Ruined walls reflected on canvas
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Anatolian Agency
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Ocak 15, 2009 00:00
ANKARA - Painter Erdal Ateş, who has analyzed the walls of ruined shanty houses and burned houses, has painted the "feelings" of these walls onto canvas, using polyester foam and special cement. His exhibition, "Opposite Walls," is on display at the Anatolia Agency Art Gallery in Ankara.
Idle facilities, ruined shanty houses, burned houses and walls in industrial zones inspire him, Ateş said. He said he had been interested in walls since his childhood, adding that he decided to start painting them when he saw for the first time the black walls of a burned house in an industrial zone.
"It was very striking, the beauty of the colorful layers beneath the black burned walls. I watched this beauty for many hours. I had never felt such a thing in any museum or exhibition before," he said, adding that he had taken photographs of ruined and destroyed walls of buildings for 2.5 years. "I searched them for hours, trying to feel their soul. I tried to imagine what had happened in those houses. I saw the sadness of the walls because they had been left alone. That was my starting point for this type of painting."
Ateş said he had spent too much time learning the technique for that type of painting and that he had spent 1.5 years working out how to put the materials, such as cement, onto canvas. "I have spoken with chemical companies and conducted experimental studies in this process," he said. Ateş’s 17 paintings will be on display until Jan. 24.
"It was very striking, the beauty of the colorful layers beneath the black burned walls. I watched this beauty for many hours. I had never felt such a thing in any museum or exhibition before," he said, adding that he had taken photographs of ruined and destroyed walls of buildings for 2.5 years. "I searched them for hours, trying to feel their soul. I tried to imagine what had happened in those houses. I saw the sadness of the walls because they had been left alone. That was my starting point for this type of painting."
Ateş said he had spent too much time learning the technique for that type of painting and that he had spent 1.5 years working out how to put the materials, such as cement, onto canvas. "I have spoken with chemical companies and conducted experimental studies in this process," he said. Ateş’s 17 paintings will be on display until Jan. 24.