks, to a ferry ride to Büyükada.

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Crossroads 8 – ArtOn Piyalepaşa

July 5 – July 19, 2025

This week I visited Crossroads 8, a group exhibition at ArtOn Piyalepaşa that brings together a wide range of emerging voices from the Turkish contemporary art scene. I didn’t know exactly what to expect, but I was immediately struck by the diversity of styles and mediums. Painting, sculpture, and mixed media all shared the space, each artist contributing a different perspective — not just in terms of subject, but in approach and material.

The gallery’s bright, open layout allowed the works to breathe, and I appreciated how the exhibition let you move at your own pace. There was no single narrative, but rather a collection of personal expressions that sometimes echoed each other, sometimes contrasted — just as you’d expect from an exhibition called Crossroads. I spent extra time circling back to certain corners, just to let things settle a bit more in my mind.

It was refreshing to see so many young or independent artists together.  The exhibition felt honest and alive, and 

   I left thinking how important it is that places like Art On continue to support  

this kind of work — fresh, full of energy, experimentation, and depth.

If you’re curious about what’s emerging right now in Istanbul’s contemporary art scene — and you enjoy seeing a range of media together in one show — this is worth a visit before it closes on July 19.

Piyalepaşa Boulevard No:24, Beyoğlu, Istanbul

Visiting hours: Tuesday–Saturday, 10:30 AM – 6:30 PM

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“Kölemen 7” – Group Exhibition at Galeri Bosfor

July 9 – August 23, 2025

Galeri Bosfor’s new space in Karaköy has an almost architectural quiet to it—clean, tall, minimal. When I visited Kölemen 7, curated by Gökşen Buğra, that quiet became the perfect frame for a show that feels dense with thought and layered with contrasts. The exhibition brings together a wide range of voices—Ahmet Çerkez, Barış Göktürk, Betül Kotil, Burcu Erden, Eda Soylu, Erman Özbaşaran, Funda Susamoğlu, Ilgın Seymen, Işıl Kapu, Mithat Şen, Olgu Ülkenciler, and Yasha Butler—each circling around themes that don’t resolve easily.

The title Kölemen 7 suggests a continuation, a series, maybe even a family of exhibitions. But this one stands confidently on its own. The works span materials and moods—from sculptural to conceptual, delicate to defiant. I found myself drawn to a quiet tension running through the room: pieces that questioned identity, visibility, presence. Not everything revealed itself right away—and that was part of the pleasure.

It’s a show that rewards lingering, and the curation gives you space to wander and pause. Some works tugged at political threads, others seemed almost mythological, but all carried that sharp, searching energy I’ve come to associate with the best of Istanbul’s contemporary scene.

Galeri Bosfor is located at Hacımimi Mahallesi, Lüleci Hendek Caddesi No:14, Karaköy, Istanbul.

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 Büyükada Midweek Escape

I took a midweek ferry to Büyükada and felt the city slip away behind me. On the island, the roads were nearly empty. I rented a bike, then walked it most of the time, stopping at old stone fountains and shaded gardens. I ended up at the Monastery of St. George after a very steep climb and was rewarded with a panoramic view of sea and silence. Just me and the sound of cicadas.

Address: Büyükada, Adalar

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Layers of Light and Culture on Both Sides of the Bosphorus

July opened with hazy skies and the soft shimmer of summer light over the water. I moved through the city like a slow current—crossing between continents, ducking into galleries, and letting the music and color of the week shape my days.

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 “To Become A Tree” – Farhad Abdi at Artopol 

July 3 – 16, 2025

I made the trip out to Maslak on one of those overcast summer mornings when the sky hangs low and your thoughts feel closer to the surface. It turned out to be the perfect weather for Farhad Abdi’s exhibition To Become A Tree at Artopol. The show, presented in collaboration with O4 Gallery and curated by Zahra Habbzad, wasn’t loud or crowded—it was something else entirely. Quiet. Steady. Rooted.

Abdi’s work has a stillness to it that feels deliberate. Each piece, drawn with bold black lines and softened by muted earth tones, seemed to carry weight—like it had grown slowly, season by season. Some forms felt unmistakably human, but not in a literal way. They suggested presence, breath, and vulnerability. The lines reminded me of veins or branches, blurring the boundary between body and tree, between the self and the world.

What I appreciated most was how the space didn’t try to explain too much. There were no flashy gestures. Just an invitation to slow down, to be still and listen. For me, the experience wasn’t just visual—it was emotional. I thought about resilience, about the quiet strength of standing through all kinds of weather. I left the gallery feeling both grounded and strangely moved.

