Evren Sungur’s fifth solo exhibition, God Complex, was on view at Art On İstanbul from October 31 to December 7, 2019. Over the past two years, the artist has focused on the societal order shaped by polytheistic beliefs, drawing inspiration from rich mythologies to reflect on contemporary human experience.
For God Complex, Sungur centers on archaic god sculptures commissioned by rulers in the past and crafted by human hands, using them as references to imagine today’s “deified” individuals. According to the artist, the societal order once established by ruling classes claiming divine power has shifted in the present day, first to leaders and then to individuals themselves. The core theme of the exhibition—“exaggerated individuality”—is explored through imposing, god-like figures that occupy the center of the compositions.
Inspired by the gods created by Anatolian civilizations, Sungur references sacred animals combined with these divine designs, evolving from the material and technical constraints of their time. The gods symbolized in the paintings carry a hidden tragedy: like sky gods with short wings who cannot fly, they are deprived of functional attributes suited to their intended roles.
In Sungur’s paintings, while landscapes remain clearly present in the background, the dense compositions and crowded figures of his earlier works give way in this exhibition to larger fields, solitary figures, and open space.
Evren Sungur
Born in 1980 in Istanbul, Evren Sungur completed his undergraduate studies in Architecture at Yeditepe University and later studied Sculpture at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University. His solo exhibitions include Canlı Yayın (Akademililer Sanat Merkezi, Istanbul, 2010), Gövde Gösterisi (Galeri Zilberman, Istanbul, 2012), Organik Makineler: Bir Heykel İçin Eskiz (Summart Sanat Merkezi, Istanbul, 2015), and Personator (Art On İstanbul, 2017). His work has been shown at 100 Painters of Tomorrow (Beers Contemporary, London, 2014) and START London (London, 2016), and he has participated in art fairs in Istanbul, Berlin, Marrakech, Basel, and London. His works were featured in the Thames & Hudson publication 100 Painters of Tomorrow. Sungur continues his practice in his studio in Moda, Istanbul.