'The Line of Life' positions the works of Turkish artist Gulay Semercioğlu as a firm implementer of an expanded definition of drawing. Semercioğlu has created a unique language of colourful lines, which she continually explores by using non-Art materials: wire, wood and screws. The artist laboriously assembles these wires together and creates a myriad of lines that are sensitive to the changes in light. Her approach is akin to art from the Minimalist movement whose artists were interested in creating art objects that did not have the representational function of traditional art, but were are abstract, anonymous in appearance, and have a strong material presence.

Semercioğlu’s use of wires occurred due to an encounter several years ago whilst she walked through Istanbul’s Persembe Bazaar and came across an area of hardware stores that sold an extensive variety of colorful wires. Semercioglu began to look at the patterns formed by these wires and felt they presented a vibrant and textured surface. This encounter instantly inspired her to use them for her art and her canvases are an assemblage of wires screwed onto a black background. These large works are woven to create a beautifully detailed surface that responds to changes in light. They reflect and refract due to the amount of light that hits the surface, changing the work’s appearance at different times of day and also across varying architectural settings, as they never look the same.

Semercioğluʼs use of colour also draws comparison to colour field paintings and although the works arenʼt made painted surfaces as the use of wires emphasise the materiality of surface and the unifying effect this colourful textured surface produces. Although Semercioglu has always painted abstractly and minimally, she wanted to use material that was more realistic, something you could touch and feel which she presents eloquently in this series of new works for her first exhibition in the UAE, 'The Line of Life'.

Opening reception: 28 May 2012, 7 - 9pm

Artist Biography

Born in Istanbul in 1968, Gulay Semercioğlu studied BA Painting and MA in Social Sciences at Mimar Sinan University. Gulay has run independent art spaces and taught extensively in her native Turkey. She has had six solo exhibitions in Istanbul and has participated in group exhibitions in international cities like Abu Dhabi, Berlin, Dubai, Hong Kong, New York, Zurich to name a few. Semercioğlu has participated in international art fairs: Scope Basel, Art Dubai, Art Asia Miami, Art Hong Kong and Contemporary Istanbul. The artist is the recipient of Dr. Nejat Eczacıbaşı Art Museum Award at the Contemporary Artists 15th Istanbul Exhibition, the Turkey Jockey Club Painting Competition, Achievement Award and won first prize at Siemens Art Awards.