Artist: Nilbar Güreş
Exhibition title: Erzähl mir (Tell me)
Curated by: Imke Kannegießer
Venue: Kunstverein Reutlingen, Reutlingen, Germany
Date: November 17, 2019 – February 2, 2020
Photography: all images copyright and courtesy of the artist and Kunstverein Reutlingen
The solo exhibition Erzähl mir (Tell me) by Nilbar Güreş deals with the effects of hegemonic structures and conflicts on human coexistence and the environment. Central themes of the exhibition are identity, internal and external migration, as well as the organization of minorities in relation to ruling power mechanisms. The focus is on people and their relationships to each other in private and public space.
The artistic praxis of Nilbar Güreş is based on a performative approach and a precise observation of the cultural environment. Güreş often collaborates with women and specific social groups, including them as leading figures in her projects. On display are various media such as photography, collage, drawing, sculpture and film from recent years and from different projects. In addition, new productions will be on view that are specially created for Kunstverein Reutlingen.
Key work of the exhibition is the 3-channel video projection Open Phone Booth (2010-2011), which is displayed for the first time in Germany. Güreş follows family roots and portrays the Kurdish-Alevi inhabitants, a self-conscious, modern and open-minded minority in Turkey. Living in a village in Eastern Turkey, they are cut off from the major metropolises of Turkey in infrastructure, social and political terms. Open Phone Booth is a sensitive poem about how survival is part of human condition determined by the state-controlled everyday reality and the direction of global change.
The large-format textile work life-proof curtain (2019), a curtain especially created for the exhibition and made of specific fabrics and traditional patterns, combines concepts of home and identity. It marks the separation between the inside and the outside. The opaque curtain once more symbolizes the isolation of the Kurdish-Alevi minority. Generally, it intends to provoke a dialogue between cultures by consistently referring to the impressive window front of the institution’s architecture and being visible from afar. For Güreş, textiles and fabrics are a productive source and means of expression of subversive criticism. The new collage Location / Konum (2019) addresses the complexity of the literally interwoven interactions between technological progress, environmental challenges, and ethics towards living beings.
Nilbar Güreş uses a highly nuanced, sometimes provocative set of signs and symbols, expressed with precise aesthetic enactments of material. At the same time, she relies upon a characteristic humor to offer possibilities of immediate accessibility.
Special thanks to Ayşe Umur; Gallery Martin Janda, Vienna; Gallery Tanja Wagner, Berlin; Galerist, Istanbul.
Exhibition view Kunstverein Reutlingen, Nilbar Güreş. Erzähl mir (Tell me), 17.11.2019-02.02.2020. © Kunstverein Reutlingen, Photo: Karolina Sobel, 2019
Exhibition view Kunstverein Reutlingen, Nilbar Güreş. Erzähl mir (Tell me), 17.11.2019-02.02.2020. © Kunstverein Reutlingen, Photo: Karolina Sobel, 2019
Exhibition view Kunstverein Reutlingen, Nilbar Güreş. Erzähl mir (Tell me), 17.11.2019-02.02.2020. © Kunstverein Reutlingen, Photo: Karolina Sobel, 2019
Installation view Kunstverein Reutlingen, Nilbar Güreş. Erzähl mir (Tell me), 17.11.2019-02.02.2020, left: We became Rocks on the Rocks & The Patterns Getting Alive, 2015, Mixed media on paper, 20.5 x 29.5 cm each; right: Untitled, 2015, Mixed media on Paper, 20.9 x 29.5 cm. Courtesy the artist, Gallery Martin Janda, Vienna / Gallery Tanja Wagner, Berlin / Galerist, Istanbul. © Kunstverein Reutlingen, Photo: Karolina Sobel, 2019
Nilbar Güreş, Untitled, 2015, Mixed media on Paper, 20.9 x 29.5 cm. Courtesy the artist, Gallery Martin Janda, Vienna / Gallery Tanja Wagner, Berlin / Galerist, Istanbul. © Kunstverein Reutlingen, Photo: Karolina Sobel, 2019.
