The first of a series of exhibitions organised by the Istanbul Municipality (IBB), Naile Akıncı: A Story of Self: (1953–2013), is being held at Gazhane museum, the newish art space in Kadıköy, on the Asian shore. The retrospective exhibition, which focuses on Istanbul’s districts of Eyüp and Piyer Loti, showcases nearly 200 works of Naile Akıncı in private and state-owned institutional collections.
Curated by art historian Ebru Nalan Sülün, the exhibition is divided into seven different historical sections and aims to present a comprehensive perspective on the period, with reference art criticism texts and Naile Akıncı self-portraits interpreted by the artists.
Naile Akıncı was one of the stars of the landmark 2022 Meşher exhibition: I-You-They: A Century of Artist Women, which included the self-portrait illustrated here – one of the last works in her 75-year career. Painting, she claimed, helped her overcome Parkinson’s Disease. See links below for Thomas Roueché’s review of the Meşher show, ‘Lives Less Ordinary’, and the superb catalogue, which is available from the Cornucopia website.
Naile Akıncı, Self Portrait, 2013 (courtesy of the Lale and Cengiz Akıncı Collection)
Issue 66, December 2023
Turkey’s Centenary Issue
