Art On Pera is delighted to host the first solo exhibition of Cypriot artist Gürsel
Soyel, who lives and works in Vienna, Istanbul, and Cyprus, from December 20 to
January 21.
Titled Found, the exhibition continues Soyel’s earlier shows Lost and In Escape,
forming the final chapter of a trilogy spanning nearly a decade. Beginning with
reflections on displacement, uncertainty, and belonging, the series—according to
the artist—represents a journey back to oneself. A stain on the canvas becomes
the point of departure for this journey. Through this path, Soyel contemplates
disappearance, distance, traces, and the possibilities of return, exploring
different dimensions, layers, and rhythms.
In Found, Soyel focuses on the interplay of void, density, and surface. Large-scale
canvases, small-scale works on paper, and oil paintings on layered wooden
panels—almost transforming into spatial objects—mark the various stops of the
series within the gallery space, excavating the past and tracing its presence in
the present.