ELMAS DENIZ
b. 1981, TurkiyeElmas Deniz is a concept-driven visual artist. Her works investigate the intersections and points of entanglement between economics and nature. The capitalism-led deterioration of nature, and our perception of it, as well as the related consumerist culture, are the central concepts in Deniz’s practice. She questions how the economic system continuously reshapes our perception through subtle but consistent manipulations. She sheds light on the illusional distribution of value. Deniz, further focuses on the human-nature relationship, the idea of nature throughout history, and ecological concerns. Her works critically expose the faults of the system and occasionally propose alternative possibilities. Form-content interplay, the attempts to adapt the form to the concept, defines her choices. She hence consults a wide range of media, including installation, sculpture, video, drawing, and writings.
Elmas Deniz (1981, Bergama, Turkey) lives and works in Istanbul, Turkey. Her most recent solo exhibitions include: Integration with Nature (Açıkekran New Media Art Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey, 2019 - Upcoming), A Year Without a Summer (PİLOT, Istanbul, Turkey, 2018), Seeing the Black Panther (PİLOT, Istanbul, Turkey, 2014), Universal Minimum Wage Commission (SVILOVA, Gothenburg, Sweden, 2014) and Elmas (Maçka Art Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey, 2012). Her selected group exhibitions include: Re/Evolution (Colombo Old Terminus Station, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 2017), VIDEO FOREVER (Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature, Paris, France, 2016), TILL IT’S GONE (Istanbul Museum of Modern Art, Istanbul, Turkey, 2016), 14th Istanbul Biennial, SALTWATER: A Theory of Thought Forms (Istanbul, Turkey, 2015), WE ARE HERE BeCAUSE YOU WERE/ARE (t)HERE (studio das weisse haus, Vienna, Austria, 2014), Unrest of Form (SECESSION/Museumsquartier, Vienna, Austria, 2013). She is also one of the co-founders of K2 Contemporary Art Center in Izmir, Turkey. Deniz’s works are part of several public and private collections including Vehbi Koç Foundation Contemporary Art Collection.
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