For me, producing works is like speaking—I could not live without it. 

 

Though I had in the past already been closely involved in production, I decided to follow the path/journey of art in order to work with more freedom and be able to better express myself and my personal trials.  I have never lost my passion for producing. 

 

My first year at the Academy in the sculpture department gave me a passion for three-dimensional work, which led to my choice of “polymer clay” as the main material of my works. 

 

The dominant theme in my works is the composition of a whole via the repetition of parts.  This can be seen as an extension of my textiles education, and has become a cornerstone of my identity as an artist. 

 

I believe that the identification of materials when producing works is very important.  I am constantly excited by the idea of pushing the limits of materials and creativity, the potency of every moment and its ripeness for discovery as well as the idea of incorporating this newness into my work.  Imagine if a writer could add new letters to the alphabet, and with these letters create words that have never been used before, thereby creating a new, unique and precious medium for expressing whatever he/she wishes to say about the world. 

 

I like to incorporate technology and various disciplines into my works.  You can see this in the written stories that sometimes accompany my works or QR codes that I have used to incorporate the viewer into the works interactively. 

 

If I make an attempt to describe the general framework of my artwork, I would say that the most important starting points for me are the emotional losses and gains I have experienced in various phases of my life, my observations about life, my personal experiences and the way all of these things reflect on daily life, behavior and emotional states. 

 

 

ALEV GOZONAR  (b. 1961, Turkey)

 

Mimar Sinan University, Istanbul Fine Arts Academy, Textile, 1983

Lives and works in Istanbul.

 

Solo Exibitions:

 

2012 “Way”, Mabeyn Art Gallery, Istanbul/Turkey

2009 “e) Hicbiri”, Cagla Cabaoglu Art Gallery, Istanbul/Turkey

 

 

Group Exibitions:

 

2011, “Reminder”, Contemporary Art Marketing, Istanbul/Turkey

2009, “Sculpting in your Hands”,Fullercraft Museum, Baltimore

2008, “Istanbul-u-yorum”, Mimar Sinan University Istanbul/Turkey

2008, “III. International Tulip Festival”, Tulips Sculpture and Design         

          Exibition, Istanbul/Turkey

2008, “Moving Forward, Looking Back”, NPCG Synergy Conference   

          Baltimore, Maryland

2007, “Cow Parade”, Turkey

2007, “Baykuslar Yuvada”, Mimar Sinan University Istanbul/Turkey

2006,  Accenturc/Hillside, Istanbul/Turkey

 

 

Art Fairs:

 

2011, “Contemporary Istanbul”, Turkey

2011, “Scope” Art Fair, Basel/Switzerland

2010, ”Contemporary Istanbul”, Turkey

2010, “The Asia Pasific Contemporary Art Fair”, Shanghai/China

2009, “Contemporary Istanbul”, Turkey

2008, “Contemporary Istanbul“, Turkey

2007, “Contemporary Istanbul”, Turkey

2007, “Art Istanbul”, Turkey

 

Collections:

 

“proje 4L” Elgiz Museum of Contemporary Art, Istanbul/Turkey

Private Collections, Istanbul/Turkey