Van 23 november t/m 31 december 2011

Under the curatorship of prof. dr. Hasan Bülent Kahraman (Kadir Has University), Akbank Art Istanbul welcomes Tahon’s fragile plasters and milky white ceramics. Akbank Art has become one of Istanbul’s most influential culture and art centre and has already given a platform to many internationally renowned artists like Wang Du, Martha Rosler, Jean-Jacques Lebel, Thierry Kuntzel, Erwin Wurm…

Kahraman describes Tahon’s sculptures as beings that are “pointing at the fact that the connections one has with life must be questioned within the boundaries of one's body as much as universally. Tahon treats the quest for transcendence in a tension that has its roots sunk deep into space”.

This is indeed what White Seeders is about. Tahon’s sculptures are both receptors and receivers. They are poetic mirrors that welcome you to join in their vulnerability and to reflect upon the place of the Self in the Universe. With every vessel they are oriented attentively towards their surroundings in every direction, they catch every subtle vibration in it, absorb it and reflect it back again, so the spectator is able to connect with them and join them in the space of their and our becoming, of our becoming-together. Every sculpture has the potential to spiritually seed comfort into the spectator and to alter his state of being, if only for one moment.

Tahon feels the need to protect the vulnerable seeders he creates and covers them with a glaze that has the feel of a soft milky white balm. This white glaze that still seems to be slowly dripping off of the sculptures, balms, cares, comforts. Not only does it protect the sculptures, it also protects the artist himself, who opens a piece of his own soul through them. The fluid white layer is welcoming and makes the spectator want to touch and caress the sculptures. It also indirectly reminds of bodily fluids like warm mother’s milk and semen. It wraps the mystical seeders in an erotic sphere.

Tahon is no longer a stranger to the Istanbul art scene. He exhibited there many times at Galeri Artist and had a solo exhibition, Hemisphere, in the Aya Irini, a 3rd-century Byzantine church in the courtyard of the Topkapi Palace, during ‘Istanbul 2010 - European Capital of Culture’. During the latest Istanbul Biennial he also got the opportunity to confront his work with ancient old ceramics in the Tiled Kiosk of the Archaeological Museum, in the solo show Archè. The Wall Street Journal called this show one of the highlights of the Biennial.

For more information:  www.akbanksanat.com