Installation view Kunstverein Reutlingen, Nilbar Güreş. Erzähl mir (Tell me), 17.11.2019-02.02.2020. © Kunstverein Reutlingen, Photo: Karolina Sobel, 2019
Nilbar Güreş, Life-Proof Curtain, 2019, Fabric, 3.09 x 14.5 m (4 pieces). Courtesy the artist, Gallery Martin Janda, Vienna / Gallery Tanja Wagner, Berlin / Galerist, Istanbul. © Kunstverein Reutlingen, Photo: Karolina Sobel, 2019.
Nilbar Güreş, Life-Proof Curtain (Detail), 2019, Fabric, 3.09 x 14.5 m (4 pieces). Courtesy the artist, Gallery Martin Janda, Vienna / Gallery Tanja Wagner, Berlin / Galerist, Istanbul. © Kunstverein Reutlingen, Photo: Karolina Sobel, 2019
Nilbar Güreş, Life-Proof Curtain, 2019, Fabric, 3.09 x 14.5 m (4 pieces). Courtesy the artist, Gallery Martin Janda, Vienna / Gallery Tanja Wagner, Berlin / Galerist, Istanbul. © Kunstverein Reutlingen, Photo: Karolina Sobel, 2019.
Installation view Kunstverein Reutlingen, Nilbar Güreş. Erzähl mir (Tell me), 17.11.2019-02.02.2020, Open Phone Booth Series, 2011, C-Prints, 50 x 70 cm each. Courtesy the artist, Gallery Martin Janda, Vienna / Gallery Tanja Wagner, Berlin / Galerist, Istanbul. © Kunstverein Reutlingen, Photo: Karolina Sobel, 2019
Installation view Kunstverein Reutlingen, Nilbar Güreş. Erzähl mir (Tell me), 17.11.2019-02.02.2020, Open Phone Booth Series, 2011, C-Prints, 50 x 70 cm each. Courtesy the artist, Gallery Martin Janda, Vienna / Gallery Tanja Wagner, Berlin / Galerist, Istanbul. © Kunstverein Reutlingen, Photo: Karolina Sobel, 2019
Installation view Kunstverein Reutlingen, Nilbar Güreş. Erzähl mir (Tell me), 17.11.2019-02.02.2020, left: Konum / Location, Mixed media on fabric, 2019, 120 x 80 cm, middle: Cemile is Standing, from the series Open Phone Booth, 2011, C-Print, 112.5 x 154.5 cm, right: Open Phone Booth Series, 2011, C-Prints, 50 x 70 cm each. Courtesy the artist, Gallery Martin Janda, Vienna / Gallery Tanja Wagner, Berlin / Galerist, Istanbul. © Kunstverein Reutlingen, Photo: Karolina Sobel, 2019
Nilbar Güreş, Konum / Location, Mixed media on fabric, 2019, 120 x 80 cm. Courtesy the artist, Gallery Martin Janda, Vienna / Gallery Tanja Wagner, Berlin / Galerist, Istanbul. © Kunstverein Reutlingen, Photo: Karolina Sobel, 2019
Nilbar Güreş, Konum / Location, Mixed media on fabric, 2019, 120 x 80 cm. Courtesy the artist, Gallery Martin Janda, Vienna / Gallery Tanja Wagner, Berlin / Galerist, Istanbul. © Kunstverein Reutlingen, Photo: Karolina Sobel, 2019
Installation view Kunstverein Reutlingen, Nilbar Güreş. Erzähl mir (Tell me), 17.11.2019-02.02.2020, Konum / Location, Mixed media on fabric, 2019, 120 x 80 cm. Courtesy the artist, Gallery Martin Janda, Vienna / Gallery Tanja Wagner, Berlin / Galerist, Istanbul. © Kunstverein Reutlingen, Photo: Karolina Sobel, 2019
Installation view Kunstverein Reutlingen, Nilbar Güreş. Erzähl mir (Tell me), 17.11.2019-02.02.2020, Konum / Location, Mixed media on fabric, 2019, 120 x 80 cm. Courtesy the artist, Gallery Martin Janda, Vienna / Gallery Tanja Wagner, Berlin / Galerist, Istanbul. © Kunstverein Reutlingen, Photo: Karolina Sobel, 2019
Installation view Kunstverein Reutlingen, Nilbar Güreş. Erzähl mir (Tell me), 17.11.2019-02.02.2020, Konum / Location (Detail), Mixed media on fabric, 2019, 120 x 80 cm. Courtesy the artist, Gallery Martin Janda, Vienna / Gallery Tanja Wagner, Berlin / Galerist, Istanbul. © Kunstverein Reutlingen, Photo: Karolina Sobel, 2019
Nilbar Güreş, Life-Proof Curtain (Detail), 2019, Fabric, 3.09 x 14.5 m (4 pieces). Courtesy the artist, Gallery Martin Janda, Vienna / Gallery Tanja Wagner, Berlin / Galerist, Istanbul. © Kunstverein Reutlingen, Photo: Karolina Sobel, 2019.
