MSFAU- VitrA Ceramic Art Studio’s exhibition titled “TEN” has brought the works created by seventeen artists as part of the guest artist program between the years 2012-2022, to the audience. Organized in Tophane-i Amire Culture and art Center in February, the exhibition witnessed the studio’s past ten years of interaction between the artists and the students and academicians under the roof of the university.
AYCA UGUR
Taking shape on the basis of Dr. Nejat F. Eczacibasi’s thoughts in 1957; “Every sort of investment made to art and culture is a contribution made straight to the social existence, economy, policy and whole self-respect of society”, the VitrA Art Studio was founded in the Eczacibasi laboratory located in Mumhane. The studio has become an environment of work for artists and also introduced young talents to the field of ceramics with competitions and courses. In the later years, it has offered working environments for artists under the Eczacibasi Ceramic Factories in Kartal and continued its’ existence at the helm of Belma and Sadi Diren. As a follow-on of the old Eczacibasi Modern Art Studio, it continued to be a working and meeting point for artists at the helm of Reyhan Gurses with the name VitrA Ceramic Art Studio in 1997. Along with multidisciplinary exhibitions opened, works of the artists involved in the studio have been presented in various cities around Turkey with “Personal Traces” exhibitions since 1998.
Hosted artists such as Alev Ebuzziya, Candeger Furtun, Tuzum Kizilcan, Erdogan Ersen, Cevdet Altug, Alev Ilker, Hasan Tugay, Nasip Iyem, VitrA Ceramic Art Studio began to continue its’ work with the name “MSFAU – VitrA Ceramic Art Studio” in Ceramic and Glass Department’s workshops as a result of a special protocol signed with Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University Ceramic Products Research and Application Center – SERAM in 2012. The Head of Department Prof. Suleyman Belen says “The most important aspect of this idea is the artist working in the studio being able to make their works together with education and making it possible for students to experience new things thanks to this activities. There’s also the idea of being a point of attraction especially for foreign artists because of the location of our university”.
17 artists who have been hosted in the studio throughout this 10 years of time are respectively Ole Lislerud, Bernard Heesen, Ayfer Kalsin, Sevim Cizer, Gungor Guner, Piet Stockmans, Yesim Zumrut, Burcu Ozturk Karabey, Funda Susamoglu, Sirin Kocak, Yasemin Yarol, Gulfidan Ozmen, Petr Stacho, Mutlu Baskaya, Mustafa Agatekin, Beril Anilanmert and Kemal Tizgol; event series of Artist Talks and Culture Talks have been hosted where figures from many areas such as art, design, archeology took place and exhibitions titled “Contact- Ole Lislerud” and “Eighteen Nineteen” have been organized. Keeping its’ contribution to the world of art with 15 online conferences in the pandemic MSFAU- VitrA Ceramic Art Studio is continuing to host artists after these times.
Head of the Ceramic Products Research and Application Center Assoc. Prof. Ayse Kursuncu shared the influence of this collaboration and the excitement of the new exhibition with the following words: “Hostin 17 artists since the year 2021, seeing the sources of inspiration of their artistic creation, learning about their working systems, experiencing their special techniques and involving in the artists’ creation ventures together with the students of Ceramic and Glass Department, is a peerless experience for all of us which made it possible for professional fund of knowledge. Being the host and a part of this process is a blissful thing”.
And Emre Zeytinoglu talked about “TEN: MSFAU- VitrA Ceramic Art Studio 2012-2022 Works” as follows: “Here, the collaboration between the VitrA Ceramic Art Studio and the Mimar Sinan Fine Arts Faculty Ceramic and Glass Department, is gaining importance: On one side a university department that’s interested in the theoretical aspects, rules and criteria of this art and on the other side a unit of industry that supports every application in that department with its’ technological equipment… And art exhibitions arising from this collaboration…”
