ISTANBUL.- Pi Artworks Istanbul is presenting Gulay Semercioglu's solo exhibition More Than a Memory.

Semercioglu (1968, Istanbul) creates fields of kinetic impact, altering lines of coloured, silver and copper wire through exposure to light - a signature material and method that she has employed for more than 30 years. Blending the complexity of her craftsmanship with her artistry, she toes the line between physical, personal, and socio-political oppositions created through optical illusions. More recently, İznik tiles and Anatolian-Seljuk motifs, geometric forms and cultural symbols, appear prominently in her works.

“More than a Memory” connects to our collective consciousness through weaving feeling, motifs and stories into hand-knotted carpets — made of Semercioglu’s distinctive copper and silver wires. The show features carpets of different sizes woven by local Anatolian women, which are to be exhibited for the first time.

The exhibition also includes a kilim, over three meters long, that was woven at a local factory – a first in terms the artist’s hands-on career. Once complete however, Gulay Semercioglu interfered with the machine-made carpet, flipping it and using her signature weaving technique to disrupt its uniformity.

Across the show, traditional Anatolian motifs are singled out and elevated. These symbols of family unity, happiness, health, fertility and protection, offer clues and insight, telling the story of Anatolian family life.

Serving as a continuation of Semercioglu’s 2015 exhibition: “Women on Wire” (Pi Artworks London), “More than a Memory” will run until 29 October 2022 at Pi Artworks İstanbul.

Gulay Semercioglu, b.1968, Istanbul, lives and works in Istanbul, Turkey.

Major exhibitions include; Women Defining Women, LACMA, USA (2023), Desire to Survive, Pi Artworks, İstanbul, Turkey (2019). Artist In Their Time, Istanbul Modern, Istanbul, Turkey The Power of Form, Istanbul, Turkey (2016); The Woman on the Wire (solo), Pi Artworks London, UK (2015); Sublime Porte: An Exhibition of Contemporary Turkish Art, Dr. M. T. Geoffrey Yeh Art Gallery in New York, USA (2013); Variations on Line (solo), Leila Heller Gallery, New York, USA (2012); Dream and Reality, Istanbul Modern, Turkey, (2011); Abbara Kadabra, Mardin Biennial, Turkey (2010); and Istanbul Next Wave, Akademie der Kunste, Berlin, Germany (2009).

Semercioglu’s selected collections include; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA; Centene Centre for Arts and Education, Missouri, USA; Quinn Collection, Los Angeles, USA; Cocca Art and Design Institute, Coimbatore, India; RAK Art Foundation Collection, Riffa, Kingdom of Bahrain; The Farjam Foundation, Dubai, UAE; Sheika Fatima Suroor, Abu Dhabi, UAE; Wheelock Collection, Hong Kong; Michael and Saniza Collection, Hong Kong; Him Collection, Singapore; Istanbul Modern, Turkey; and the Papko Art Collection, Istanbul, Turkey.

"Crossroads" a documentary produced by Bulut Reyhanoğlu and Vanessa Medini Arslan, featured Gulay Semercioglu's life. “Crossroads” (2022) was screened at the 41st Istanbul Film Festival.