Mustafa Taviloğlu’s art collection, now on public display for the first time, reflects decades of dedicated collecting. Starting in 1972 with a painting by Necdet Kalay, known for his Bosphorus silhouettes of fishing boats in oil, Taviloğlu has built a collection of over 2,500 works by 903 artists over five decades.
Curated by Derya Yücel and Markus Graf, the exhibition spans seven municipality-owned venues in Istanbul transforming a private collection into a public experience, providing a view of the evolving artistic landscape of Turkey through the lens of one collector’s journey.
Art Istanbul Feshane, along with Mecidiyeköy Likör Fabrikası and İş Sanat Kibele Art Gallery, presents a more thematic focus within Taviloğlu’s collection. “The People We Know” features 1,600 works that examine themes of human life, social identity, loneliness, connections with nature, and the dynamic interplay between individuals and their environment.
Art Istanbul Feshane is especially a must-see for anyone wanting to view an entire wall dedicated to Turkish avant-garde paintings from the 1950s by Fikret Mualla, as well as rare sketches by Mehmet Güleryüz, who passed away in September 2024.
Alexandra de Cramer
Issue 66, December 2023
Turkey’s Centenary Issue
