The very first exhibition in Turkey of Atilla Bayraktar, who lives in Paris, consists of his experiences of 40 years. Views, figures in his pictures are his imaginations.

Having graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts and moved to Paris and began to live there exactly forty years ago, Attila Bayraktar now meets spectators at the Art Gallery of Destek Reasurans at his first individual exhibition in Turkey.

Bayraktar, who studied graphics in Turkey and moved to Paris just to engage in art, has dedicated himself to art since that day. "I left the art of poster and moved to France. I believed that the work should be learnt at its homeland " said the artist and mentioned that it was then impossible to see the pieces of masters even on books and the insufficient number of museums in Turkey. "It is still less but the number of museums those days were nearly none. It was impossible to see the pictures of major masters. We could follow update trends only on magazines. One had to see the work at its homeland."

Having studied for two years as The National College of Fine Arts of Paris and worked on Louvre Museum and other European museums, Atilla Bayraktar has supported his works with conferences.

With his cartoons published on magazines and journals such as Karakedi, Tef. Akbaba and Aksam throughout his stay in Turkey, Bayraktar has tried his best to delete the effects of his study in graphics on his pictures during his first times in Paris.

"I have spent more than 10 years to get rid of them. It's not to humiliate but graphics and plastic arts are so different from each other. I had to lose some habits I earned from the art of graphics. I have spent a long time in solving these problems. Plastic form is not easy to be taught in schools. It was hard to transfer from decorative contents to plastic contents for me."

Pictures of Attila Bayraktar are mainly focused on views and figures but these are the images included in the imagination of artist. Saying that "one picture is either abstract or none", he thinks that it is the clearest language to transfer what is felt and heard directly by getting rid of all excessive parts of non-figurative art.

"Becoming abstract in art is absolute but we express the elements of nature only through our own figures and forms in non-figurative art."

All pictures of Bayraktar exhibited at the Art Gallery of Destek Reasurans were moved from Paris to Istanbul. These pictures consist of the experiences of 40 years. Underlining that the picture first of all is generated from putting two colors side by side, the pictures of the artist are offered as the arrangement of shapes, people and images.

The artist, using gouash, oil painting, water painting and pastel, has opened many exhibitions in Paris although this is his first in Turkey.

Seizing with the works of young artists whenever he visits Turkey Attila Bayraktar believes that young generation brings a fresh look into the world of art. Saying that the new generation is much more luckier than them, he underlines that an immediate correlation with artists and trends in Europe is necessary upon correct use of publications getting more common.

Attila Bayraktar says "All I want to do is lasting picture that is not going to be out-of-fashion one day. I have tried for this for my lifetime " and adds that an artist should not be uninterested in social events and world and reflect such events he was effected to his canvas.

Recently, our feelings against France are well-know! But although political and diplomatic relations are cold, it is impossible to delete Paris from the hearts of artists, in particular.

Living and painting in Paris ornaments the dreams of some artists... While some have already achieved to do so in the capital of plastic arts in Europe... Some visit Paris periodically, live there and turn back. And they need Paris again and start to suffer...

When we force our memory, we remember that there are many artists, who enjoyed his adventure of art with one leg in Paris, or lived there all times or even died there such as: Fikret Mualla, Mubin Orhon, Hakki Anli, Selim Turan, Nejad Devrim, Abidin Dino, Tiraje Dikmen, Neset Gunal, Adnan Coker. Kornet, Avni Arbas...

Recently Turan Erol has how nice explained what Avni Arbas had experienced at Andre Lhote workshop during his presentation. Lhote told Avni Arbas, who was willing to continue workshop to find something "Let's take our own ways". An indication how a pupil exceeds a master...

Why did I write the introduction of this 'Parisian'? to mention about Attila Bayraktar, who is o exhibit at Dam Gallery tonight...

TRANQUILITY and MYSTERY

Becoming sharp as a tough poster artist and appearing on comics with his cartoons after his study of graphics, Atilla Bayraktar is an artist, who moved to Paris in 1958 to see museums with his determination of developing in art and greed of learning... and that was a long move... consolidated his four-year study in the Academy of Fine Arts of Istanbul with two-year study in the College of Fine Arts of Paris, the artist has been in France for 42 years...

