Artist of “Love is Beautiful”
What is more important than love? What is more fulfilling and
thrilling than meeting one’s other half, the only being in the
world that complements one perfectly? In his latest series of
acrylics on canvas It Takes Two, Coplu celebrates the miracle of
love. Using an extraordinary palette of bright colours, he stages
two characters, a man and a woman, going through different
stages towards harmony. The artist is no naïf – he is fully aware
that daily life is much harsher than the round and vivid universe
he depicts in his work. But together these pieces form a
manifesto. Coplu purposefully embraces the positive side of
existence; his paintings are an ode to happiness, joy, humor
and love. By Coline Milliard
State-of-the-Arts Gallery
Foreword
“Colours of Love”
Celebrating Christmas with Contemporary Painting Exhibition by Coplu (Turkey)
It is the most joyous time of the year again! To celebrate Christmas, a time when the air is filled with festivity and
everyone is busy wishing their loved ones happiness, State-of-the-Arts Gallery would like to wish you a merry
Christmas by presenting our Winter Special Exhibition – Colours of Love – by renowned Turkish artist Coplu.
This new series of work draws upon love and romance with images of hearts in the paintings, through the
paintings, the artist expresses his hope and dream for humankind and a bright future.
It is not hard for beholders to spot the certain symbols that reoccur in Coplu’s work; they reflect the cultural and
artistic choices that have been made by the artist in a process of selection over the passage of time. In his
paintings, clouds represent dreams, hearts stand for love, and balloons equal freedom. These symbols and his
style have become so recognizable across the globe that he would not even need a signature on his canvas.
Colours of Love is the artist’s latest creation that features a rainbow heart in each of the paintings. His rainbow
hearts shine in the night-time setting of his paintings, calmingly floating on the sea, the land and in the sky. Coplu
believes nature is a kind of art that has the capacity to take away human’s negativity and give back love in return.
Just like the beautiful rainbow that appears after the gloomy rain, human hearts could be soothed with love after
the sorrow and adversity one has to encounter in life. Coplu’s paintings represent the hopes and dreams that we,
human, can find our inner peace and the capacity to love and be loved in a world that is made of ups and downs.
Since his first exhibition in 1984, Coplu has become a well-loved and widely collected artist, exhibiting throughout
Europe, North America and Asia. With his use of bright colors and thick patches of acrylic paint, the artist invites
beholders to emerge in the peaceful and cheerful space he creates on the canvas during Christmas.
《心‧虹》
聖誕跨年鉅獻：土耳其當代藝術家Coplu個人畫展
為慶祝聖誕節及新一年的來臨，State-of-the-Arts畫廊將透過溫馨赤子情的藝術向大家傳遞祝賀的訊息和願望。在這個普天同
慶的日子，讓我們一同欣賞畫廊和海港城‧美術館聯手為大家呈獻的跨年畫展「心‧虹」。屆時將會展出土耳其藝術家Coplu的全
新作品。畫作溫馨浪漫，畫布上滿是色彩和美麗的心形圖案，代表了畫家對世界和未來的展望和夢想。
Coplu的作品包含著豐富的象徵意義。經過多年時間洗禮，Coplu於其藝術創作旅程中選擇了以雲、心和氣球等事物作為主角，
讓它們重複出現於畫布上。在Coplu的藝術世界裡，浮雲代表夢想，心形象徵愛，氣球則盛載著自由。這些圖案成為Coplu獨特
的個人風格，不但為作品注入其獨特個性，更讓他在全球各地廣受歡迎。「心‧虹」是Coplu所創作的最新系列，每幅作品中的彩
虹色的心，在靜夜的時刻中照亮世界，安然地飄於海上、地面和天空中。Coplu深信大自然也是藝術的一種，能舒緩人類的不安，
同時給予我們愛。Coplu的畫作盛載著他的希望，使人們能於充滿起跌的世界中找到內心的平靜，尋回我們愛與被愛的本能。
Coplu於1984年開始首次個人展覽，隨後作品被世界各地廣泛收藏和熱愛，曾於歐洲，北美和亞洲展出。他這次透過鮮明色彩和
豐富質感，在「海港城‧美術館」將為大家獻上一個歡欣和溫馨的聖誕節。
State-of-the-Arts Gallery
A MATTER OF PREFERENCE / 122 x 122 cm / Acrylic on canvas / 2011
A PURE POSSESSION / 122 x 122 cm / Acrylic on canvas / 2011
A WISH COME TRUE - II / 122 x 122 cm / Acrylic on canvas / 2011
APTITUDE FOR BEAUTY / 122 x 122 cm / Acrylic on canvas / 2011
CAPTURING COMPASSION / 122 x 122 cm / Acrylic on canvas / 2011
COMMUTING LOVE BIRDS / 122 x 122 cm / Acrylic on canvas / 2011
DEVOTED LOVERS / 122 x 122 cm / Acrylic on canvas / 2011
GRATITUDES FROM OTHERS / 122 x 122 cm / Acrylic on canvas / 2011
HEAVENLY COMMUNITY / 100 x 100 cm / Acrylic on canvas / 2011
JOURNEY FOR A GROSS CELEBRATION / 122 x 122 cm / Acrylic on canvas / 2011
ONLY YOU AND ME / 122 x 92 cm / Acrylic on canvas / 2011
PRIVILEDGED FAMILY / 122 x 92 cm / Acrylic on canvas / 2011
RESEMBLENCE OF DEVOTION / 92 x 122 cm / Acrylic on canvas / 2011
SEEKING REFUGE IN SERENITY THROUGH LOVE / 122 x 122 cm / Acrylic on canvas / 2011
SEEKING REFUGE IN LOVE AND FAMILY / 100 x 100 cm / Acrylic on canvas / 2011
STATE OF SERENITY / 122 x 122 cm / Acrylic on canvas / 2011
Love is life , love is peace, love is rhythm, love is honor, love is
friendship, love is fire, love is comfort, love is sweet, love is pain,
love is knowledge, love is sacred, love is honest, love is trust, love
is storm, love is richness, love is oblivious, love is depth, love is
freedom, love is captivity, love is a margins, love is a balance, love
is water, love is an ocean, love is a cloud love is an island, love is
a secret, love is a flight, love is an escape, love is a sail, love is
sharing, love is speeding, love is seducing, love is love and love is
everything ……… love is in my painting.
