Cenk Akaltun - Ostensible

Dirimart is delighted to announce Cenk Akaltun’s new exhibition Ostensible. For the solo exhibition he will have in Dirimart after two years, the artist gathered his recent works. The exhibition can be visited between December 21 and January 15.

Cenk Akaltun’s exhibition in Dirimart refers to the nature and the complicated structure of the materials that form everything that’s ostensible. The ancient Greeks believed that there were four elements that everything was made up of: earth, water, air, and fire. These elements were pure but they couldn't exist on the earth in that way. Everything visible was a combination of earth, water, air, and fire. These elements were also used in order to describe people's state of mind. Hippocrates used the four elements to describe the four humors; found in the body. These theories stated that the temperaments and humors needed to be in balance with each other in order for a person to be well both mentally and physically. While we do know now that these previous theories are false, in a way the four elements do align with the four states of matter that modern science has agreed on: solid (earth), liquid (water), gas (air), and plasma (fire). The idea that these four elements - earth, water, air, and fire - made up all matter was the cornerstone of philosophy, science, and medicine for two thousand years. Aristotle also suggested that there was a fifth element, aether, because it seemed strange that the stars would be made out of earthly elements.

Cenk Akaltun, born in 1970, studied Serigraphy and Printing Techniques at Yıldız Technical Vocational High School. Interested in plastic arts, he studied mixed techniques at St. Martins Art and design and painting at Camberwell College of Visual Arts. His selected solo exhibitions are: Tabaka, Dirimart, İstanbul (2014); Cenk Akaltun: Untitled, Galeri Artist, İstanbul (2014) and Creations on Water, Galeri Artist, İstanbul (2014). The fairs he took part in are: Art Basel Hong Kong (2015) The Armory Show, New York (2015) and Art International İstanbul (2015). Cenk Akaltun lives and works in Bodrum.