Installation view Kunstverein Reutlingen, Nilbar Güreş. Erzähl mir (Tell me), 17.11.2019-02.02.2020, left: Haydar and his Friends, middle: Telecommunication 1, right: BERF, all: from the series Open Phone Booth, 2011, C-Print, 112.5 x 154.5 cm, Courtesy the artist, Gallery Martin Janda, Vienna / Gallery Tanja Wagner, Berlin / Galerist, Istanbul. © Kunstverein Reutlingen, Photo: Karolina Sobel, 2019
Exhibition view Kunstverein Reutlingen, Nilbar Güreş. Erzähl mir (Tell me), 17.11.2019-02.02.2020. © Kunstverein Reutlingen, Photo: Karolina Sobel, 2019
Exhibition view Kunstverein Reutlingen, Nilbar Güreş. Erzähl mir (Tell me), 17.11.2019-02.02.2020. © Kunstverein Reutlingen, Photo: Karolina Sobel, 2019
Installation view Kunstverein Reutlingen, Nilbar Güreş. Erzähl mir (Tell me), 17.11.2019-02.02.2020, left: Thirsty, 2015, fabric, textile colour, pen, coloured pencil on twill, 172.2 x 151.1 x 5.5 cm, middle: Thirsty for Lilly, 2018, plastic, wire, fabric, modelling material, flowerpot, stones, ceramics, dimensions variable, right: #BURAKÖZGÜNER, 2019, dimensions variable, Courtesy the artist, Gallery Martin Janda, Vienna / Gallery Tanja Wagner, Berlin / Galerist, Istanbul. © Kunstverein Reutlingen, Photo: Karolina Sobel, 2019
Nilbar Güreş, Thirsty, 2015, fabric, textile colour, pen, coloured pencil on twill, 172.2 x 151.1 x 5.5 cm, Courtesy the artist, Gallery Martin Janda, Vienna / Gallery Tanja Wagner, Berlin / Galerist, Istanbul. © Kunstverein Reutlingen, Photo: Karolina Sobel, 2019
Installation view Kunstverein Reutlingen, Nilbar Güreş. Erzähl mir (Tell me), 17.11.2019-02.02.2020, back: Thirsty, 2015, fabric, textile colour, pen, coloured pencil on twill, 172.2 x 151.1 x 5.5 cm, front: Thirsty for Lilly, 2018, plastic, wire, fabric, modelling material, flowerpot, stones, ceramics, dimensions variable, Courtesy the artist, Gallery Martin Janda, Vienna / Gallery Tanja Wagner, Berlin / Galerist, Istanbul. © Kunstverein Reutlingen, Photo: Karolina Sobel, 2019
Nilbar Güreş, Thirsty for Lilly, 2018, plastic, wire, fabric, modelling material, flowerpot, stones, ceramics, dimensions variable, Courtesy the artist, Gallery Martin Janda, Vienna / Gallery Tanja Wagner, Berlin / Galerist, Istanbul. © Kunstverein Reutlingen, Photo: Karolina Sobel, 2019
Installation view Kunstverein Reutlingen, Nilbar Güreş. Erzähl mir (Tell me), 17.11.2019-02.02.2020, back: Thirsty, 2015, fabric, textile colour, pen, coloured pencil on twill, 172.2 x 151.1 x 5.5 cm, front: Thirsty for Lilly, 2018, plastic, wire, fabric, modelling material, flowerpot, stones, ceramics, dimensions variable, Courtesy the artist, Gallery Martin Janda, Vienna / Gallery Tanja Wagner, Berlin / Galerist, Istanbul. © Kunstverein Reutlingen, Photo: Karolina Sobel, 2019
