Murat Yıldız Flowers & Leaves

Murat Yıldız Flowers & Leaves

Murat Yıldız Flowers & Leaves 150 150 Öktem Aykut

April 18 – May 18, 2024

Flowers & Leaves by Murat Yıldız will take place at Öktem Aykut from April 18th until May 18th, 2024. The opening will take place on Thursday evening on the 18th of April between 18:00 – 20:30. 

On my fingertips.. I paint with the fallen leaves from the trees, the injured and broken flowers thrown away into the bins and the wild plants I have collected, as I rub them onto a surface. Sometimes I paint them as they are, sometimes I let my instincts guide me as I watch what unfolds. An unending randomness, being tossed around.. Learning to be “one with the ground” (“yer ile bir”*) as we fall, to be able to stand in place like a tree; to tend our wounds and heal.

Yıldız strictly follows the boundaries he sets himself in his series and works through the confines. In his previous solo exhibition at Öktem Aykut in 2022 titled Water is Sandpaper, You are my Eye, Yıldız presented works that he created with his eyes closed. For Flowers & Leaves Murat Yıldız presents paintings made between August 2022 and December 2023. These paintings are made by Yıldız rubbing flowers and leaves directly onto the canvas. He will also present recent sculptures made of recycled paper he began making in January 2024. He has been working on the series Flowers & Leaves over the course of five seasons. This exhibition will bring the series to a close. Previously Yıldız first showed part of the Flowers & Leaves series at Liste Art Fair Basel in June 2023.

Yer ile bir* one with the earth / ground. Also means to feel wrecked / devastated in Turkish.