TURHAN SELCUK EXHIBITION OPENING
The opening of the internationally acclaimed Tukish caricaturist Turhan Selcuk took place on the afternoon of Monday, March 16, as part of the 11th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival. The exhibit, sponsored by the Turkish Consulate in collaboration with Gallery Donopoulos International Fine Arts, includes 32 sketches by Turhan Selcuk, shown for the first time in Greece.
Dimitri Eipides, Artistic Director of the Documentary Festival was guided through the exhibition by Turhan Selcuk’s daughter, Asli Selcuk. He said: “I am proud that after years of effort, and with the valuable help of the Turkish consulate, we managed to hold an exhibition of the work of the great artist and intellectual Turhan Selcuk. These are unique works, which the Thessaloniki public will have the pleasure of being the first to admire”.
Then the Consul General of Turkey in Thessaloniki, Hakan Abaci spoke, emphasizing the timeless value of the work of the internationally known caricaturist: “Three generations have grown up with his caricatures, and through his sketches we learned to view events with a critical eye”. Mr. Abaci expressed his wish that the Turhan Selcuk exhibition be the beginning of similar collaborations and thanked the 11th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival for its support in organizing the exhibition.
Then Asli Selcuk spoke, giving a brief retrospective on the beginning of her father’s career from 1944, when he drew his first sketch, to 1949 when he turned to contemporary caricature. “My father considers pictorial humor as the ecumenical dimension of caricature. In Turkey he is the leader of uncaptioned caricature, because he wants everyone who sees the sketch to come to his own conclusions”.
The greeting of Mehmet Janbolat, exhibition coordinator, was read at the end. He called Turhan Selcuk “the Picasso of caricature”.
The Turhan Selcuk exhibition will be at the Donopoulos Gallery, in the Milos venue until Sunday, March 22.
