Serkan Özkaya
A Sudden Gust of Wind
"goat room"
A site-specific installation commissioned for Proof on Main, Istanbul-based artist,
Serkan Özkaya's A Sudden Gust of Wind comprises of over 200 sheets
of metal that emulate a stack of 8.5" x 11" papers frozen in motion throughout
the dining room. Similar to Özkaya’s sculptural installation
Bakers Apprentice (exhibited in Proof in 2009) A Sudden Gust of Wind
alludes to the beauty found in the moments or seconds in between control and chaos
— a frozen moment of explosion without the destruction.
Working from his home country, geographically isolated from many of the world's
great art masterpieces, Özkaya's work often mimics or recreates iconic art
in an effort to reinterpret them and question their artistic authenticity. Begging
the question, is it the myth or the object that holds the importance? It is by re-contextualizing
these iconic works that Özkaya is able draw new meanings.
A Sudden Gust of Wind is the same title given to a well-known photograph
by the Canadian artist Jeff Wall in which a sudden breeze has caught a briefcase
full of papers into a frenzied disorder in the air. Wall's photograph, in turn,
comes from a reference to a 19th century Japanese woodblock print by Katsushika
Hokusai in which nature has caused the minor catastrophe of shuffling some pedestrian's
papers. Rather than the hopeful forces of nature that are alluded to in both Wall's
and Hokusai's work, Özkaya's installation, set in the restaurant, draws our
attention to the impossibility of a wind that could have created this time capsule
of catastrophe. We are left without the hope of a sudden gust of wind thus accentuating
the movement and vitality of the surrounding restaurant space.
About the Artist
Özkaya has exhibited widely throughout Europe and has had residencies at the
MacDowell Colony, NH and ORTung, Austria. He is currently represented by Slag Gallery,
NY. A variation on A Sudden Gust of Wind has been exhibited at the Boots
Contemporary Art Space, St. Louis in 2008; in addition, previous works by Özkaya
include Baker’s Apprentice exhibited in Proof on Main and Today Could be
a Day of Historical Importance – a collaboration with five newspapers,
one of which was the Courier-Journal.
A recent book project published with Louisville based artwithoutwalls: Today Could
be a Day of Historical Importance is available soon in the 21c Shop.
Currently Showing
Channel Two
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exhibition details