“Love Matters The Most”
Mother nature is the largest surviving arena for all creatures, species and human beings. We started residing in caves and came to
an area of skyscrapers. We built houses to protect us, to survive, to flourish our feelings and continue our generations. Many things
changed since the beginning of civilisation but one thing remained intacted in human life, and it became even more crucial and
essential than ever, is the urge to love and being loved.
We longed for this feeling throughout history, we longed for it when we searched for new meanings, new worlds, new directions and
when we set new goals. It is obvious that we are filled and motivated by Love's forcing power, we feel safe and can move forward
with it’s strength. When we lack its force and strength we loose the track and dynamics of our life paths, life becomes routine and it
turns into a boring cycle, its obligations become unbearable.
That is when we need a mirror to reflect our state of mind, our existence and artists are the people who can reflect our feelings.
Coplu is one of the rare artists of this century, who observes human issues and reveals the most important feelings in human life.
Human issues in mind, Coplu has been exploring this important feeling of Love, expressing his thoughts and emotions about Love;
in the form of painting, by using rich, vibrant colors, symbolic human figures in simplistic way in a dreamlike environment through his
unique style.
Coplu reveals all aspects of this magnificent feeling; feeling of passion, affection, attraction, devotion, action; Love, Amore, Amour,
Aye,.. how ever it may sound in all languages.
Searching, finding, possessing and enjoying love is a very delicate and fulfilling life journey. Coplu shows us in a series of paintings
and reflects the levels of this magnificent and enriching feeling of our humble souls. On one painting we see a man holding his
paddle, standing among hearths;the symbol of love, waiting for the fuel of love to turn into a fire in order to start his journey, or to
continue his life.
On another painting, an ardor lover is trying to sustain the life of his love, while his devoted love is wondering with a great
anticipation.
Identically colored two paintings are complementing each other, with meaning and deep colors of night blue, revealing this
significant place of love in our lives. Its colors are vibrant, figures are content and feeling is warm and romantic. A little white spots of
stars on a dark blue of sky of warm summer night scene, are scattered here and there blinking in the night. Different tones of red
hearts, symbols of love, are falling from a cloud in the sky, on top a figure of a dreamily ardent lover is pouring them. They are
pouring out from a very generous soul, whom we often dream of, a fervent lover of our dreams. These falling hearts, curved by a
cool breeze of summer night, representing the distracting effects of envirments we are surrounded by, but are finaly reaching to his
devoted love sitting on top of a hill, on the bottom of the painting. Chasing the hearts, viewer sees the symbol of the most desired
gender of human kind, a woman, waiting eagerly yet happily, blessed by the generosity of his love.
While a woman viewer lets her soul and imagination to take place in this situation, her eye can enjoy the warmth of colors and
relieving touches of lighter tones of blue in the depths of evening, where the artist applied his masterly techniques and his unique
idea.
When we are in search of love we often hope to find it somewhere odd, special, or right time, or that time or another time to live it,
but most of the time it is close to us. it may not be visible as the other surroundings or recognisable like worldly things, it can be
found in the air, in the water, in the flesh, in the nucleus, in the ocean, in the magma of our souls. There is no ideal place or time or
scene for love to appear us, yet when our doors are open to accept it can be the most fulfilling, surprising and natural time.
Love exists in all living creatures but human beings are the lucky ones to express it profoundly and continuously. As Coplu
expresses his thoughts about love on his paintings by looking at it from a different perspective and through a special window, the
window he chooses to look, has a free vision. In some paintings love is represented as a universally evolving vessel to direct and
move us towards good, better, upper or higher levels. Whether it be a journey through difficult times, aging in years, suffering painful
loses, or going through other stages in life, love is the only power to take us to pass and be elevated to the other circumstances.
