Lot 23. Yüksel Arslan, Updating 'KAPITAL', Signed And Dated 1978, Mixed Media On Paper, 50x71 Cm. 42,500 - 51,000 Euro
70 pieces of Turkish modern and contemporary art from the collection of Bilgi University are to be sold at auction on February 17. It is likely that many of the works will go into private collections and out of public view. Artists, curators and critics have reacted angrily to the announcement, with one - Vasif Kortun, director of programs and research at SALT - comparing the auction to 'selling the first copy of the King James Bible page by page'.
Between 2007 and 2012, Bilgi University's museum at Santral Istanbul, in the Eyüp area of Istanbul by the Golden Horn, hosted several important exhibitions of 20th century Turkish art, including '20 Modern Turkish Artist,' 'Modern and Beyond,' and a major Yüksel Arslan retrospective in 2009. At the same time it also amassed a considerable permanent collection. Following a change in ownership of the university last year, the museum has been partly closed and all but the ground floor is to be used for teaching.
Kortun is quoted inTurkish daily Radikal, saying “When the purchases were made, everyone was conscious that the works were for a museum, and they were priced accordingly, knowing they were supporting the history of Turkey... Very special considerations were made. With the best intentions, everyone carried out their historical responsibility to a public-serving institution which they believed in and trusted. At the same time there was a separate trust in play becuase this was an academic institution.”
Selma Gürbüz, six of whose paintings are up for sale, said “Galeri Nev sold works by myself and other artists to the museum at a symbolic price. Now I see that works which were donated or bought at a reduced price are being presented for sale in an auction. There is nothing more to say.”
There has been pressure to cancel the auction on at the Sofa Hotel in Nişantaşı on February 17. Assuming it goes ahead, one can only hope that the majority of lots go to an institution or institutions capable of keeping these significant works on public view, as their artists and previous owners intended.
The 150-lot auction will be held by Maçka Mezat at the Sofa Hotel in Nişantaşı and includes works by Yüksel Arslan, Burhan Doğançay, Selma Gürbüz, Canan Tolon, Sarkis Zabunyan, Nejat Melih Devrim, Fahrelnissa Zeid, Mübin Orhon, Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu, Adnan Çoker, Mehmet Güleryüz, Barbara & Zafer Baran, Hakkı Anlı, Selim Turan, Mithat Şen and others.