Still painting at Saint Sauveur town in the west of France, Bayraktar attracts attention to its pastel works on paper in addition to his oil paintings on canvas.

At 65 years old, Bayraktar has seized a different concept of light as a resultant of hazy, gray lightness of Europe...This different light is immediately perceived in his landscapes and still lives. It is possible to describe this feeling as "tranquility".

Nude paints with white pastel on dark papers by Bayraktar reflect his understanding in light-shadow concept. There is a fascinating "mystery" reflected by a sound design in these nude paintings...

You watch how reflections from the human body, which is the most important architectural piece of nature, convert into feelings on paper...

Exhibition is open until March 4

...

"My works are not intellectual works but emotional works, pictures in a tick". Defining this pieces like this, the artist Attila Bayraktar has been living in France for more than 50 years. He opens exhibitions in Turkey once a few years. There are 3-4 pastel view pictures in the exhibition of artist, who has recently worked on acrylics.

Attila Bayraktar attend the Academy of Fine Arts of Istanbul in 1952 in Ornameting Department. He has been the student of Zeki Faik Izer and Namik Bayik at the middle and high sections of Poster Workshop. He graduated from the school in 1957. The pieces of artist, who had been drawing cartoons long before attending the academy, has been published on magazines like Karakedi, Tef, 41 bucuk, Akbaba and journal Aksam until 1958. He opened his first individual exhibition of poster in 1957 at the Art Gallery of Fuaye. He has worked for San Organization and Advertising Workshop established by Mengu Ertel until he moved to France.

The purpose of Attila Bayraktar' is to express himself through painting. Therefore, he took special lessons on art from Sabri Berkel during his study at Academy. Following his pieces inspired on nature for a short while, he was focused in abstract art and then met with Nuri Iyem, with whom his relations were both as master and apprentice as well as good friends. He then radically decided to leave graphics and "learn painting more deeply". He immigrated to France on board the same ship with Erdal Alantar, painter in 1958 in Spring. He established friendships with painters such as Selim Turan, Nejad, Avni Arbas, Hakki Anli, Remzi Rasa, Ihsan Surdum, Mubin Orhon, Adnan Varinca, Adnan Coker in Paris. He attended the College of National Fine Arts of Paris in 1961. However he found the education as lack of seriousness and left at the second year, when "independent education period" starts by making copies and researches at Louvre Museum. This education period, both at Louvre and other European countries, last for a few years.

"To yield a permanent product that is able to touch everyone's sensibility basing on the essentials of art…Without attending the trends in fashion but also without being uninterested to them" Attila Bayraktar works in Deux-Sevres region Bressuire city and in Paris.

"All I am trying to do is paint a permanent picture that will never be out of fashion. All my lifetime I have worked for this" says Attila Bayraktar, who moved to Paris, the art center of world after graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Istanbul to learn better about the picture at its homeland and to know better the major masters and to see the Louvre Museum, which is the Kabe of the art. That was a long move. Even though he returned to Turkey for a short while due to completing military services, Atilla still lives in France today and continues his art works in Saint-Sauveur town, where he moved after 1984 for her French wife's duty at his workshop in Paris.

Although he has opened many exhibitions frequently in France, Atilla has not been seen for a long while in Turkey and this is a great pleasure and opportunity for art-lovers to observe his recent pieces at the exhibitions held in Ankara and Istanbul galleries after 1998. I, knows the difficulty and burden of bring a piece for exhibition from abroad as an artist who lives in Paris, believe that it is necessary for those artists who live abroad to open exhibitions to well know about these artists.

Questioning himself all the time and undergoing new stages for his art, Atilla uses pastel technique very skillfully in addition to oil painting and acrylic in his pieces where he offers sections from current life scenes. In fact, he has an award in France with this regard.

