MEDDAH The Storyteller: An AWB Private Exhibition
AWB Founder Walter L. Meyer describes how this unique exhibition came to be
MEDDAH The Storyteller arose from a “salon” I organized in my home in January 2023. My goal was to create something like the historic salons of France where writers, painters, poets and other intellectuals came together for convivial conversation. I invited four Istanbul-based artists I knew.
We decided to work together on a private group exhibition in my home—“private” in the sense that it would only be promoted to friends, collectors, and supporters rather than on social media. (I didn’t want total strangers in my home.) We agreed there would be 12 works in total (three per artist), and all texts would appear in both Turkish and English.
Here’s what the four artists have to say about their work…
Ayhan Algur
“I want to feel in contact with Anatolia’s past, and take inspiration from its amazing accumulation of diverse cultures.”
Ayhan previously exhibited with AWB: Evocations of Glories Past, which you can find in CURRENT EXHIBITIONS.
Aziz Murat Aslan
“The figure of Karagoz—the principle character in Turkish shadow puppet theater—immediately intrigued me when I first encountered him in European museums while studying in Germany.”
Aziz previously exhibited with AWB: Karagoz (As Art), which you can find in CURRENT EXHIBITIONS.
Ciler Suyev
“I try to convey on canvas what women inwardly want to express, but cannot express comfortably in public.”
I discovered Ciler’s work on Instagram.
Yusa Yalcintas
“Children’s view of the world is both primitive and sophisticated…much like an artist’s. They appear in my work as storytellers.”
Yusa has been a friend of mine for several years.
MEDDAH The Storyteller was visited by more than 60 people over two consecutive weekends in March/April 2023.
Back row: Ciler Suyev, Yusa Yaltintas, Walter L. Meyer; front row: Aziz Murat Aslan, Ayhan Algur