The Secret of BeautyTurkish artist Gazi Sansoy has been fascinated by the portraits of the renaissance for many years.The elegant Simonetta Vespucci from Florence was seen as the embodiment of Italian beauty during this period, and was…
Turkish artist Gazi Sansoy has been fascinated by the portraits of the renaissance for many years. The elegant Simonetta Vespucci from Florence was seen as the embodiment of Italian beauty during this period, and was painted by some of the most famous artists of the era. Sandro Botticelli, for example, declared her to be his muse and glorified her as the Roman goddess Venus. Piero di Cosimo portrayed her as Cleopatra wearing a necklace of snakes. Her depiction was therefore more through idealistic images than realistic portraits, and she became the source of myth and fantasy. The Italians named here “Regina della belezza”: Queen of beauty.
Is beauty merely an illusion? Gazi Sansoy provokes the viewer with a deceptive transformation of our optical frames of reference. He replaces the feminine lines of his subject’s faces with powerful areas of colour. Only the form of the female figure remains, with its now secretive appearance. The solemnly clothed body provides the ideal cover as we search longingly for that perfect beauty.
The result is a surface that can be used for plays on emotion and colour. We do not see what we are looking for, but rather what we dream of. Through their reproduction and colourful transformation, the well-known muses take on a new, heavily deceptive presence, one that is full of surprises. The image space is now free for someone else to occupy, someone the viewers can find themselves.
Gazi Sansoy describes himself as both a painter and “visitor” to his images. For his unique artistic experiment he has taken over an entire epoch, lacing it with new meaning. The palette of the 15th Century, styled in natural tones, meets the glaring colours of pop art. A time window emerges, through which we look deep into a vacuum of adventure.
Christina Wendenburg
VITA
1968
Born in Istanbul, Turkey
1989-1993
Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Graphics, Marmara University, Turkey
1993-1996
Master degree
2007-2015
Founding and managing of Utopya Platform Art Gallery
Since 2009
Works in Kızıltoprak in his own atelier, Istanbul, Turkey
Exhibitions
Solo Exhibitions
2018
EPOCHS Anna Laudel Contemporary, Istanbul, Turkey
2016
Dreamers, Platform A Art Gallery, Ankara, Turkey
2014
POP!, Gallery İlayda, Zorlu Center, Istanbul, Turkey
2013
Who We Are, İlayda Art Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey
2012
No Name Silhouettes, Art 350, Istanbul, Turkey
2011
Faceless, İlayda Art Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey
2010
Miniature Pop Series 2010 – Gazi Sansoy, Studio Exhibition (Online Exhibition)
Miniature Pop 2010″ – Gazi Sansoy, Contemporary Istanbul 2010, Utopia Platform (Online Exhibition)
2004/2005/2006
Gallery Artist, Cukurcuma, Istanbul, Turkey
2004
Taksim Art Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey
2001
Galetea Art Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey
1997
Çırağan Hotel Kempinsky, Istanbul, Turkey
1995
Sculpture Stıudio Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey
Group Exhibitions
2017
Past meets Present, Anna Laudel Contemporary, Istanbul, Turkey
2017
Contemporary İstanbul, Anna Laudel Contemporary, Istanbul, Turkey
2012
Contemporary İstanbul, Gallery Linart, Istanbul, Turkey
2010
GÖÇEBE Bağımsız Sanatçı İnsiyatifi, İstanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey
2009
Contemporary Istanbul, Ütopya Paltform Art Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey
About Gazi SansoyThe Secret of BeautyTurkish artist Gazi Sansoy has been fascinated by the portraits of the renaissance for many years.The elegant Simonetta Vespucci from Florence was seen as the embodiment of Italian beauty during this period, and was…