Showcasing Turkey’s modern art

A selection from the Istanbul Modern Collection can be seen at the Turkish Airlines lounge in the airline’s brand new hub, Istanbul Airport. Turkish Airlines and Istanbul Modern have entered into a partnership to introduce Turkey’s modern art to the world.

TT Bureau

Flying to over 311 destinations in 124 countries, Turkish Airlines has made its mark in its newest hub to ensure that travellers witness the great works of art from Turkey. As Turkey’s first modern and contemporary art museum, a special selection from the Istanbul Modern will be displayed in Turkish Airlines Business Lounge at Istanbul Airport.  Spanning 130 square metres, the exhibition titled “A Selection from the Istanbul Museum of Modern Art Collection”, will bring significant examples that represent four main dispositions of modern art of Turkey together. Made possible with the collaboration of Turkish Airlines and Istanbul Modern, collection selections will be renewed three times annually within the project.

From landscapes to abstract paintings
Within the exhibition there will be varied type of artworks ranging from the early 20th century landscape painting tradition to the abstract paintings of artists looking for a synthesis between eastern and western arts during 1950s. Housing the works that illustrate the daily life presence of figure painting, the exhibition will also display compositions that interpret cultural values of Anatolia with a new perspective. There will be artworks of Şeref Akdik, Hakkı Anlı, Fethi Arda, Ferruh Başağa, Hasan Vecih Bereketoğlu, Aliye Berger, Nurullah Berk, Adnan Çoker, Nejad Melih Devrim, Abidin Dino, Neş’e Erdok, Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu, Hoca Ali Rıza, Hikmet Onat, Selim Turan and Fahrelnissa Zeid in the selection.

An exclusive cultural experience
İlker Aycı, Chairman of the Board and the Executive Committee, Turkish Airlines, stated the following on the exhibition, “As the national flag carrier airline of Turkey, we continue our contributions to the national values of our country. Thanks to our collaboration with Istanbul Modern, we enable our passengers who depart from Istanbul Airport to see the impressive works of Turkish modern art in our lounge, and turn their waiting time before their flights into an exclusive cultural experience. Adding an artful touch to our exceptional travel experience, we will circulate the artworks of the exhibition during the year in order to show our passengers the different examples of Turkish modern art before their flights.”

Oya Eczacıbaşı, Chair of the Istanbul Museum of Modern Art, highlighted the importance of Turkish Airlines’ passenger lounge as a display of Turkey since it will host passengers from all corners of the world. He said, “With our collaboration with Turkish Airlines, we are happy to introduce modern arts of Turkey to the local and foreign tourists waiting for their flights in the Turkish Airlines Business Lounge at Istanbul Airport.”