source: highlike
Statement: ALL IS ILLUSION Today, the process of creating, exhibiting and perceiving contemporary art is deeply intertwined with the architectural location as well as the social and cultural environment of its production and display. Before modern art, the gallery space in the tradition of the Salon was rather unregarded. Since Marcel Duchamp’s installation 1.200 Bags of Coal at the 1. International Surrealist Exhibition in 1938 in New York, the gallery became part of the artwork. Later, during the post-war-period of the neo-modern era, especially since Yves Klein’s The Void in 1958 in Paris, the gallery space itself became the artwork. Then since the 1970’s institutional critique, interventions within and with the gallery were used for criticizing art and its context. That is why today, the gallery space plays an important role for being an immanent parameter of art with the power to formally and conceptually influence, even determine the artwork, artist and spectator. In Mehmet Ali Uysal’s oeuvre, space, and here especially the white cube of the gallery, is always a major factor, as it is an inseparable part of his sculptural installations, objects, photos and videos. Inside the white cube, the artist analyzes how the process of creating and viewing art is connected to the time and place of its production and displacement. For him, the gallery space defines the cause, material, form and content of a work. In the past, space often functioned for Uysal as a record that internalized the human experience. That is why in pieces like “Ten / Skin” (2004) or “Untitled” (2004), he investigated the connection between interior and exterior spaces of architecture as well as the human body. There, the artist revealed a relationship between the wall and the human skin, as he flexed and stretched the wall to show its resemblance with the skin. For Mehmet Ali Uysal, the walls of the gallery are not rigid, untouchable or unchangeable architectural limitations, but porous and liquid elements, with which he can formulate his artistic statement. In his exhibition at Nesrin Esirtgen Collection he goes one step further by perceiving the gallery space itself as an artwork. As Uysal is aware of the contextual power and the ideological matters of the gallery space, he believes that one must interfere with its structure in order to be able to convert the ideology of the white cube. This leads automatically to a conflict with the gallery space, and this is the reason for his current pieces destroying the compulsory perception of the gallery being understood as the perfect space for the display of art. The three installations, which together with its space should be understood as one work, clearly follow a minimal aesthetic and are executed with the visual vocabulary of the rational and geometrical. At the same time – and here we see a difference to the formalism of minimal art – the work deals with simulation and illusionism. At first glance, the three separate objects seem like cut out pieces of the gallery walls. However, these parts were not cut out, but formed by the artist according to the missing spaces in the wall, which were also created by him. The pieces therefore were measured, designed and built by Uysal and his team. That is why the forms that the spectator sees are not ready-made but sculptural objects. Within large holes inside of three walls, orange bricks occur and form a strong contrast to the clean white plaster of the gallery’s display area. There, the artist creates a visual clash, which at the same time refers to a socio-cultural clash between shifts as well. The work formulates an institutional critique that goes beyond the limits of our art world and refers to a larger context of socio-cultural discussions about e.g. the accessibility of our art scene. The bricks are construction material, which usually get plastered in order to hide their rawness and ugliness. In low-income-neighbourhoods, where the “gecekondu” and other forms of illegal urban development prevail, mostly, the brick wall remains like it is; it is not covered, hidden or embellished. The brick wall in Mehmet Ali Uysal’s work carries a cultural connotation and functions as a sign for a wider social contextualization. All is illusion in Nesrin Esirtgen Collection’s gallery space. There is no cut out piece, and no orange brick wall behind the original white wall. There is not even an original white wall that we can see, because the one we look at was installed by Uysal, and is another part of the whole work. The actual wall of the gallery is hidden behind the bricks and Uysal’s white wall. So, the exhibition consists of three pieces, which each have three massive parts (white wall, orange brick wall and sculptural object). Peeling therefore is a formal and conceptual play with various types of walls. The wall as sculptural and theoretical matter has an important relevance in Mehmet Ali Uysal’s oeuvre. He understands the walls of the gallery as its skin, which usually is an untouchable base for art works. Uysal in contrast aims at bringing a new meaning to the nature of the gallery by deconstructing the walls and deforming its flawless surface. While interfering with the sanctity of the space, he also honours it by transforming it into a work of art. During this process, the artist reveals its hidden identity and historicity, which the gallery permanently erases for the sake of looking clean, unused and perfect. For Uysal, this act of anti-historicalness gives the white cube a sterile character, which he believes is one reason for the gap between gallery and visitor. The artist breaks through this sterility and, as he understands the gallery space as a living entity, revives it as a living entity. In the end, Mehmet Ali Uysal deforms, deconstructs and transforms the given space at Nesrin Esirtgen Collection in order to break its neutrality, sterility and cold aesthetic. After the artist’s spatial interventions, the gallery’s perception changes from hosting a cold emptiness to become a space with surprises. Uysal defines the gallery as an artwork, and deals with it as a certain structure rather than a sacred entity. His work is outstanding in its use of minimal language and formulation of a conceptual approach, which renews matters of minimalism and institutional critique without neglecting current socio-cultural issues. Marcus Graf / Assoc. Prof. Dr., Yeditepe University, Art Management and Resident Curator, Plato Sanat.
