EKIN SU KOÇ (TR)
ON EARTH, ON MOON, ON MARS
9 APRIL - 1 MAY

Galleri Christoffer Egelund is proud to present a first solo exhibition in Copenhagen by Turkish born German based artist - Ekin Su Koç.

The oeuvre of Ekin Su Koç is enlightened in the exhibition. With her skilled hand and multiple production methods, the gallery space becomes a canvas for a collage made of paintings, reliefs and wall sculptures. What stands out immediately is Ekin Su Koç’s take on “Adam and Eve”, compositions of various materials soaked in epoxy and the most recent series of textile wall sculptures named “Altbau”, leading us to inhale and digest the multidimensionality of an artist’s body of work. All the compositions are visibly appealing, detail oriented and with carefully selected colour palettes, yet the stories and worlds created here are not purely decorative.

Using technique of collage in its full proficiency the artist puts together materials she encounters on her life journey such as maps, photographs, fabrics, magazines. Ekin Su Koç recombines images and texts to analyze the popular culture and social constructs. She follows magnificently the path set out by the German Dadaist and pioneer of collage named Hannah Höch, who noted that “there are no limits to the materials available for pictorial collages - above all they can be found in photography, but also in writing and printed matter, even in waste products”. The use of white colour in the paintings and collages comes from Ekin Su Koç’s inspiration of American multidisciplinary artist Kiki Smith, who uses the delicate background in her figurative paintings of nature and body. Another influence on Su Koç’s oeuvre is Anselm Kiefer, on whom she based her Master’s thesis: “Anselm Kiefer: Form and Content’s Resources of His Art”.

The collage is present as an oil painting on canvas, a mixed elements relief in epoxy, or a fabric wall sculpture. All for the purpose of creating a new look and mindset for the appreciation of the present. “On Earth, On Moon, On Mars” is an invitation to stop for a moment and connect the past stories with the dream of the future. Ekin Su Koç proposes her version of the by-gone events - historical, cultural and societal. She highlights the importance of realisation of how grounded one is in the presence and then requests our company for an imaginary ensuing trip to Moon or Mars.

The themes found in Ekin Su Koç’s artworks are of relatable nature, summoning the viewer to think of the ideas of beauty, identity, gender and the sense of being. The concepts derive from the artist’s personal experience as a female artist who left her country Turkey and settled down in a cultural metropolis - Berlin. The exhibition’s title - “On Earth, On Moon, On Mars” is a connection of the newest works (“Earth”) together with series she has been previously working on (“On Moon or Mars”), forming a new chapter of her creation.

The artist questions our relation to space and other planets with “On Moon or Mars” series. With the Anthropocene era fully in action and the impact of human behaviour on the planet and ecosystem she asks us: “What to carry to Moon or Mars with me?” - relating to the current lifestyle of having a social position and the possessions it brings with it. The reference to cultural heritage of humanity can also be spotted in her sculptures. She uses delicately produced, old handmade fabrics of Nomads from Turkey in her recent “Altbau” series. With these works she aims to reflect gender bias, patriarchal traces and east/west culture contrasts in everyday objects. She simply takes plaster moulds form Berlin’s architectural details that have the similar patterns as nomadic fabrics from Turkey.

Ekin Su Koç is born in 1986 in Istanbul, Turkey and currently lives and works in Berlin. She holds a BA from Mimar Sinan Fine Art University, an MA in Painting from the University of Sevilla and an Master of Fine Arts from Isik University. She is also the receiver of the scholarship Stiftung Kunstfonds, Neustart Kultur Art Fond in 2020. Ekin Su Koç has had successful solo and group exhibitions in international galleries, biennales and museums and is represented in private and public collections in Turkey, Germany, Denmark, UK, USA and Middle East.

Opening hours: Wednesday - Friday 15.00-18.00, Saturday 12.00-16.00 or after appointment. If you would like more information about the artworks please contact us at hello@christofferegelund.dk or phone +45 33939200. For more details also please have a look at www.christofferegelund.dk.

The exhibition On Earth or Moon or Mars by Ekin Su Koç runs from April 9th to May 1st 2021.

The gallery follows the public health regulations in regards to the COVID-19 situation in Denmark. There will be limitations on the number of visitors in the gallery at a time. We also kindly remind, that it is possible to schedule visits at our webpage: https://christofferegelund.dk/schedule/