Artopol Art Gallery is located at Eski Büyükdere Cad. No:7, Maslak, Sarıyer, Istanbul.

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 “Ghost of Presence” – Rosalie Aleksandra Anter at Ambidexter

June 26 – July 13, 2025

Tucked away in one of Beyoğlu’s quieter corners, Ambidexter hosted a show this summer that felt more like a whispered conversation than an exhibition. Ghost of Presence by Rosalie Aleksandra Anter was delicate in tone but emotionally dense—like walking through someone’s inner life, where memories are embedded in objects and silence holds weight.

The pastel tones and fluid lines of Anter’s works gave them a soft glow, almost translucent. But beneath the gentleness was something more solid: a deep reflection on presence, memory, and the invisible traces we leave behind. I kept circling back to one piece in particular—La Tigresse’s Armchair. It wasn’t just a chair; it held stories. I thought of the women in my own family and how objects, without words, become keepers of emotion and strength.

The gallery space itself allowed for slow pacing, and I found myself sinking into the quiet mood of the show. The works weren’t loud or trying to impress. They simply invited me to feel—to remember, to connect, to listen. If you’ve ever sensed that certain belongings hold echoes of their owners, this exhibition speaks your language.

Ambidexter is located at Kumbaracı Yokuşu No:66, Beyoğlu, Istanbul.

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 Evening Walk Through Kuzguncuk

I stayed closer to home one evening and wandered through Kuzguncuk as the sun dipped behind the hills. This neighborhood never feels like a performance—just locals living their lives, vines spilling from balconies, and cats sleeping under benches. I passed the famous Kuzguncuk Garden and stopped for a glass of cold lemonade near the Greek Orthodox church. There’s something grounding about ending the day where everything moves slow.

Address: Kuzguncuk Neighborhood, Üsküdar

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The week reminded me why I love July in Istanbul: late light, long nights, and layers upon layers of culture. Wherever I turned, something was happening—quietly or loudly, subtly or boldly—but always with a kind of grace that only this city seems to carry.

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Art at the Edge and the Calm of Islands

The last stretch of June came in hot and bright. I found relief in shaded galleries and breezy ferry decks. This week, I saw art that explored the edge of silence, wandered on Heybeliada beneath pine trees, and finished the month with a quiet sense of fullness. Istanbul in summer has a way of slowing you down—just enough to notice more.

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 “Summer Garden” at .artSümer

June 26 – August 23, 2025

On a hot July afternoon, I stepped into the cool interior of .artSümer, curious about their latest group exhibition, Summer Garden. The name alone sounded like a relief—somewhere between memory and escape. But this wasn’t just a celebration of sun-drenched afternoons or blooming petals. The show brought together works by Onur Gülfidan, Gözde İlkin, CANAN, Banu Birecikligil, Eymen Aktel, Cansu Çakar, Merve Çanakçı, and Serkan Demir—each artist offering their own interpretation of what a garden can hold.

What I loved most was how the exhibition pushed beyond the surface beauty of summer. There were soft colors and intricate forms, yes, but also a quiet tension. One piece whispered about paradise, while another hinted at the cost of preserving it. The gallery’s layout let these contrasts unfold gently, with each corner holding something unexpected. I found myself thinking about how we carry personal gardens inside us—some joyful, some overgrown with things we try not to name.

I can’t say I understood every work fully (and I admit, some of the text panels were a little dense for my Turkish), but I left feeling like the show had managed to hold a mirror up to the season itself. Not just the picnic version of summer—but the uncertain, changing one we’re all living through. If you’re in Istanbul and looking for something thought-provoking but not overwhelming, Summer Garden is worth the detour.

.artSümer is located at İstiklal Caddesi Mısır Apartmanı No:163/4, Beyoğlu, Istanbul.

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 “Where You Are Understood” – Group Exhibition at Anna Laudel Istanbul

June 1 – August 31, 2025

The first-floor galleries at Anna Laudel Istanbul are currently home to Where You Are Understood, a group exhibition that radiates with color, symbolism, and quiet transformation. Centered on the theme of blooming, the show brings together works by Ramazan Can, Ertuğrul Güngör & Faruk Ertekin, Bilal Hakan Karakaya, Ekin Su Koç, Ardan Özmenoğlu, Özlem Yenigül, and Hanefi Yeter. Each piece explores the layered, often invisible processes through which people and objects evolve—and how beauty often emerges from tension.

