Starting his journey with painting, Sarkis expanded his interest to include sculpture and audiovisual installations. He uses a variety of techniques and material from photography, video, to painting, sculpture, stained glass, and neon lights. In his hand, a neon sign may take the shape of letters, sometimes a poem or a watchword, in other cases an angel or just its wings. He combines the intellectual tradition of Western and Eastern cultures which have been historically excluded, addressing issues of time, memory, and identity. Many of his works refer to a dramatic moment in the history of humankind such as war. Kriegsschatz is a key concept in his art, a German term referring to war spoils; as an act of irony, he de-contextualizes and gives new meanings to objects such as a cut hand or a bullet: Those objects are transformed to reflect memory opening to future and related feeling of triumph, suffering, and perhaps shame. Sarkis is awarded the 1967 Prix de la Peinture à la Biennale de Paris and the 1991 Grand Prix National de Sculpture.
Read MoreSarkis (b. 1938), a graduate of Mimar Sinan University of Fine Arts, Istanbul, had his first exhibition at the Istanbul Art Gallery in 1960. He moved to Paris. His works have been exhibited worldwide in established institutions such as Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; Guggenheim Museum, New York; Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris; Kunst-und-Austellungshalle, Bonn; Museée du Louvre, Paris; Bode Museum, Berlin; Fondazione MAXXI, Rome; and Kunsthalle Dusseldorf. When Attitudes Become Form, Kunsthalle Bern (1969); documenta VI, documenta VII, Kassel (1977, 1982); and the Biennials of Sydney, Shanghai, Sao Paulo, Moscow, and Istanbul are among the most significant exhibitions he participated in. His recent solo and group exhibitions include Mirror, Dirimart Dolapdere, Istanbul (2017); Sarkis avec Paradjanov, Villa Empain-Fondation Boghossian, Brussels (2016); Il Grido, Galerie Nathalie Obadia, Brussels (2016); Istanbul. Passion, Joy, Fury, Fondazione MAXXI, Rome (2015); Salt Water, 14th Istanbul Biennial (2016); Respiro, 56th Venice Biennale, Turkish Pavilion (2015); Armenity, 56th Venice Biennale, Armenian Pavilion group exhibition (2015); Sarkis – Cage/Ryoanji Interpretation, ARTER, Istanbul (2013). His works are included in many public and private collections. Sarkis lives and works in Paris.
Text courtesy Dirimart.
