Art On Istanbul, in its Crossroads exhibition series, has created a unique platform called Crossroads Digital, dedicated to showcasing digital artists.
The first edition of Crossroads Digital features works by Ali Kulunyar, Beceren, Ecem Dilan Köse, Eda Sütunç, Kerim Dündar, Max on Duty, and Poyraz Sayan. Supported by LG Electronics Turkey, the exhibition will be held from February 28 to March 15 at Art On Istanbul | Piyalepasa, offering a unique opportunity to experience digital art. The first edition of Crossroads Digital invites the audience into new worlds by exploring the infinite possibilities of digital art. The featured artists in the exhibition, working with the limitless freedom provided by the digital medium, develop unique techniques and conceptual approaches. Shaped by digital art technologies, this exhibition invites artists to explore the boundaries between the real and the virtual. From posters, sculptures, neon installations, videos, phygital installations, murals, 3D illustrations, and animations to virtual reality, this journey showcases the depth and power of digital art through the artists' narratives. Focusing on the inevitable impact of contemporary technology on art, the artists offer a perspective distinct from traditional art practices.
Ali Kulunyar offers different perspectives in his digital print works, leaving a smile on the viewer’s face. The posters created in collaboration with Zero EU were exhibited in public spaces in 2023 in Bicocca, Milan. Burak Beceren creates symbolic compositions that emphasize collective power and solidarity in his works. His designs, consisting of interconnected characters, combine abstraction with symbolism, presenting a strong narrative. Ecem Dilan Köse blends nature’s knowledge with digital data in her work Hollow, establishing a bridge between code-based and organic elements. Reflecting the inevitable fusion between the digital and the organic in harmony with nature’s holistic wisdom, she presents a new form of narrative. In her installation Robotic Meditation, Eda Sütunç examines the paradox between emotional detachment and cognitive perfection. Utilizing red neon lights and textual elements, she emphasizes a sense of emptiness, while a mechanical voice from an iPad invites viewers toward robotic perfection. This sterile, mechanical environment highlights how individuals, under the relentless pressure to optimize, increasingly adopt mechanized behaviors Kerim Dündar, in The Kube, explores the balance between chaos and order. Inspired by nature, his evolutionary algorithms create architectural patterns that intersect physical and digital dimensions, offering a multi-layered experience that reminds us of the inseparability of technological and natural processes. Max on Duty, in his gallery-specific mural, bridges temporal and cultural gaps by combining digital images with primitive art forms. By blending modern images with cave paintings and shamanic rock drawings, the artist creates a contemporary cave painting using plastic paints and various materials. The mural, along with 2D animations and paper works, creates a dialogue between the past and the present. Poyraz Sayan uses art as a tool for self-exploration. Making sense of his emotions through art, Sayan creates virtual worlds and games through his work in virtual reality.
Crossroads Digital, with its innovative approach, highlights the power of digital media while inviting you to be part of a transformation that is shaping the future of art.
Text: İrem Oğuzalp