The image of the flower, used here as a metaphor for hope, change, and aesthetic potential, recurs throughout the exhibition—but never in the same form. Some works are vibrantly direct: Ekin Su Koç’s paintings of mythic feminine figures almost explode with color and confidence, while Ardan Özmenoğlu’s textured surfaces draw you in with their optical rhythm and saturated hues. Other works, like the elegant sculptures and ceramics by Hanefi Yeter or the totem-like forms of Ramazan Can, suggest quieter kinds of blooming—personal, cultural, spiritual.

The variety of mediums—painting, sculpture, digital work, ceramics—adds a dynamic tempo to the exhibition. Still, there’s a unifying sense of balance: each artist brings their own interpretation of what it means to grow, to change, and to be seen.

As I moved through the space, I kept thinking about the exhibition title. There’s a vulnerability in the idea of wanting to be understood—and a deep beauty in artworks that take that desire seriously. Where You Are Understood doesn’t offer easy answers, but it creates a space where visual language speaks with tenderness and conviction.

Anna Laudel Istanbul is located at Boğazkesen Caddesi No: 10, Tophane, Beyoğlu, Istanbul.

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 Balat Courtyard Concert: Indie Strings

June 28, 2025

A tucked-away event in a Balat courtyard lit with string lights and framed by crumbling brick walls. A trio of local musicians blended indie folk and Anatolian melodies on violin, guitar, and percussion. The acoustics were perfect. I sat on a cushion with a glass of mulberry sherbet, listening as dusk settled. One of those nights where nothing flashy happens—just beauty unfolding slowly.

Address: Private courtyard near Vodina Cd., Balat, Fatih

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 Heybeliada Summer Stroll

One weekday morning, I took the ferry to Heybeliada. Less crowded than Büyükada, and somehow more peaceful. I walked up through the pine-scented roads to the old monastery and sat with a sandwich near the Naval High School, watching sea traffic from a quiet bench. On the way back, I bought candied almonds from an old man with a basket. No agenda. Just summer.

Address: Heybeliada, Adalar

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 Cuma – Brunch in Çukurcuma

I finally made it to Cuma after hearing about it for years. Their shaded back garden is a dream—overgrown vines, terracotta pots, and mismatched wooden tables. I had a cold lentil salad with herbed yogurt and a pomegranate spritz. Not cheap, but lovely. The whole place feels like it was built for late June afternoons.

Address: Cuma, Firuzağa Mah. Çukur Cuma Cd. No:53/A, Cihangir

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So ends June—with shadow and sun, ferries and frescoes, cold drinks and quiet art. July waits, and I’m already wondering what it will bring.

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Summer Stillness and Art in the Margins

By mid-June, the city starts to exhale in heatwaves. Istanbul’s pace feels slightly suspended—buses a bit emptier, ferries slower, people sitting longer at cafés. But that just made this week’s discoveries feel more precious. I followed side streets, found art where I didn’t expect it, and ended most days with cold tea or sea air.

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 “A Day’s Story, A Lifetime’s Truth” – Bayram Demir & İlker Kayalı at Galeri 77

May 22 – June 28, 2025

Some exhibitions speak in whispers—and A Day’s Story, A Lifetime’s Truth at Galeri 77 was one of those shows that stayed with me long after I left. This joint exhibition by Bayram Demir and İlker Kayalı was quiet, introspective, and surprisingly moving. The works don’t shout for attention; they unfold slowly, each one offering a window into something deeply felt but not easily explained.

Demir’s canvases are dense with symbols—layers of memory and mythology, tangled like old stories told in low voices. There’s something ancient and yet strangely current in the way he paints. Kayalı’s works, in contrast, feel like interior landscapes. His muted palettes and sparse compositions let silence do the talking. You don’t just look at the works—you listen to them, almost unconsciously.

Together, the two artists created a mood that was both meditative and emotionally charged. I found myself walking more slowly, not wanting to miss anything small. This wasn’t a show about grand declarations—it was about the tiny, persistent truths that live in us across time.

Galeri 77 is located at Kemankeş Karamustafa Paşa Mahallesi, Havyar Han Sokak No:21, Karaköy, Istanbul.

Address: Krank Art Gallery, Boğazkesen Cd. No:33/A, Tomtom, Beyoğlu

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 “Summer Edition IV” at EArt

June 17 – August 31, 2025

Visiting EArt in Kağıthane isn’t something I do on impulse—it’s not exactly on my usual path—but Summer Edition IV was worth the effort. The gallery’s latest group show explores the use of negative space in contemporary three-dimensional practices, and I was immediately struck by how open and breathable the whole exhibition felt. Not empty—just spacious in a way that made me more aware of how I moved through it.

