The exhibition “Turkey of Liberation: 1922 Ankara Summer”, consisting of the works of Russian graphic artist, painter, sculptor, mosaicist and illustrator Yevgeni Yevgenyeviç Lansere, was held yesterday at the Istanbul Kültür University Art Gallery (İKÜSAG) in the Bakırköy Campus of Istanbul Kültür University. ) was opened to visitors. The opening of the exhibition, which was realized with the cooperation of our newspaper and Kültür University, was attended by Russian House Ankara Director Assoc. Aleksandr Sotnichenko, Kultur University Prof. Dr. Rector Fadime Üney Yüksektepe, Cumhuriyet Foundation general secretary and our newspaper’s writer Işık Kansu, our newspaper’s editor-in-chief Mine Esen, academicians and students attended.
‘WE ARE VERY HAPPY’
Speaking at the opening, Işık Kansu, the writer of our newspaper, stated that the exhibition was specially prepared for the 100th anniversary of the Republic with the Director of the Russian House, Sotniçenko, and said, “We have previously taken this exhibition to various universities, and we are honored to bring this exhibition to Kültür University, which is considered our sister institution. I would like to thank the management and students of Kültür University. I hope this partnership will continue. “We are very happy to present this important exhibition to the public on the 100th anniversary of the Republic,” he said.
‘FRIENDSHIP SYMBOL’
Speaking after Kansu, Russian Embassy Undersecretary and Russian House Ankara Director Assoc. Sotnichenko stated that the exhibition is very important for them. Sotnichenko said, “This exhibition is a symbol of friendship between Türkiye and Russia. Lansere is also a symbol of friendship. Because he came here during Turkey’s most difficult times and painted what he saw. These memories, these drawings are also very important for Türkiye. We are doing the 9th of this exhibition, we are showing Ankara and the capital of Turkey in Istanbul. This is very important for us. “We will show these works of Lansere in Hatay and Mersin,” he said.
Making the last speech at the opening, Kültür University Rector Prof. Dr. Yüksektepe stated that as the Republic approaches its 101st anniversary, there is an extraordinary responsibility that must be protected in addition to the freedoms that the Republic offers to its citizens. “We support this responsibility in every field as much as historical awareness and political science,” said Yüksektepe, and concluded his words with the following words: “Our stakeholder Cumhuriyet newspaper is always with us in transferring the richness of the Republic’s history to young generations. The university-media cooperation we started last year for youth, education and the future has gained a new dimension, inspired by the Republic and art. I would like to thank Cumhuriyet Foundation President Alev Coşkun and Cumhuriyet Newspaper Editor-in-Chief Mine Esen, as well as the entire Cumhuriyet family, for providing these opportunities to the youth.”
EXTRAORDINARY IMPRESSIONS
The exhibition includes works in which Lansere transferred the extraordinary impressions he acquired in some regions of Turkey to canvas and line with the sensitivity of an artist in Ankara, where he was invited by the Turkish Embassy of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic to organize artistic works in 1922. Among the works, there are also portraits of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and Halide Edip Adıvar drawn by Lansere. The artist’s notes and drawings in his personal diary were published by Cumhuriyet Kitapları under the name “Yevgeni Lansere: An Ankara Summer – Sketches and Notes from the Anatolian Trip in the summer of 1922”.
Source: www.cumhuriyet.com.tr
