Mertim Gokalp

Bon Appetit! A Portrait of Manu Feildel

Bon Appetit is a recent work of mine in which I painted famous Chef Manu Feildel in a steaming hot pot!
The painting could not make it into the finals of the Archibald Prize this year, but it was selected in to the Salon des Refuses show by S. H Ervin Gallery.

"Ecstasy of the Artists; mate, maybe better not touch it ! " After Caravaggio

Here is an in-progress shot of my newest painting.

"Ecstasy of the Artists; mate, maybe better not touch it ! " After Caravaggio
Oil on linen, 150 x 200 cm
2016

Surrender of the Model

The relationship between the art models and the artists is a very unique and a fascinating one. This painting is about capturing the unique nature of this relationship.

Surrender of the model
Oil on linen, 100 x 150 cm
2016

Asia Contemporary 2016 Hong Kong

I will be exhibiting in the upcoming Asia Contemporary Art Show. The show will again be held at the Conrad Hotel in Hong Kong between 15 and 18 of September 2016.Here are a few of my paintings that will be on display.

www.asiacontemporaryart.com

Nightfall,
Oil on canvas 120 x 90 cm

Blue Mourning ver 2,
Oil on linen 120 x 90 cm

Multicultural Sydney: A Slice of Contemporary Turkish Visual Arts

Dear Friends,

I would like to extend the invitation of my upcoming show, Multicultural Sydney: A Slice of Contemporary Turkish Visual Arts. This show has a special meaning to me as it is the first show I have curated in my career. My vision for this show was to bring the most exciting contemporary Turkish & Turkish/Australian artists alike for a group exhibition in Sydney and introduce this sensational group with Australian viewers.

This group exhibition will feature internationally acclaimed contemporary Turkish artists such as Burcu Yagcioglu, Volkan Diyaroglu, Erman Inci and many more, for the full list of artists and their works please find the press release along with a press image attached. You will also be able to see two of my new works as part of the show.

I would love to see you all at the opening night on the 10th of March 6.30 pm - 8.30pm.

The exhibition can be seen between March 9 - 24, 2016.

The exhibition venue is Project 504 located at 504 Pacific Highway, St Leonards.

If you have questions on the exhibition or if you would like to book a private viewing of the show please feel free to contact me.

Eat your heart out by Mertim Gokalp 2015 120cm x 90cm oil on linen

Mertim Gokalp ,Interview with Teresa Carante

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtEu0yL8GyQ
Here's my interview with Teresa Carante, rewarded director (best director California Film Award). It is a documentary for my ‪‎Archibald prize‬ entry. I hope you enjoy.‪

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ReU6wL8218
Announcing the Winners of the 2015 Doug Moran National Portrait Prize and Moran Contemporary Photographic Prizes at Juniper Hall, Sydney on Wednesday 28 October 2015.

Mertim Gokalp; The whole crew with Edmund Capon 'Moran Prize"

The whole crew together @ Moran Prizes ...The highlight of the Moran award was definitely when Edmund Capon announced me as his favourite in front of the cameras smile emoticon How happy I am ..You can easily read from my silly facetongue emoticon

Mertim Gokalp 2015 Moran Prize Finalist

I'm pleased to announce that my portrait " #TheSacrificeOfTheModel " Contemporary version of #Caravaggio 's #TheEntombmentOfChrist has been selected as a finalist in the prestigious $150,000 Doug Moran Prizes . Portraits judged by Angus Trumble, Director of the #NationalPortraitGallery, and artist Rick Amor ....Say "Good Luck! " for me !!! HELL YEAH !!! #Project504 GANG !!! * Doug Moran National Portrait Prize
http://www.moranprizes.com.au/gallery/portrait

Descendants Project in Canberra

Descendants Project by Mertim Gokalp seeks to ignite curiosity about who we are as a person in relation to our past. Descendants is a personal identity journey,commemorating Anzac History, honorung the past and celebrating our future by exploring reflections of a 100 year old war on the generations of the present

It was nice to meet with Lieutenant General Angus J. Campbell and Air Commodore Alan Clements

The Sacrifice of the Model (Trailer) by Mertim Gokalp

Check out my trailer for this year's Archibald Prize entry: The Sacrifice of the Model by Mertim Gokalp. The Sacrifice of the Model is a contemporary take on a 17th century painting for the highly renowned Archibald Prize. The painting, is a reconstruction of Caravaggio’s The Entombment of Christ composition, you may remember the painting from the tattoo on my left arm. However, my version is not just a replica or a copy, it is a referral to today’s art-scene and a criticism of all the artists, including myself, on how much is sacrificed…

The model used in The Sacrifice of the Model, Aimee Fitzgerald, being held/worshiped by a bunch of renowned, Archibald Award finalist artists Nick Stratopoulos, Marcus Callum, Kathrin Longhurst and Lucy West-Sooby. While some artists fear the death of the model in the composition, one is only concerned with her modern day narcissism. The true figure with true sadness is the mother, or from a Caravaggio-point-of-view Virgin/Holy Mary, embodied by my wife, perhaps because she knows true sacrifice and the true price/worth for the arts.

I invite you to look behind the canvas, to think about all the models, artists, artist’s wives, all who sacrificed sometimes an ear [Van Gogh], vision [Monet], or the ability to hear [Beethoven] for the sake of art and recognition. Clearly, art is dearer than eyesight, space, and liberty, beyond what can be valued, rich or rare, no less than life, with grace, health, beauty, honour*...

