Talk: Luchezar Boyadjiev

SALT Galata, Workshop II-III

SALT opened its doors with “I am not a studio artist,” the most comprehensive exhibition to date of Hüseyin Bahri Alptekin (1957-2007). Since then objects and documents from the artist’s collection have been presented at SALT Galata. So far three selections have been prepared by Alptekin’s spouse Camila Rocha and his intimate friends Ahmet Şenkart and Özgür Uçkan; the fourth selection is composed by Luchezar Boyadjiev, a colleague of Alptekin’s who shared many experiences and exhibition collaborations with him.

Opening at SALT Galata on March 26, the selection has been divided into three conceptual parts by Boyadjiev: the first comprises objects (badges, matchboxes) and personal correspondence (letters, postcards); the second, ephemera from exhibitions and conferences; and lastly documents, caviar boxes and labels in Bulgarian, Russian or Ukrainian, written in the Cyrillic alphabet.

Boyadjiev’s selection creates a narrative through Alptekin’s objects and ephemera to express complementary and contradictory ideas. Boyadjiev engages in a dialogue with these materials to suggest the reasons why Alptekin chose and collected them; he also detects traces of his own professional past, thanks to the projects the two artists worked on together. There are also some objects that Boyadjiev includes in his selection purely for their design or aura.

Boyadjiev to talk about his selection at SALT Galata
“In the Hüseyin Bahri Alptekin Collection at SALT Galata, one can find next to each other, a book on the simplest of cars, the infamous yet iconic Trabant – that plastic glory of socialist East German industry from before 1989; and a volume of the most heavy-duty theory – Derrida’s Of Grammatology, a book that was instrumental in the revolution from 1968, a mere 10 years before Alptekin went to study in Paris.” Luchezar Boyadjiev

Boyadjiev will talk about his research in the Hüseyin Bahri Alptekin Archive and the process of making his selection at SALT Galata, Workshop II-III, on Tuesday, March 26, 18.30. Boyadjiev, who points out that Alptekin was neither a studio artist nor a library artist, will dwell on Alptekin’s life and production amid people, cities, books, and ideas. He will also examine Alptekin’s artistic praxis of linking together culture(s), history(ies), and geography(ies).

The talk will be held in English.

Hüseyin Bahri Alptekin
Artist, writer, lecturer and curator Hüseyin Bahri Alptekin (1957-2007) studied aesthetics, philosophy of art and sociology in İstanbul and Paris. After working as a photographer for SIPA Press and writing for various publications as an art and design critic, Alptekin lectured at Bilkent University and İstanbul Bilgi University, and participated in many panels and symposia on contemporary art, both locally and internationally. In 2007, he represented Turkey in the 52nd Venice Biennale with his installation Don’t Complain. The same year, he participated in the exhibition Global Cities at Tate Modern, London. Between 2000 and 2004, Alptekin ran the non-profit artists’ collective Sea Elephant Travel Agency, which hosted a residency program for artists and organized conferences. Exhibitions in which Alptekin participated include the São Paolo Biennial (1998); Cetinje Biennial (2002), where he won the UNESCO Prize; How Latitudes Become Forms, Walker Art Center (2003); Manifesta 5 (2004); 3. Tirana Biennal (2005); and the International Istanbul Biennial (1995, 2005).

Luchezar Boyadjiev
Artist Luchezar Boyadjiev lives and works in Sofia. His works deal with private interpretation of public processes; urban visuality and art in public space; as well as with the mutual contamination between the private and the public spheres. His works have been exhibited at venues and exhibitions including Sofia Contemporary (Bulgaria, 2012); 2nd Ural Industrial Biennial (Russia, 2012); The First Kyiv International Biennale (Ukraine, 2012); ZKM (Germany, 2011); Friends Gallery (Bulgaria, 2011); 2nd International Antakya Biennial (Turkey, 2010); KAI10 Raum fuer Kunst (Germany, 2010); Gallery One & Perimeter Gallery (UK, 2010); MUSA/Museum auf Abruf (Austria, 2009); Futura - Center for Contemporary Art (Czech Republic, 2009); 2nd Biennial in Singapore (2008); 7th SITE Biennial (USA, 2008) and 2nd Moscow Biennale (Russia, 2007). Boyadjiev is a founding member of the Institute of Contemporary Art (Sofia, Bulgaria).