Zilberman is pleased to announce Zeynep Kayan's solo exhibition titled second time with the chair, opening at the gallery's main space located at the Mısır Apartment in Beyoğlu between March 7–May 11, 2024. second time with the chair brings together Zeynep Kayan's latest works, initiating a dialogue between the self and repetition, conceived during her residency at Rijksakademie.

second time with the chair delves into the artist's repetitive journey, revisiting, reliving, and reattempting past experiences in a transcendent manner. It serves both as an introspective and an autoportrait, exploring themes of self, body, and the human condition through the lens of repetition. Kayan's exploration of space, repetition, and movement breaks through conventional artistic mediums, offering viewers a glimpse into the poetic dimensions of existence and the ever-shifting interplay between reality and perception. Throughout the exhibition, Kayan explores repetition not only as a means to establish rhythm and tempo through move- ment, gesture, sound, and language but also as a mechanism for differentiation. In her video work second time with the chair, the artist herself is depicted almost sitting on the floor, slowly pulling a string tied to an unseen chair, drawing it closer to her. This depiction of the artist in relation to the chair is a recurring motif in Kayan's oeuvre, seen in the videos titled 00'43" (2022) and 00'38" (2022). These videos were filmed before her relocation to Amsterdam and were intended to create a memory with a chair inherited from her grandmother, which Kayan had never previously utilised. With each repetition, the work undergoes transformation, evolving into something novel. This motif, initially examined as both a movement and an object, finds further depth at Rijksakademie Open Studios 2023 in the performance titled i started on the second week and i'm still pulling the chair (2023) where Kayan once again pulls a string attached to a chair. This recurring motif, repeatedly explored and fragmented, delves into the rhythmic shifts inherent in continuous movement.

For Kayan, repetition serves as a catalyst for change, challenging perceptions and rendering the familiar unfamiliar. The video and the site-specific installations featuring strings suspended from the ceiling pay homage to Kayan's previous solo exhibition in Berlin_one one two one two three_. This string installation traverses the space, establishing a more direct relationship with the spectator and inviting them into Kayan's personal sphere. What was once a mere apparatus in the videos now emerges as an entity in its own right, disrupting established roles anew. Furthermore, the exhibition is accompanied by a story written by the artist, which serves as a guiding narrative, weaving through the works that wander around the chair.

While Kayan often incorporates her own body into her practice, the series, second time with the chair: blue portraits stands out by breaking one of the constants in her practice, the limited palette of black, white, and grey. Here, she presents her- self in a blue dress, creating an autoportrait that occupies a central position within the exhibition space. This shift in colour palette enhances the viewer's engagement, as the portraits direct the spectator's gaze and movement across the gallery space.

_second time with the chair _is an anagram, where the artist navigates through her artistic practice, disrupting constants while persistently engaging in repetition. In her words, she is interested in the desire to repeat and repeat to desire, in exhaustion, in how things alter daily and separate gradually, in the dance that goes nowhere, in concentration and uninterrupted contradiction.

Recent solo shows and presentations include: _second time with the chair _(Zilberman, Istanbul, 2024); one one two one two three (Zilberman, Berlin, 2022); Zona Maco Foto, (Mexico, 2022); Temporary Sameness (Zilberman, Istanbul, 2019), UNSEEN Amsterdam (Amsterdam, 2019), Constructed (Zilberman Gallery, Istanbul, 2016). Kayan's work has been shown in numerous group shows including Rijksakademie Open Studios 2023 (Amsterdam, 2023), İstanbul Modern (İstanbul, 2023), Volkskundenmsueum (Vienna, 2022), Protocinema (Istanbul, 2021), Asian Art Museum (San Francisco, 2021), Helsinki Contemporary Gallery (Helsinki, 2020), Salt Galata, (Istanbul, 2018); Field Meeting (New York, 2015). Kayan is currently a resident at Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten until 2024. Besides she is one of the founders of the independent art space 'Torun' in Ankara, which was active until 2020. She lives and works between Ankara and Amsterdam.

Press release courtesy Zilberman.