News: Collectors in Istanbul Launch New Ventures
By HG Masters
ISTANBUL — In early May, two of Turkey’s leading collectors opened new private exhibition spaces, providing the art scene with much-needed venues for innovative contemporary art. The Vehbi Koç Foundation, sponsor of the Istanbul Biennial, opened its Arter Space on the Beyoğlu neighborhood’s major thoroughfare, Istiklal Caddesi. The following night, a commercial gallery debuted its two new spaces in the Beşiktaş neighborhood with a retrospective of veteran artist Cengiz Çekil.
The Turkish government provides no financing for modern or contemporary art, leaving the task to private individuals and corporations. The Vehbi Koç Foundation, chaired by the young Omer Koç, has long lacked a permanent home for its contemporary collection. The foundation’s newly renovated Arter Space building, built in the 1910s, has more than 860 square meters of exhibition space on four floors. The inaugural show, “Starter,” featuring 160 works by 87 artists both Turkish and international, was curated by René Block, who has been involved with the Turkish art scene since 1995, when he directed the fourth Istanbul Biennial.
