Organized in partnership with Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM), IMM Heritage, IMM Culture and the Consulate General of the Czech Republic in Istanbul, the exhibition “Gates of the Underground – Touching Space with Transition and Reflection; Vlastimil Beránek” opened in the Basilica Cistern.
The opening of the exhibition, which hosted a special selection of crystal sculptures by Czech sculptors Vlastimil Beránek and Jaroslav Prošek in a 1500-year-old historical building, was held with the participation of many names from the worlds of art, politics, business and media, including the State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic Radek Rubes, the Consul General of the Czech Republic in Istanbul Olga Hajflerova, Deputy Secretary General of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Dr. Mahir Polat, and the artist Jaroslav Prošek. At the opening, cellist Jamal Aliyev, who is considered one of the 30 leading musicians in the world under the age of 30, and pianist Ece Dağıstan, who is closely followed by music lovers with her classical and acoustic projects in various genres after receiving her concert pianist training at the Vienna Academy of Music, also gave a special concert to the guests.
Curated by Dr. Mahir Polat and Miroslav Kroupa and having the distinction of being the largest international crystal sculpture exhibition held in Istanbul, “Gates of the Underground – Touching Space with Transition and Reflection; Vlastimil Beránek” can be visited until November 30.
The exhibition titled “Gates of the Underground – Touching Space with Transition and Reflection; Vlastimil Beránek”, which is shaped by the concepts of underground, perception of reality and reflections in the Basilica Cistern, which has become one of the brand values of Istanbul with the restoration of İBB Miras, brings together a special selection of crystal sculptures by Czech contemporary sculptors Vlastimil Beránek and Jaroslav Prošek in the magical atmosphere of the Basilica Cistern. In the exhibition, glass, which gives life to the crystal sculptures placed in the water, establishes a dialogue with the two basic materials in the Basilica Cistern, water and stone, with its transparency and solidity.
Dynamic reflections achieved with water and light
The exhibition, structured around the themes of the underground, perception of reality, mythology, reflection and transition, is based on the philosopher Plato’s allegory of the cave, in which people chained to a cave see the shadows of objects reflected from the entrance of the cave and perceive them as reality. Vlastimil Beránek’s glass works, focusing on the past and present, interact with the water and stone texture of the cistern and are included in the dynamic reflection fields achieved by the Basilica Cistern with water and light through color and reflection. Jaroslav Prošek’s works, on the other hand, take the viewer back to the time when the first glass produced in Mesopotamia approximately 6,000 years ago met the semi-fossil oak tree material of the same period, and raise questions about ourselves, collective memory and the present. The exhibition, which removes the boundaries of a purely touristic tour in the Basilica Cistern, refocuses the viewer on the depths of humanity and the perception of reality.
Source: www.dunya.com