Photographer: Teri T. Erbeş
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source: mehmetaliuysal
1976 Mersin, Turkey
1993-98 Middle East Technical University, Faculty Of Architecture, Department of City and Regional Planning
1998 Elective Sculpture Course as Part-time Instructor, Department of Fine Arts and Music, METU
2003- Research Assistant at METU, Department of Fine Arts and Music
2003-05 Hacettepe University, MFA, Sculpture
 with the Thesis Study titled “Transformation of the Sensed Space into Artistic Creation”
2006-09 Hacettepe University, Faculty of Fine Arts, PHd with the Thesis Study titled “Playing with Space”
2007–8 Ecole nationale Supérieure d’Dart de Bourges, France, Exchange Program
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source: nesrinesirtgencollection
Mehmet Ali Uysal | Kabuk
Galeri mekanını bir yapıt olarak algılamak; “beyaz küp” olarak algılanan mekanın ideolojisini dönüştürmek için onun yapısına müdahale etmek gerekir. İçerisinde sergilenen yapıtlarla kendi kapalı değerlerini oluşturan bu mekanın kendini bir yapıta dönüştürmek, özel bir statüye sahip bir yapı oluşturmaktan daha anlamlıdır. Aynı zamanda galeri mekanıyla bir hesaplaşma olarak da algılanabilecek bu tavır, zaten kusursuz bir eser algısının zorunlu mekan hissini kırarak, bir yandan onun yapısına müdahale ederken bir yandan da onu dönüştürmek olarak algılanabilir. Kusursuz bir boşluk algısından kendi sürprizlerini yaratan bir mekana dönüşür. Kendini bir yapıt olarak tanımlayarak kutsanmış bir algı olmaktan çok uzlaşmış bir yapıya kavuşur. Bunlar yapılırken mekanın olanakları kendi sürecini belirlemek durumundadır.
Pürüzsüz beyaz duvarları bir galerinin teni olarak algılanabilir. İçine aldığı her yapıtı asilleştirir ve kusursuz bir gösterişe çevirir. Bunu yaparken sonsuzluk hissi yaratan beyaz duvarlarını kullanır. Bu duvarların dokunulmazlığı söz konusudur. En nihayetinde duvarları, teni ve içindeki yapıtlar ise onu mükemmel gösteren makyajına dönüşür ve gösterişli bir teşhir başlatılır. Genellikle galerilere atfedilen bu olumsuzluk üzerine yapılmış birçok çalışma söz konusudur. Bunlar, galeri mekanının kusursuzluk algısını yıkmak için yapılmış çalışmalardır. Burada Mehmet Ali Uysal’ın yöntemi ise onun bu yapısına yeni bir anlam kazandırma çabasıdır. Bir yandan galerinin teni dediğimiz duvarlarını yapıbozumuna uğratırken, bir yandan da o kusursuz yüzeyini deforme eder. Böylece mekanı kutsayan bir yapıyı alt üst ederken, onu bir yapıta dönüştürerek de onore eder.
Bir başka açıdan bakıldığında ise galeri mekanları yaşanmışlık algısını sürekli yok eden bir yapıdadır. Her seferinde kusursuz görünmek adına içindeki yaşanmışlık izleri yok edilir. Bir mekan ve yaşayan bir yer olarak her zaman tertemiz bir dokunulmamışlık hissi yaratan alanlardır. Bu durum ise onu ziyaret eden herkes ile arasında bir mesafeye zorlar. Mehmet Ali Uysal’ın galeri mekanının yaşayan bir alan olduğunu savunması da onun bu özellikleri vurgulamasını gerektirmiştir. Böylece galeri mekanında duvarlara yaptığı müdahalelerle, mekanın yaşamsal niteliğini yeniden ortaya koymaktadır. Her mekan bir organizma gibi kendi yaşamsal alanına döner ve bu durumu görmek onu bir yapıt olarak da algılamakla mümkün olur.
