TURKISH ART WEEK

Turkish Art Week (TAW) was created by Renko London, a British-based art gallery and events company, to give an international platform to Turkish contemporary artists, whose far-reaching influence should be recognised on an international level. TAW is holding TA London, its first exhibition, at Saatchi Gallery, a venue synonymous with innovation and championing artistic opportunity.

This inaugural exhibition brings together acclaimed Turkish contemporary artists from across the globe to showcase the breadth of their ground-breaking talent. TA London will represent 21 internationally acclaimed artists from mainland Turkey, Cyprus, Azerbaijan, London and other European communities. From pop art to lyric abstraction, the exhibit includes work from a variety of contemporary art movements, techniques and disciplines.

Headlining the exhibit is one of Turkey’s most established artists, Devrim Erbil. Known as the “Poet of Painting” and the recipient of the Presidential Culture and Arts Grants award, he is a pioneer for international contemporary art, while also paying homage to his Anatolian history.

In a series of firsts, Devrim will be auctioning his first ever NFT (non-Fungible Token) painting, a work called ‘London’, in real time during the exhibition. There are few established artists, especially distinguished art masters involved on NFT platforms and very few NFT auctions take place in conjunction with a physical exhibition. Bringing the gravitas, authenticity and innovative eye of a world-renowned art master to the virtual art market will forge important new pathways for this fledgling art scene.

Devrim believes it is vital to introduce Turkish art to international audiences and he created ‘London’ specially to celebrate this exhibition, turning his signature bird’s eye view, so famous in his landmark Istanbul series, on the London skyline. Visitors can view the original painting before it goes under the virtual hammer hosted by online auction platform, Nifty Gateway with curation supported by NFT Consultancy Fanchain.

It is also the first time that virtual artist Yam Karkai will exhibit in ‘real-life’ her NFT series, “Women by Yam – Females in the Spotlight”. Yam is passionate about bringing more diversity into this sector, an aim shared by TA London’s creators Renko London who hope the exhibition will bring together communities and inspire cross-cultural art conversations.

With this aim in mind, TA London invited two international guest artists from London’s diverse community to celebrate the capital’s dynamic multicultural scene and to foster links. Eva Sonaike’s tapestries are a blend of her Nigerian traditional heritage and contemporary European life, while London artist Joanna Gilbert reflects her links to different urban centres in her abstracts and installations.

Talking, exhibiting and exploring together brings new visions and experiences that will energise the arts and benefit everyone. That’s why the name is an expression of gratitude. So, it’s “mersi” from Turkey and “ta” from London.

Featured Artists

Bahri Genc, Baris Sarıbaş, Basak Cansu Guvenkaya, Cengiz Yatagan, Cigdem Erbil, Devrim Erbil, Ece Clarke, Emin Çizenel, Esra Meral, Eva Sonaike, Joanna Gilbert, Mehmet Günyeli, Mine Zabci, Nuri Battal, Renk Erbil, Rina Bakis, Sakit Mammadov, Sina Mirel, Sumer Erek, Yam Karkai, Yigit Yazici

About Renko London

Renko London was the first online Turkish art gallery in the UK. The company expanded its reach to include international artists and recently launched an arts consultancy and events service. Its mission is to bring a multicultural group of artists together in a harmonious, creative space demonstrating the impact art brings when it sits on the shoulders of a diverse community.

About Nifty Gateway
Nifty Gateway, an online digital art auction platform, is the premier marketplace where you can buy and manage non-fungible tokens (NFTs or Nifties), which are digital items you can truly own. Nifty Gateway was founded to make Nifties accessible to everyone. Partnered with NFT Consultancy Fanchain, the platform teams up with leading artists and brands to create collections of limited editions, high quality Nifties.

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