İzmir: 3rd Time’s the Charm

Bidding Aylin & Murat “see you later” as they set off on their trip, Mui & I headed out with mom for some fresh air and lunch.

Once everyone’s tummy was sated, we followed a roundabout way back, stopping by the Mehmet Tüzüm Kızılcan Art Gallery (former History and Art Museum) at Kültürpark to see if it was open now that the bayram (Eid al-Adha) is over.

After our previous two unsuccessful attempts to check out Cem Sağbil’s “The World Still Blooms” exhibition, today our persistence paid off.

We were especially happy to find the doors open since the gallery is one to which we can take mom … wheelchair-friendly with plenty of space around the pieces on display and a ramp that provides easy access to the second floor.

The exhibition consisted mostly of sculptures … bronze the primary medium, with some pieces utilizing timber from olive trees. Some paintings as well. The sculptor’s work is described as carrying “… traces of a long reflection on human existence in the world. …”

A panel at the entrance to the gallery explained that the exhibition’s title is born of this reflection — “… For an artist who has been sculpting for four decades, the world is not merely a place of crisis and destruction. It is also a place where meaning can still be produced, where thought can still take form, and where the world can still be imagined anew. … And for this reason, the world still blooms.”Read more