Nilbar Güreş, Thirsty for Lilly (Detail), 2018, plastic, wire, fabric, modelling material, flowerpot, stones, ceramics, dimensions variable, Courtesy the artist, Gallery Martin Janda, Vienna / Gallery Tanja Wagner, Berlin / Galerist, Istanbul. © Kunstverein Reutlingen, Photo: Karolina Sobel, 2019
Nilbar Güreş, Thirsty (Detail), 2015, fabric, textile colour, pen, coloured pencil on twill, 172.2 x 151.1 x 5.5 cm, Courtesy the artist, Gallery Martin Janda, Vienna / Gallery Tanja Wagner, Berlin / Galerist, Istanbul. © Kunstverein Reutlingen, Photo: Karolina Sobel, 2019
Nilbar Güreş, Thirsty (Detail), 2015, fabric, textile colour, pen, coloured pencil on twill, 172.2 x 151.1 x 5.5 cm, Courtesy the artist, Gallery Martin Janda, Vienna / Gallery Tanja Wagner, Berlin / Galerist, Istanbul. © Kunstverein Reutlingen, Photo: Karolina Sobel, 2019
Installation view Kunstverein Reutlingen, Nilbar Güreş. Erzähl mir (Tell me), 17.11.2019-02.02.2020, #BURAKÖZGÜNER, 2019, dimensions variable, Courtesy the artist, Gallery Martin Janda, Vienna / Gallery Tanja Wagner, Berlin / Galerist, Istanbul. © Kunstverein Reutlingen, Photo: Karolina Sobel, 2019
Installation view Kunstverein Reutlingen, Nilbar Güreş. Erzähl mir (Tell me), 17.11.2019-02.02.2020, left: Thirsty for Lilly, 2018, plastic, wire, fabric, modelling material, flowerpot, stones, ceramics, dimensions variable, right: #BURAKÖZGÜNER, 2019, dimensions variable, Courtesy the artist, Gallery Martin Janda, Vienna / Gallery Tanja Wagner, Berlin / Galerist, Istanbul. © Kunstverein Reutlingen, Photo: Karolina Sobel, 2019
Installation view Kunstverein Reutlingen, Nilbar Güreş. Erzähl mir (Tell me), 17.11.2019-02.02.2020, left: Thirsty, 2015, fabric, textile colour, pen, coloured pencil on twill, 172.2 x 151.1 x 5.5 cm, middle: Thirsty for Lilly, 2018, plastic, wire, fabric, modelling material, flowerpot, stones, ceramics, dimensions variable, right: #BURAKÖZGÜNER, 2019, dimensions variable, Courtesy the artist, Gallery Martin Janda, Vienna / Gallery Tanja Wagner, Berlin / Galerist, Istanbul. © Kunstverein Reutlingen, Photo: Karolina Sobel, 2019
Installation view Kunstverein Reutlingen, Nilbar Güreş. Erzähl mir (Tell me), 17.11.2019-02.02.2020, Open Phone Booth, 2011, 3-channel HD video, colour, sound, 33:46 min., Courtesy the artist, Gallery Martin Janda, Vienna / Gallery Tanja Wagner, Berlin / Galerist, Istanbul. © Kunstverein Reutlingen, Photo: Karolina Sobel, 2019
Installation view Kunstverein Reutlingen, Nilbar Güreş. Erzähl mir (Tell me), 17.11.2019-02.02.2020, Open Phone Booth, 2011, 3-channel HD video, colour, sound, 33:46 min., Courtesy the artist, Gallery Martin Janda, Vienna / Gallery Tanja Wagner, Berlin / Galerist, Istanbul. © Kunstverein Reutlingen, Photo: Karolina Sobel, 2019
