SODA in İstanbul is hosting Ali Artun’s ‘’Dreamer Architecture - Architecture of Free Tools’’ exhibition until October 28.
The exhibition is composed of assemblages created by Artun over the years, where tools such as compasses, scissors, clamps, calipers, and hourglasses come together to form various compositions. Artun showcases the aesthetics created when these tools abandon their functionality and become autonomous, transcending their original purposes.
"The Architecture of Free Tools" draws inspiration from a tradition of "dreamer architecture" where architecture relies more on imagination than functionality, being poetic and mysterious.
"Tools become more beautiful when they abandon their function. Stripped of their utility and becoming autonomous, they cease to be instruments of architecture and instead become instruments of aesthetics. It is at that moment that they create their own architecture. They shed measurement, proportion, calculation, or hammering, breaking, and take on a poetic essence. They move from the realm of reason to the realm of imagination. From being the tools of construction, they transform into the playthings of architectural play."
About Ali Artun
Ali Artun studied architecture at the Middle East Technical University. After his research work and leadership roles at the Chamber of Architects, he founded Galeri Nev in Ankara in 1984, where he managed the gallery's exhibitions and publications. He established and exhibited the contemporary art collection of the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (TCMB). Additionally, he curated exhibitions such as "Cobra" in Ankara, "I Am Another" in Copenhagen, and "Mübin Orhon-Sainsbury Collection" in Istanbul. He took part in the establishment and then the administration of Sanart (Association of Aesthetics and Visual Culture).
Artun also taught art history and theory at Marmara, Yıldız and Istanbul Technical (İTÜ) Universities. He has published books and articles on 20th-century art and museology. He is the founding editor of the Skop art history magazine and the Art-Life series by İletişim Publishing. (AÖ/PE)
