Hello, friends! Today is the second part of our walk around the wonderful Taksim. We visited not only the main street and famous monuments, but also a much more obscure place. This is the Istanbul Gallery, where artists and creators exhibit their works. Also, art objects can be purchased by anyone.
There are small dervesh sculptures of amazing beauty. Dervesh dance is one of the folk Turkish dances, where men in beautiful clothes, something like a long skirt, and the main movement is considered a rotation around its axis. In this case, the hands of the dancer are spread on the sides; the palm of one hand is turned downward, which symbolizes the connection with the ground, and the second - upward, denoting the connection with God. The hand that is turned upwards plays a major role, as the dervish draws strength, energy and faith from God. This small sculpture is the great importance in Turkish culture.
There are also exhibits that are not exactly related to Turkish culture. Art is a versatile subject where everyone can realize all their ideas. And there will always be fans and people who respect this or that work of art.
Painted plates and jugs, statuettes in the form of animals - all attracts you and makes you examine every detail. On the photo you can notice small painted pomegranates and they are here for a reason. The pomegranate is one of the biggest symbols in Turkey and it carries the amazing meaning of "Plenty in One". After all, the many grains that located inside the fruit gave the association with the universe. Such symbolism came to us from the Ottoman Empire. If we rely on mythology, there is another meaning of this fruit - immortality. In the Muslim faith, one of the fruits growing in paradise is the pomegranate.
On this shelf is modern art, which also has a place to exist. It doesn't make any sense, but it's handmade. The cups are in a minimalist style and look pretty good. They depict little people in different positions. For example, I really liked these cups, but art is expensive. The price of one cup is about 25$.
This wall has a collection of paintings that are done on tiles and covered with a protective layer of varnish. I see elements of embossing here, and possibly molding. Also, it's also has a meaning that the paintings depict apples, olives, pomegranate, sunflower, and lemon. All of which Turkey is rich and famous for.
I forgot to mention that the gallery has two floors. And on the second floor, the first thing I saw was a black and white painting assembled with small tiles. From far away you can clearly see the girl's face - eyes, lips, hair. But if you get close to the painting, you can't see anything but small black spots.
The second floor is devoted to paintings. There are really a lot of them here and each one is unique in its own way. Since the gallery is considered traditional, the paintings are made in a characteristic style - realism. Also numerous landscapes are presented here. The paintings accurately convey the atmosphere of Istanbul, they depict the sea, local fishermen, white seagulls and the bustle of the city.
The paintings are stunning in their beauty and realistic elements. Basically all the paintings are done in oil, this gives a special richness and depth. Undoubtedly, there are a lot of blue shades here. After all, Istanbul is about azure bottomless sky and blue salty sea.
Here, for example, is a stunning picture that I liked the most - it shows a man surrounded by a dog and a cat. The man looks quite lonely and poor, but his entourage appreciated him. Animals don't care what you look like or how much money you have, they feel your love and kindness for free.
Small-sized paintings are no worse than large canvases. On the contrary, it is even more entertaining to look at these small details and find more and more new things. That's the case with these paintings. First I saw the forest, then the animals, and then the pond. And on this hat (by the way, these hats are part of the costume for the dervesh dance), many of the sights of Istanbul are depicted.
I had a great pleasure visiting this gallery and I want to advise you to pay attention to the most inconspicuous places, because they turn to the most interesting ones. There are very few visitors here, which made me a little sad, because people are less and less interested in art. But I hope that such galleries will become more and more in all countries of the world and people will start to be interested in art again. I am looking forward to your comments. I wish you all an exciting adventures and good mood. See you soon, friends. Bye-bye!
