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Geometric Mirrors – VI, 2012, Jeppe Hein, K\u00f6nig Galerie. Aluminium, stainless steel, high polished steel, 200 x 200 x 100 cm. All images courtesy Contemporary Istanbul<\/p>\n Geometric Mirrors – VI, 2012, Jeppe Hein, K\u00f6nig Galerie. Aluminium, stainless steel, high polished steel, 200 x 200 x 100 cm. All images courtesy Contemporary Istanbul<\/p>\n
Time, quite literally, runs differently in Istanbul. Some clocks run 2 minutes ahead, some 2 days and 5 hours behind. Accordingly, things often turn out to be slightly different than expected: it\u2019s as if the semiotics of the space have come unhinged, as if there is a local specificity that undermines the linkage between signifier and signified. High rises seem to nudge each other into the Bosphorus, fluted highways snake in around themselves; old houses perch on cliffs, ready for demolition to make way for Istanbul\u2019s rapacious expansion.<\/p>\n
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Inherited Desire (2), 2015, Jorinde Voigt, K\u00f6nig Galerie. Ink, Indian ink, pastel, oil, crayon, pencil on paper<\/p>\n
A colleague compared Istanbul to Shanghai, and it\u2019s easy to see why: the gleaming glass towers, the uneasy co-existence of past, present and future. And no one wants to talk about politics. \u201cIt\u2019s great, now we have more stability,\u2019 is the generic and muted response to my question regarding the recent election results, in which, much to everyone\u2019s surprise, Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party won outright. The impact on collecting international art remains to be seen – traditionally local collectors prefer collecting art by Turkish artists, and art fairs are dominated by local galleries selling their wares, the launch of Istanbul International notwithstanding.<\/p>\n
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Laocoon, 2015, Anton Stoianov, xavierlaboulbenne. Plaster, styrofoam, leather and carbon fibre vinyl on metal, 185 x 115 x 15 cm<\/p>\n
About half a mile from Taksim Square and Gezi Park, surrounded by Eighties concrete hotel blocks, Contemporary Istanbul, the country\u2019s largest art fair takes place in the convention centre. Headed by Ali G\u00fcreli, the fair is a mixed bag of the high and the low, the smart and the puerile. There is everything from European heavyweights such as Alexander Calder and Juan Mir\u00f3 (courtesy of Gallery Lelong) to portraits of the actor Peter Dinklage in costume as Tyrion in Game of Thrones (Bozlu Art Project). This edition includes Berliners Daniel Marzona and Johann K\u00f6nig, who are showing there for the first time, as well as xavierlaboulbenne, a gallery with a great roster I was previously unfamiliar with. Gallerist Xavier has brought along some intriguingly abject hair sculptures by the artist Sara Mathiasson, as well as pornographic portraits by the artist Gengoroh Tagame, which are hidden behind sheets so as not to offend the more conservative members of the audience. Despite K\u00f6nig bringing along some of his core positions such as Jorinde Voigt, Jeppe Hein and Alicja Kwade, the overall response to the new additions was somewhat muted.<\/p>\n
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Sussum, 2015, Sara Mathiasson, xavierlaboulbenne. Hand crochet hairnet and braided hair on styrofoam, form, 110 x 25 x 20 cm<\/p>\n
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Each Touch of the Fallen, 2014, Vajiko Chachkhiani, Daniel Marzona. Ash, pair of burned shoes<\/p>\n
The Istanbul gallery contingent dominates however, as G\u00fcreli noted. The fair has a strong local connection, with most of the buyers originating in Turkey or the surrounding countries, and hence, the taste is towards the more conservative end of the spectrum. This strategy has paid off for G\u00fcreli, even so: the fair has attracted 86 000 visitors and sold $40m worth of art, according to the organisers. A resounding success then, for a local fair. For international visitors, however, Istanbul itself remains the main draw.<\/p>\n