Saying that "human body is a unique architectural structure", light-shadow tricks of the artist in "nude" pieces are very significant while in "nature-morte" theme, form of objects like a teapot, bowl, wine bottle or fruits on a piece of fabric appears hardly visible with the influence of the light from a certain direction on a dark colored background. This light, creating a different atmosphere, in Attila's pictures plays a great role in a composition describing only the bed sheet or just the human figure under the sheet.

His landscapes that are painted usually inspired by the Bressuire region are nature scenes where the sky covered with clouds that are about to break out occupies a great area on the picture.

I hope this modest and sincere artist, who has been adopted as "Turkish painter" in France arouses the interest he deserves.

18 Modern Woman Artists in the Castle in Bressuire City in Deux Sevres region of France opened an exhibition including Art, Ceramic and Cinema pieces. The first visitors of exhibition praised the pieces of Turkish artists.

18 MODERN TURKISH WOMAN ARTISTS IN FRANCE OPENED EXHIBITION

The pieces of 18 Modern Turkish Woman artists were included in the exhibition, which was opened upon special attempt of Attila Bayraktar, the artist who lives in Bressuire city of France. Exhibition, which includes pieces on art, ceramic and similar art pieces as well as cinema is referred to as a great opportunity to promote Turkish culture and art.

All financial costs of this exhibition, to which each artist attended with 10 pieces in the branch of plastic arts, are borne by the Municipality of Bressuire. This exhibition is the first and the foremost exhibition held on Turkish woman artists in France until now. It is known that most of the artists attending the exhibition live in France.

The exhibition, which was inaugurated by the Mayor of Bressuire Municipality and Mehmet Korhanlar, Honorary Consul of Turkey in Nantes on July 9, 2005, will be visited until August 28, 2005. 18 Modern Turkish woman artists, who have pieces in Bressuire Castle are as follows: Nevbahar Aksoy, Elif Ergezen,Ayda Su Nuroglu, Neveser Aksoy,Gencay Bengisu,Ayse Gezen, Nevhiz Tanyeli, Emine Kip, Aysun Coolen, Hilda Yosmayan, Melehat Özluk, Meral Sariali, Semiha Evcimen, Gunsel Nuroglu,Aydan Ercan, Inci Duygulu, Muzehher Pasin, Elif Oguz.

Paris ( Tan-Sar ) 12.7.2005

http://www.hodrimeydan.net/cagdaskadin.html

Attila exhibits his 23 pastel and 10 White-Pencil pieces in Bressuire museum.

ART IS LIKE AN OBLIGATION. DRAWING IS LIKE A RELIGION,

He is now 60 years old and has not been accounting for anybody except himself in BRESSUIRE for 11 years.

Having graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Istanbul, he moved to Paris and this man has considered the art at its best aspects: Modesty

He found the masters in Louvre Museum. Although he enrolled with the National College of Fine Arts of Paris, he had to leave there due to the lack of seriousness in education.

He says that he owes his growth to the researches at the museums and galleries as well as his conversations with the artists around.

Making NON-FIGURATIVE pictures at the beginning, Attila found his deficiencies when he entered into the Louvre museum. His constant concern is "REAL" principle.

Unlike many, "ART ABSTRAIT" is not hiding deficiencies but the real language of art, in his point of view.

"When you look at a table, you see colors and shapes before the identities of objects, and those colors and shapes influence your subconscious"

"I look at a cloth not just like a cloth but as an element of plastic art " says.

His purpose is to reach NON-FIGURATIVE before death but if it does not come naturally, this would be deceiving himself and others.

For now, Attila brings us to the line where abstract begins with his white pencil designs in his exhibition at BRESSUIRE museum.

2 giant paintings by Attila Bayraktar describing natural disasters and massacres will be exhibited in the museum next week.

Attila is an artist, who reacts strongly against a minor unfairness and teaches this reaction in his pictures...

Cartoons seen on pages of "COURRIER DE LOUEST" by time are evidences.

But when those stupid actions of human exceed the line of madness, Attila hugs its weapons, the brushes. He is merciless in this combat. He just finished a painting called "The unwanted of the Balkans".

This painting, which has been prepared for about one year, is a rebellion against genocide, violence, lack of friendship and brotherhood in the Balkans.