Installation view Kunstverein Reutlingen, Nilbar Güreş. Erzähl mir (Tell me), 17.11.2019-02.02.2020, Open Phone Booth, 2011, 3-channel HD video, colour, sound, 33:46 min., Courtesy the artist, Gallery Martin Janda, Vienna / Gallery Tanja Wagner, Berlin / Galerist, Istanbul. © Kunstverein Reutlingen, Photo: Karolina Sobel, 2019
Nilbar Güreş, Identity, 2011, from the series Open Phone Booth, 2011, C-Print, 112.5 x 154.5 cm, Courtesy the artist, Gallery Martin Janda, Vienna / Gallery Tanja Wagner, Berlin / Galerist, Istanbul. © Kunstverein Reutlingen, Photo: Karolina Sobel, 2019
Installation view Kunstverein Reutlingen, Nilbar Güreş. Erzähl mir (Tell me), 17.11.2019-02.02.2020, Identity, 2011, from the series Open Phone Booth, 2011, C-Print, 112.5 x 154.5 cm, Courtesy the artist, Gallery Martin Janda, Vienna / Gallery Tanja Wagner, Berlin / Galerist, Istanbul. © Kunstverein Reutlingen, Photo: Karolina Sobel, 2019
Installation view Kunstverein Reutlingen, Nilbar Güreş. Erzähl mir (Tell me), 17.11.2019-02.02.2020, SEE/SAW, 2019, Wallpaper, 300 x 370 cm, Courtesy the artist, Gallery Martin Janda, Vienna / Gallery Tanja Wagner, Berlin / Galerist, Istanbul. © Kunstverein Reutlingen, Photo: Karolina Sobel, 2019
Exhibition view Kunstverein Reutlingen, Nilbar Güreş. Erzähl mir (Tell me), 17.11.2019-02.02.2020, left: La Paz Series, 2016, all: mixed media on paper, 24 x 32 cm, right: SEE/SAW, 2019, Wallpaper, 300 x 370 cm, © Kunstverein Reutlingen, Photo: Karolina Sobel, 2019
Installation view Kunstverein Reutlingen, Nilbar Güreş. Erzähl mir (Tell me), 17.11.2019-02.02.2020, SEE/SAW, 2019, Wallpaper, 300 x 370 cm, Courtesy the artist, Gallery Martin Janda, Vienna / Gallery Tanja Wagner, Berlin / Galerist, Istanbul. © Kunstverein Reutlingen, Photo: Karolina Sobel, 2019
Installation view Kunstverein Reutlingen, Nilbar Güreş. Erzähl mir (Tell me), 17.11.2019-02.02.2020, left: Firmly Tied, middle: Nomades, right: How I met your Mom, all: from the series La Paz, 2016, Mixed media on paper, 24 x 32 cm, Courtesy the artist, Gallery Martin Janda, Vienna / Gallery Tanja Wagner, Berlin / Galerist, Istanbul. © Kunstverein Reutlingen, Photo: Karolina Sobel, 2019
Installation view Kunstverein Reutlingen, Nilbar Güreş. Erzähl mir (Tell me), 17.11.2019-02.02.2020, left: Heartache of a Stone, middle: Covered Flamingos, right: Stranded Thoughts in a Landscape, all: from the series La Paz, 2016, Mixed media on paper, 24 x 32 cm, Courtesy the artist, Gallery Martin Janda, Vienna / Gallery Tanja Wagner, Berlin / Galerist, Istanbul. © Kunstverein Reutlingen, Photo: Karolina Sobel, 2019
Installation view Kunstverein Reutlingen, Nilbar Güreş. Erzähl mir (Tell me), 17.11.2019-02.02.2020, La Paz Series, 2016, all: Mixed media on paper, 24 x 32 cm, Courtesy the artist, Gallery Martin Janda, Vienna / Gallery Tanja Wagner, Berlin / Galerist, Istanbul. © Kunstverein Reutlingen, Photo: Karolina Sobel, 2019