The works by A. Elif Aydoğmuş, Bahadır Yıldız, Defne Parman, Ebru Zarakolu, Ezgi Bahadır, Gizem Ünlü, Hazer Çoşgun Kırkpınar, Maze Sürer, Pınar Yılmaz, and Songül Girgin each had their own language, yet something about the curation created a quiet dialogue between them. There were light materials and heavy ones, polished surfaces and raw textures, but all seemed to be in conversation with the “in-between”—the voids, the edges, the invisible architecture of space.

I didn’t try to read too much into individual pieces. Instead, I just walked, paused, and let the balance of presence and absence do its work. It reminded me how three-dimensional art isn’t just about form—it’s about where the form isn’t. If you’re in the mood for something that doesn’t scream for attention but stays with you long after, this show has that kind of staying power.

EArt is located at Çağlayan Mahallesi, Naci Kasım Sokak No:3, Kağıthane, Istanbul.

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 Sunset from Salacak

One of my favorite walks is along the Üsküdar coast at Salacak. This week I went just before sundown and joined the small crowd gathered by the sea wall. Everyone was quiet, waiting. The sun dropped behind the domes of the Old City and lit up the Marmara like fire. Some people clapped. It was beautiful and completely unremarkable at the same time—a moment shared by strangers who didn’t need to say a word.

Address: Salacak Sahil Yolu, Üsküdar

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There’s something about Istanbul in the heat—slower but not sleepy, quieter but not silent. This week reminded me that art doesn’t have to shout to move you, and a good sunset can still feel like a revelation.

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Sculpted Silence and Rooftop Light

Mid-June brings long evenings and a kind of golden laziness to Istanbul. This week felt expansive—more space in the streets, in the sky, and in my mind. I monsters and marks, sat under bougainvillea with iced coffee, and wandered into a museum garden that felt like another country.

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 “Graceful Elegant Beasts, Zilberman Gallery

May 22 – July 26, 2025

I knew, even before stepping inside, that this exhibition would require a different kind of attention — not just sight or understanding, but the kind of patience reserved for things that whisper rather than shout. Larry Muñoz’s Graceful Elegant Beasts at Zilberman is an essay made of objects, a meditation on the tension between what we discard and what we remember. Or maybe more accurately, it’s about the ethics of what we choose to frame — what becomes exhibit, and what remains ghost.

His title is a layered provocation: “graceful,” “elegant,” and “beasts” — three strata of experience or judgment, shifting between cosmological, aesthetic, and personal. Muñoz doesn’t resolve these tensions. He holds them, lets them scrape against each other softly.

What struck me first was how little he altered his materials. Pieces of bark, worn metal, stray feathers, bits of plastic, empty glass vessels — their wear is not aestheticized, just left as it is. But this isn’t found-object romanticism. The gallery does not feel like a junkyard, nor a relic hall. It feels like a language suspended mid-sentence — the pause before something takes shape. The objects are not neutral, but they are unresolved. Their histories seem intact, even in fragments.

This resonates strongly with Kojève’s idea of the post-historical — the moment after narrative, when all ideologies have collapsed into a kind of weightless formality. These objects are not part of any modernist march toward meaning. They hover just past the frame of history, whispering in a vocabulary made of scratches, shadows, and flickers of light.

Some works are lit from behind, casting translucent forms — shadows of what could be a bird, a bulb, or something more internal. Others are installations where tiny mechanisms — wires, glass domes, curled fragments of wood — appear not animated but once animated, caught in a time delay. And then there is the recurring hand, seen in video: tenderly touching a taxidermied bird, setting down a rock, lifting nothing. These gestures feel ritualistic, not symbolic. They do not ask us to interpret — only to witness.

Muñoz’s refusal to offer a clear narrative is not coyness; it’s rigor. These are “beasts” not because they are wild or ugly, but because they resist smooth inclusion into systems of value. They are too graceful, too elegant, too marked by damage.

This is not an exhibition I would summarize or recommend casually. It’s one I will remember with a kind of reverent unease. Because something here, I think, understood me — even if I don’t quite understand it back.

Address: Zilberman Gallery, Mısır Apartmanı, İstiklal Caddesi No:163, Beyoğlu, İstanbul

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 “Thus” – Sara Baruh at Bozlu Art Project Mongeri Building

May 30 – July 26, 2025

I hadn’t planned to stop by Bozlu Art Project that day, but when I found myself near Nişantaşı with a free hour, I decided to visit the Mongeri Building and see what was on. I’m so glad I did. Sara Baruh’s exhibition Thus felt like a quiet world tucked inside the heat and motion of the city.