Spears grouped in metallic paints on 3 x 1.70 meters of canvas symbolize attack. Instead of a view of people lying on the floor full of holes on their bodies, artist emphasizes the COLD REALITY of DESTINY and violence in plastic elements. Two cold bodies in the middle of painting and white light tricks concentrate the cry within Attila.

Not even a small compensation as to plastic. On left, convoy of helpless, powerless people with no option other than escape are running towards an unknown direction within the irrelevance of big countries.

In addition to this giant painting, another pain has dwelled upon Attila. DUZCE, where his first house was built by his ancestors coming from Horasan about 1,5 century ago and is the place of birth, was collapsed entirely due to earthquakes occurred in 2 months interval. This was a second POMPEI for him.

He also reflected this disaster that affected emotionally Attila on his canvas.

Says "A real disaster, war, genocide, tension between people are cursed and genocide criminals are captured but who can we curse for those natural disasters? We just express our pain and take technical precautions" .

In this piece of Attila, expression is ABSTRE (ABSTRAIT), wide black bands, a silence on dark background, a hopeless scream because words are not just enough. Nightmare cannot be explained.

An abstraction like "GUERNICA".

He attempts a new adventure at 60 years old. He says "We are some kind of resource searches" and continues.

"I found a new source of excitement while making these sculptures."

After converting the big hall of his house next to Roman style church of Saint-Savveur village to an exhibition hall, the constructed a fountain with sculptures in front. He organized a group exhibition consisting of artists from BRESSUIRE at the opening night.

He is so fastidious and perfectionist that he made preliminary sketches and models. He learnt to use cement. Sculpture, especially with cement, out of his scope is a very dangerous adventure and "fountain" which is very humanistic has been formed hand-made upon a sincere communication.

A Turkish man, who became a BRESSUIRE man is now returning to his homeland to display exhibition between November 11 and December 04 1998 for the first time after 20 years.

Attila Bayraktar, who is a painter and also the master of art workshop "Grenier" and has been living in Saint Sauveur town for 15 years visited Turkey to display his 39 pieces that he undersigned here. These pieces of oil painting, pastel, design and gouache as the products of a flight but realistic looks on Bressuire region are exhibited at the Art Gallery of Destek Reasurans in Istanbul. Exhibition also features Nuler.

Like this city as a bridge between east and west, Attila is like the point where these two cultures meet. About the culture of his homeland, where he was born and grew, and the country where he moved and lived in to make perfect his growth as an artist at the National College of Fine Arts of Paris at the beginning of 60's, he says "elegance of the light here and nature are like northwest of Turkey, where I was born.
And thanks to this exhibition, Attila renews and fortifies his bonds with his homeland.

In between the light and shadow, against unfairness, in between anger and search of calmness, in between west, east and common sense.

A.Bayraktar is really the man of this time. He is at a place where two centuries intersect but where apparently contrary ideas occur. On the way to humanism as everybody lives, he is walking his own way.

Originating from a sunny place and land of creation, A.Bayraktar protected the warmness of pastel and soil color varieties and the look full of love established on this beauty coming from his own origin in Turkey. He is enjoying the cloudy pleasure and curls of his own homeland in Bocage, at the west of France, where he lives in today.

Like any artist trying to discover the universe with its entire existence, A.Bayraktar has been a researcher for his lifetime. His part sees beyond the place an eye can see. His landscapes consisting of a naked sketch on a surface as well as colors and tricks consisting of paints where sky meets the soil are never nature-morte but they are within emotional realities... Colors creating big screams generate the foundations out of humanity against war, human stupidity. Therefore, A. Bayraktar does not use big balls relating to this picture. He sees the events as is with a few effective lines. It is not necessary to add the truth of finding and the cruel explanation underlying those who forget the children of same soil is sufficient. In exact words, artist finds his own tendency there. He reminds his own brothers the duty of humanity.

A.Bayraktar is a symbol of world citizen. He establishes a bridge between east and west and fights for leaving a merry future. He becomes a whole with nature, he is believing, he adds his faith into his source of inspiration and is the strongest representative of this.