1976 yılında Mersin’de doğan Mehmet Ali Uysal, Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi, Müzik ve Güzel Sanatlar Bölümü’nde öğretim üyesi olarak çalışmaktadır. Sanatçı 2009 yılından itibaren Pi Artworks tarafından temsil edilmektedir. Katıldığı önemli sergiler ve rezidans programları arasında Fransa’da katılmış olduğu “Le Vent Des Forets” isimli çağdaş Sanat Rezidans programı, Fransa’da Grand Hall de La Villette 53’te “Jeune Creation” isimli karma sergi, 2009’da Galeri Nev Ankara’da “Kayıp Gerçekliğin İzinde” isimli karma sergi, 2010 yılında Cer Modern Ankara’da yer alan “fasa fiso” ve “+Sonsuzluk” isimli karma sergiler ve 2010 yılında gerçekleşen Mardin Bienali yer almaktadır. Sanatçı aynı zamanda 2010 yılında Belçika’da ‘’Ten II’’ isimli büyük mandal heykelini yerleştirdiği Festival Cinq Saisons’a katılmıştır. Yapıtları Audi Koleksiyonu ve Jaidah Brothers Sanat Vakfı Koleksiyonu gibi birçok önemli koleksiyonda yer alan Mehmet Ali Uysal’ın, 2011’de Etemad Galeri Dubai’de “Mist” ve Q Contemporary Beyrut’ta “Malist”, 2010’da Pi Artworks’te “Tebdilibeden” ve “Askıda”, 2008 yılında Gallery Eigenheim, Almanya’da “Ex-libris” adlı kişisel sergileri gerçekleşmiştir. Gelecek sezon sanatçının yapıtları Umea’nın yanı sıra Londra’da da sergilenecektir.
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source: nesrinesirtgencollection
Mehmet Ali Uysal | Peel
Perceiving the gallery space as an artwork; to convert the ideology of the space perceived as a “white cube”, one must interfere with its structure. This space, together with the artwork exhibited within, has its own isolated values. Converting it into an artwork is more meaningful than creating a structure with a distinct status. This attitude which can be comprehended as a conflict with the gallery space, destroys the compulsory perception of a perfect space for the display of the artwork; on the one hand it interferes with the space and on the other it transforms it. It shifts from a perception of flawless emptiness to a space with surprises. By defining itself as an artwork, it becomes a structure rather than a sacred entity. During this process the possibilities within the space determine its course.
Smooth white walls can be perceived as the skin of the gallery. It ennobles each work within and transforms it into a flawless display. While doing so, it utilizes the white walls which create a sense of infinity. The walls are untouchable. The walls are its skin and the works inside, its make-up. And so begins a flashy exhibit. There are many studies done on this negative aspect which is usually attributed to galleries. These studies aim to break down the perception of perfection within the gallery space. Mehmet Ali Uysal’s method here is an attempt to bring a new meaning to its nature. While deconstructing the walls -the so called skin of the gallery- he deforms its flawless surface. Thus, by interfering with the sanctity of the space, he honors it by transforming it into a work of art.
From a different aspect, gallery spaces possess a nature that continuously erase traces of its history. In order to look perfect, evidence of experience are always destroyed. These spaces have a sterile and untouched feel to them. This imposes a distance between the space and the visitor. Mehmet Ali Uysal’s claim that the gallery space is a living entity, required him to emphasize these features. Thus, with the interventions to the gallery walls, he revives the space as a living entity. Each space transforms into a living organism and bearing witness to this, one can also perceive it as an artwork.
Mehmet Ali Uysal was born in Mersin in 1976 and currently teaches at the Department of Music and Fine Arts and at the Middle Eastern Technical University in Ankara. The artist is represented by Pi Artworks since 2009. Among his important exhibitions and residency programs are the Contemporary Art Residence “Le Vent Des Forets” in France, the group exhibition “Jeune Creation” which took place at Grand Hall de La Villette 53 in France, “In Search of Lost Reality: New Generation” which took place at Gallery Nev in Ankara (2009), “fasa fiso” and “+Infinity” at Cer Modern, Ankara (2010) and the 2010 Mardin Biennale. He also participated in Festival Cinq Saisons in Belgium (2010). Mehmet Ali Uysal’s recent selected solo exhibitions are ‘’Mist’’ at Etemad Gallery, Dubai (2011) and ‘’Malist’’ at Q Contemporary, Beirut (2011), “Suspended’’ and ‘’Tebdilibeden’’ (2010) at Pi Artworks, Istanbul, ‘’Ex-libris’’ at Gallery Eigenheim, Germany (2008). Many of his works have been included in significant local and international collections such as the Audi Collection and Jaidah Brothers Art Foundation Collection. Uysal’s work will be exhibited in London and Umea next season.