From Ancient to Now: Sculpture and Works on Paper by Belgin Yücelen Opens at BoxHeart Gallery
Stories Lost in a Time Between Ancient and Now and a Place Between Middle East and West.
Exhibition: From Ancient to Now: Sculpture and Works on Paper by Belgin Yücelen
Venue: BoxHeart Gallery, 4523 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh PA 15224
Location: 2nd-floor Gallery
Dates: May 28th – June 28th, 2019
Public Reception: Saturday, June 1st, 5 to 8 pm
PITTSBURGH, PA (2019) – From May 28th through June 28th, BoxHeart Gallery is proud to present Belgin Yücelen: From Ancient to Now on exhibit in our 2nd-floor gallery. A synopsis of Yücelen’s diversified artworks, From Ancient to Now draws on a range of cultural and historical references. Organized by Nicole Capozzi and Joshua Hogan, owners of BoxHeart Gallery, Belgin Yücelen: From Ancient to Now references not only ancient scripts, architectural patterns, traditions, and social interactions but also allusions to literature, history, and science. Yücelen’s intent is to engage the community in understanding how norms and values within the present landscape were shaped by the past and how the future will form them.
About the Exhibition
Yücelen’s figurative bronze sculptures are a philosophical journey through the essential elements of life. Each sculpture is a visual commentary that questions our urge to overthrow our present norms, values, and aesthetics, instead of using them to inform our progress. By mashing past and future together, Yücelen dares us to cherish the human intimacy and face to face collaboration that we used to take for granted, and to discover new pathways to them.
Among the works on paper featured in Yücelen’s exhibition, From Ancient to Now, are three 30” X 22” monotypes on Women’s Rights in Islamic countries. From her 2017 series “Overwritten Scripts” each print emphasizes the inequality that exists based on socio-cultural norms rather than Islamic principles, which regard men and women equal in humanity.
During the summer of 2018, Yücelen created one small monoprint every morning. The result is her series, “To Moon”. From Ancient to Now includes five works from this series that reference ancient scripts and poetry and six works from her “Trousseau” series, which displays a belongings a woman takes with her to her husband’s house.
Belgin Yücelen: From Ancient to Now also includes selected metal sculptural dresses and shoes from her series, “Clothes from the Past”. Inspired by her cultural history, Yücelen created garments as a reference to the clothing patterns of Europe and Anatolia during the era of the Ottoman Empire. Her work, “Persian Dress with Crescents”, was inspired from a woman’s 18th century robe because of the deep influences of Persian language, epic poems, and miniature paintings on the Ottoman culture. Constructed from brass and red dupioni silk, Yücelen used a technique she adopted form dival embroidery of thread over cardboard to create the dresses crescents. The crescent motif appears in Turkish textiles dating as far back as the 14th century.
Belgin Yücelen: From Ancient to Now tells stories lost in a time between ancient and now and a place between Middle East and West.
About the Artist
Yücelen, a Turkish-American, is inspired by her cultural history. She studied sculpture at the Florence Accademia D’Arte in Florence, University of Colorado Boulder, Art Students League of Denver, and Scottsdale Art School. With a PhD in chemical engineering and research, Yücelen also knows how exciting the future is. She has received various grants including; the 2019 Colorado Creative Industries grant, the 2018 Moon and Stars Project Grant; 2018 and 2017 Fellow by the Clark Hulings Fund, 2018 Kristal Martı Award by KALID; the 2017 Tending Space Fellowship for Artists by Hemera Foundation, and she is a National Sculpture Society elected member. As of 2019, she serves as a Board Member at the Dairy Arts Center in Boulder and a panelist at the Boulder Cultural Grants Program at the City of Boulder Office of Arts + Culture. Publications include; in Fort Morgan Times, Pittsburgh Articulate, The Tribune Review, Les Femmes Folles, the Daily Camera, Chicago Reader, The Examiner and Reporter Herald.
Reception with the Artist
Belgin Yücelen: From Ancient to Now will be on exhibit from May 28th through June 28th in BoxHeart’s 2nd-floor gallery. The exhibition coincides with our main gallery exhibit Daria Sandburg: The Seekers Book of Knowledge. The reception with the artists will be held Saturday, June 1st, from 5 – 8 pm.
BoxHeart Visitor Information
Admission: Free and open to the public. The 1st floor (main gallery) of BoxHeart Gallery may be accessed using a ramp. The 2nd floor (gallery space) is handicap accessible by stair chair.
Gallery Hours: Sun, 1-5 pm; Tues, 11-6 pm; Wed – Sat, 10-6 pm. BoxHeart Gallery is closed on Mondays. For general information, call 412.687.8858 or visit the gallery online at:
Contact
Nicole Capozzi, Owner/Director
412.687.8858
Belgin Yücelen, Artist
byucelen@gmail.com