*Section taken from Shakespeare’s King Lear

The Sacrifice of the Model by Mertim Gokalp Archibald Prize 2015

The Sacrifice of the Model by Mertim Gokalp (Documentary) Directed by Teresa Carante

The documentary is about artist Mertim Gokalp's art performance and directed by award winner director (California film award best director ) TERESA CARANTE

The Descendants Project on ABC News

Always say ; I am a shy man, they want me to talk at the ‪#‎AGNSW‬; I always say ; I am a shy man, they ask for me to deliver my own opening speech; I keep saying I am shy, they put me on National TV! I had an interview with Miriam Corowa today about my ‪#‎TheDescendantsProject‬, if you're curious tune into ABC Weekend Breakfast on Sunday...

The Descendants Project

The exhibition was launched on the 10th of April. Thank you for all the visitors. With your existence, it turned out to be a great night! The exhibtion can be seen until 3rd of May

I am pleased to announce that my painting of Simon Burke has been short listed for the second round for the BP Award. It's on its way to National Portrait Gallery, London......Simon Burke , National Portrait Gallery

Project[504] Opening party , mertim gokalp

St Leonards art scene will come alive as Project [504] launches.

Project [504] is an experimental, co-operative art initiative in the heart of St Leonards showcasing an eclectic mix of well-known and emerging Australian artists; including regular finalists in the Archibald Prize, the Doug Moran and the Sulman Prize.

Sponsored by Charter Hall, one of Australia’s leading property groups which manages $12.1 billion of quality office, industrial and retail assets, Project [504] has been established to provide an outlet for artist’s to showcase their work outside the mainstream gallery scene. It also offers artists a supportive creative working environment, enabling collaboration across genres and mediums and fuelling innovation and creativity.

The space at 504 Pacific Highway is currently showing the works of a number of artists and will host art classes, workshops, events, exhibitions and creative projects over the coming months. Resident Project [504] artists and directors are now accepting proposals for use of the space, and have received overwhelming interest to date.

Natalie Devlin, Charter Hall’s Head of People, Brand and Community said the Group was proud to be partnering with the local North Sydney community to offer Project [504] space at its Pacific Highway office building.

“Public interest initiatives, such as Project [504], can have such a positive social impact, creating stronger engagement within mixed use areas and bringing communities to life.

“Project [504] has taken an under utilised space at 504 Pacific Highway and brought together different parts of the community to create a more interesting and engaging environment.

“Charter Hall is excited to be part of this innovative space; it’s great to see the local community supporting Project [504] and to see the first art works hanging in the gallery for everyone to enjoy,” Ms Devlin added.

Kathrin Longhurst, a Director of Project [504] has been inundated with local support and is working with a number of artists to provide an opportunity that will help them create and showcase their work in a beautiful setting.

“We have enjoyed incredible support so far, both from our corporate sponsor Charter Hall, Lane Cove Council and other businesses in the area who have been donating furniture, equipment, supplies and their services. It’s been so much fun meeting new people and seeing the response to what we are creating in the space.

“There are many artists out there who are very excited to be part of Project [504]. We chose the name Project [504] to indicate that this space is evolving organically and is quite experimental. We don’t know where it will lead and that is part of the fun with it. It can become anything that the artists and community want it to be. One thing is for sure – it won’t be boring,” Ms Longhurst said.

Project [504], located at 504 Pacific Highway, St Leonards will launch with a mixed art exhibition on 20 February 2015 from 6pm. Project [504] is open to the public between 1pm and 6pm weekdays. For more information about the exhibition or to enquire about using the space please contact Kathrin Longhurst on 04111 44 893 or check out the website www.project504.com.au.

Contemporary Istanbul 2014

Coverage in Poets and Artists, 58th Issue

I am delighted to be featured in Chicago's prestigious magazine 'Poets and Artists'. Among the other featured artists are Alyssa Monks and Cesar Santos. You can order your own copy from blurb

Feathers & Kisses Exhibition, September 2014

Opening speech – Janis Lander “There has been quite a bit written in the press about this latest exhibition Mertim Gokalp, which shows how much interest this artist is generating. Interviewers have used the term “subjective portraits” – meaning that Mertim deploys techniques designed to shift the focus in a portrait away from social and professional trappings, to the internal emotional landscape of the subject. In a sense all portrait are subjective, because they are specific, and individual, but in this sense the interviewers mean that Mertim is focusing on the emotional life of the subject, rather than on the role that person plays in an academic or a corporate institution. In terms of the artistic lineage of this kind of approach in portraiture, think not of Hans Holbein’s majestic portrait of King Henry VIII in full regalia, (which by the way, we only know through the copies made by other artists, since the original was lost in a fire) - think rather of Van Gogh’s self portrait with his ear bandaged. Mertim Gokalp is as devoted to his profession as any of the artists I have met. He works in the focused, compulsive-obsessive approach that marks all successful artists– contrary to popular belief, making art is not just “selfexpression” – after all, human beings are creative beings – we all “express” ourselves constantly. Making art is a chosen profession. Whether an artist chooses to sculpt in clay or chisel marble, or paint or dance or compose symphonies, all the arts make huge demands of the artist – acquiring the skill set, devoting hours of labour, and developing the conceptual intelligence to take an arsenal of basic techniques and materials and create a painting or a play or a sculpture that speaks to people with a unique voice, communicating a profound insight, or offering some whimsical observation of our shared human condition. It is in this way that the arts serve the community, and add to the cultural capital of our civilization. It is at the interface between the intuitive nature of the arts and the scientific nature of technologies that the soul of a civilization is truly reflected. In terms of their feeling Mertim’s portraits are more whimsical and more fantastical than the heavy psychological portraits by the Symbolists in the 19th and 20th centuries, full of dread and nameless horrors. Mertim’s work is optimistic and joyful in the forward-looking way of our contemporary 21st century world view, and offer the suggestion that isolating personal emotions may veil a greater spiritual dimension where we are all connected.