Installation view Kunstverein Reutlingen, Nilbar Güreş. Erzähl mir (Tell me), 17.11.2019-02.02.2020, La Paz Series, 2016, all: Mixed media on paper, 24 x 32 cm, Courtesy the artist, Gallery Martin Janda, Vienna / Gallery Tanja Wagner, Berlin / Galerist, Istanbul. © Kunstverein Reutlingen, Photo: Karolina Sobel, 2019
Nilbar Güreş, Smile to yourself, 2016, Mixed media on paper, each 24 x 32 cm (4 parts), Courtesy the artist, Gallery Martin Janda, Vienna / Gallery Tanja Wagner, Berlin / Galerist, Istanbul. © Kunstverein Reutlingen, Photo: Karolina Sobel, 2019
Installation view Kunstverein Reutlingen, Nilbar Güreş. Erzähl mir (Tell me), 17.11.2019-02.02.2020, left: Smile to yourself, 2016, Mixed media on paper, each 24 x 32 cm (4 parts), right: Labyrinth, 2019, Mixed media on fabric, 148 x 107.5 cm, Courtesy the artist, Gallery Martin Janda, Vienna / Gallery Tanja Wagner, Berlin / Galerist, Istanbul. © Kunstverein Reutlingen, Photo: Karolina Sobel, 2019
Nilbar Güreş, Labyrinth, 2019, Mixed media on fabric, 148 x 107.5 cm, Courtesy the artist, Gallery Martin Janda, Vienna / Gallery Tanja Wagner, Berlin / Galerist, Istanbul. © Kunstverein Reutlingen, Photo: Karolina Sobel, 2019.
Nilbar Güreş, Labyrinth (Detail), 2019, Mixed media on fabric, 148 x 107.5 cm, Courtesy the artist, Gallery Martin Janda, Vienna / Gallery Tanja Wagner, Berlin / Galerist, Istanbul. © Kunstverein Reutlingen, Photo: Karolina Sobel, 2019
Nilbar Güreş, Volcano, 2016, from the series La Paz, 2016, Mixed media on fabric, 47 x 104.5 cm, Courtesy the artist, Gallery Martin Janda, Vienna / Gallery Tanja Wagner, Berlin / Galerist, Istanbul. © Kunstverein Reutlingen, Photo: Karolina Sobel, 2019
Installation view Kunstverein Reutlingen, Nilbar Güreş. Erzähl mir (Tell me), 17.11.2019-02.02.2020, left: Smile to yourself, 2016, Mixed media on paper, each 24 x 32 cm (4 parts), middle: Labyrinth, 2019, Mixed media on fabric, 148 x 107.5 cm, right: Volcano, 2016, from the series La Paz, 2016, Mixed media on fabric, 47 x 104.5 cm, Courtesy the artist, Gallery Martin Janda, Vienna / Gallery Tanja Wagner, Berlin / Galerist, Istanbul. © Kunstverein Reutlingen, Photo: Karolina Sobel, 2019
Exhibition view Kunstverein Reutlingen, Nilbar Güreş. Erzähl mir (Tell me), 17.11.2019-02.02.2020. © Kunstverein Reutlingen, Photo: Karolina Sobel, 2019
Exhibition view Kunstverein Reutlingen, Nilbar Güreş. Erzähl mir (Tell me), 17.11.2019-02.02.2020. © Kunstverein Reutlingen, Photo: Karolina Sobel, 2019
Exhibition view Kunstverein Reutlingen, Nilbar Güreş. Erzähl mir (Tell me), 17.11.2019-02.02.2020. © Kunstverein Reutlingen, Photo: Karolina Sobel, 2019