Art, despite everything

Mehmet Guleryuz has not had much chance to explore the streets of Mumbai when we caught up with him at Jamaat in Colaba. “Although I did visit the city last year briefly,” he tells us in his halting English. The Turkish painter — some even call him the most prominent, contemporary artist in Turkey, something he laughs off — was in the city for an exhibition of his artworks titled On The Road. It is part of the 19th anniversary celebrations of Jamaat. It features two important bodies of works — the 1977 series of 10 monochromatic silkscreens that highlight his mastery of the line, which is a defining element in the drawings while the second main body of work is from his 1982 series created in New York.

Art that provokes

Chief Curator of Istanbul Modern, Levent Calıkolu says this about Mehmet’s works. “While Guleryuz’s drawings are centered on existential issues of man in our time that are both visible and hidden — trepidation, distress, confusion, anticipation, confrontation, opposition, melancholy, rejection — they are at the same time a reminder, a record, an extrapolation of the transformations man undergoes and the solutions that are engendered. What they reveal is the process we undergo in the struggle to become human, the new mechanical organs we are required to develop in order to cling to these transformations, and, most importantly, our powerlessness in the face of nature.” 

By his own admission, Mehmet’s art is far from gentle. It is meant to provoke and to raise questions. “My work is always against something. It is not decorative. Even my landscapes are not pretty. I’m saying the same thing but in a different way. I like to provoke a little,” he says, adding that his ideas have been shaped by an understanding of beauty. The strong socio-political voice in his works is a result of being born at a time in Turkey when his homeland was trying to forge an identity for itself after the independence war.

Play on 

His background in theatre has helped him to get a better understanding of art. “When I learnt the acting methods, I realised that you can know the text, but you have to build your character and make it new each time, for yourself as well as for your co-actors and the audience. With this method, I found my way in painting as well,” he tells us, explaining that it’s like being a pilot in a Formula One race. “You’re going really fast but you need to be in control as well,” he adds. The artist has always found joy in creating something for the audience. “You must play with the material. Play like a child. That’s the joy of creating something,” he smiles. 

The exhibition is part of a larger show called Despite, because “I paint despite everything that’s going on in the world,” he states. 

On the Road is on display at Jamaat Gallery, Colaba till May 30.