The show opens slowly—at least that’s how it felt to me. Her recent works are scattered through the space in what seems like an instinctive arrangement, inviting you to pause, look, and then look again. What struck me most was her use of indoor plants—not as decorative elements, but as actors in the installation. Set against careful lighting, they shifted the mood from gallery to greenhouse to dream sequence.

Baruh’s dot-and-line compositions, whether on canvas or paper, had a rhythm to them. I lingered over one piece that seemed like a topographical map of thought—just stains and marks, really, but it pulled me in. There’s no narrative in these works, no easy meaning. But there is a sense of movement, like meditation given form. I stood in front of one drawing and realized I was holding my breath, which tells you something about the atmosphere she creates.

Bozlu Art Project has always been one of those places I associate with quiet discovery, and Thus was no exception. If you’re drawn to slow, sensory experiences—or if you just want a moment to re-center—this is a show to catch before it closes.

Bozlu Art Project Mongeri Building is located at Teşvikiye Cad. No:45, Nişantaşı, Şişli, Istanbul.

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 Museum Garden Escape – Sadberk Hanım Museum

A bit farther afield, but I finally visited the Sadberk Hanım Museum in Sarıyer. The building alone is worth the trip—a white wooden yalı right on the Bosphorus. Inside: Ottoman textiles, ceramics, ancient jewelry, and a calm that’s hard to find in the city. I brought a sandwich and sat in the back garden afterward, watching boats pass. It felt like the kind of Istanbul afternoon that’s too delicate to name.

Address: Büyükdere Cd. No:235, Sarıyer

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This week felt slow in the best way. Art that whispered, music that shimmered, and quiet corners where time stretched out just enough. June in Istanbul teaches you how to pause without stopping.

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Rhythms of Summer and Shades of Ink

With June’s arrival, Istanbul eases into its summer rhythm. The light sharpens, the city’s tempo quickens, and the sidewalks seem to shimmer by midday. I found cool spaces to hide in—galleries, courtyards filled with breeze, and an island walk that felt like a brief escape. This week reminded me to stay curious and hydrated.

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 “Samih Rifat: Much Work to Be Done” at Pera Museum

March 20 – August 17, 2025

Some exhibitions feel like portraits; others feel like entire biographies unfolding across the walls. Much Work to Be Done at Pera Museum is very much the latter—a thoughtful, interdisciplinary tribute to Samih Rifat, the prolific cultural figure whose influence shaped poetry, photography, translation, and more. It’s also part of Pera Museum’s 20th anniversary, and it feels like a fitting way to mark that milestone: looking both inward and outward, backward and forward.

The exhibition unfolds like a conversation with Rifat’s mind. Notebooks, manuscripts, letters, and translations share space with photographs he took—quiet, observational images that feel poetic in their own right. Some of the material is deeply personal, some highly intellectual, but what connects it all is a restless curiosity. Rifat wasn’t just a writer or a thinker—he was a hezârfen, a master of many crafts.

I was especially drawn to the way the exhibition embraced his contradictions: rigorous yet playful, grounded in language yet visual in expression. There’s music too—another dimension of his legacy that you feel rather than analyze. It all made me think about the shape of a life that overflows categories.

This isn’t a flashy show, and you won’t breeze through it in ten minutes. But if you take your time, you leave with more than just knowledge—you leave with a feeling of having been in the presence of someone who really lived in ideas.

Pera Museum is located at Meşrutiyet Caddesi No:65, Tepebaşı, Beyoğlu, Istanbul.

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 Open Air DJ Night – Hope Alkazar Roof

June 1, 2025

No lyrics, just sound. I wandered up to the rooftop of Hope Alkazar after seeing a poster for a free set by an experimental ambient DJ. The view of the rooftops at sunset was the real headliner. People danced in loose circles, drank lemonade, and watched seagulls loop above the Golden Horn. It felt low-key and friendly—my kind of crowd.

Address: Hope Alkazar, Beyoğlu

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 Island Afternoon – Burgazada

I caught an early ferry to Burgazada, one of the smaller Princes’ Islands. No agenda, just walking. I wandered past wooden villas and blooming bougainvillea, then followed a dirt path to Kalpazankaya for a quiet tea with a sea view. I even dipped my feet into the cold water from a shady cove. Sometimes getting out of the city doesn’t mean going far—it just means crossing water.

Address: Burgazada, Adalar

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June is just beginning, but already it feels like a season of sensation—cool ink, hot sidewalks, bitter tea, and soft sounds drifting through warm air. Istanbul in summer is both balm and spark.

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