On his paintings often love has unconvetional meanings, such as a light through dark tunnels, a vessel on a rough road, a saving
magic in a case, for instance on one of the paintings, a lover is paddling his love boat on a very harsh soil, despite the fact of being
on the land he is determined to make a move, because he is taking his life journey to another level and bringing continuity to his
Love. Whereas on another painting, a man loaded with love and following a woman, titled as “My Destiny” , Coplu shows that his
destiny depends on his soul’s reliance of love. Perhaps he is trying to convey that caring for our loved ones’ happiness and following
their paths, is everyman’s sole and is the only destiny.
Coplu shows us more unconventional meanings of Love in our lives, it is painted as a wind in a deadly sea, a wing on a cloudy sky,
a music in a boring time, sail in a rough sea, a surprise during a most difficult challenge, a swing on a boring day. Seeing all aspect
of love and being loved on Coplu’s paintings, one starts thinking that what a joyous life we could have when one lets himself in
Love's trusting arms, anchor its harbour, soaks the soul in its warmth, absorbs its positive powers, sets sail with its winds.
Coplu says “when you are in love, you become blind but you can still see the beauty in everything, when minutes turn into hours of
joy, when time is the eternity.”
More over in one of the paintings, Coplu is depicting the relation between lovers, relation that is a combination of different degrees
of giving and receiving. Even when all the conditions seem not ideal, lovers have to beat the impossibles, succeed the unachievable,
fulfill expectations and commit themselves to each other. It reminds us the saying by Gilbert Parker* “Ah, lady, when I gave my heart
to thee, it passed into thy lifelong regency.” which is the foundation of true love, through which we grow, gain new ways of
confidence, become richer, mature and wiser together.
Why Love Matters The Most, above all sadi, because the gift of love is the most valuable thing, it is a pure and limitless value. Love
brings balance to our minds and souls, with the power to enlighten our lives and transcend all worldly divides. When we care about
love, and protect it, we carry it with us always, it surrounds us with it’s radiance and protects us in return. Of our most precious
possessions, those worth saving, those worth keeping, nothing is more important than love. As Pablo Picasso** said, “Love is the
greatest refreshment in life,” I say so are the Coplu’s Paintings of Love.
Gulhan Gulsun
Author
* A Canadian novelist and British politician, 1862-1932.
** An Andalusian-Spanish painter, draughtsman, and sculptor, 1881-1973
The essence of life is, for those who can dream of climbing up the
peak of their inner mountains. Those who minimize their ties with
livelihood possessions, those who rich to their souls with little,
and those who fill their minds, can reach to the peak of their inner
mountains. That is the place of beauty, love and freedom; where
you are able to feel the warmth of sunrise on the edge of a cliff,
where you become a wave in the ocean, where you can travel like
the notes of music, where you can be a blowing wind in dessert.
Peak of life is for those who go beyond of "who they are", "where
they are", "what they have". Life is for those who can become a
beautiful song in the complete silence…...Life is beautiful.
My painting come from life itself!
What they have said/written
about Coplu ……
HOPE & WONDERS OF EXISTENCE
The Turkish-born Canadian artist’s use of eggs reflects their power as symbols for creativity, purity, mortality and hope. As
Picasso wrote, “When you start with a portrait and search for a pure form, a clear volume, through successive eliminations,
you arrive inevitably at the egg. Likewise, starting with the egg and following the same process in reverse, one finishes with
the portrait.”
Outside of art, eggs are simply the origin of all life. Children often encounter their first experience of birth by watching a chick
hatch from an egg. We may intellectually understand the importance of eggs in biology but seeing birds’ eggs hatch makes the
reality of birth immediate and intimate without forcing a clear confrontation with sexuality and the bloody biological reality of
maternity in mammals. A chick popping out of an egg is as wondrous as magic. But it also educates children in the natural
processes of life.
Coplu’s male and female creatures have similarly plump bodies but his females possess distinctly maternal physiques. They
have full bosoms and bountiful hair. They seem warm and motherly. Family and community are key to Coplu’s universe.
The eggs symbolize potential birth in these images just as they do for children. Their appearance is joyful. Although the shells
are empty, Coplu’s creatures fill them with love and hope.
This symbolic significance is addressed in many of Coplu’s egg images. In one painting, a couple sits together in an open
eggshell. The egg itself has been removed and the couple chastely inhabits the shell but their presence together evokes their
potential as parents.
In another image, the couple relaxes in an eggshell floating through space attached to a balloon of clouds. In Coplu’s work
clouds represent dreams. In this instance, the clouds clearly represent the couple’s *dreams and the power of their love to
hoist them above otherwise rocky and bleak terrain. The sky surrounding them is dark and turbulent. The ground is dotted
with eggs and hard hills. The earth beneath them seems precarious but the dreams uphold the nest that they create together
in the eggshell. It is a lovely and reassuring vision of domestic security and romantic contentment.
A comparably mournful image shows the same couple rests within their egg but it is no longer aloft. It is grounded and rooted
in the dense earth. They watch two floating clouds and appear to contemplate their relationship. The sentiment is tender, not
bitter. But a sense of potential loss is still gently conveyed.
Eggs’ potential as symbols of hope and disappointment is illustrated in a dramatic painting by Coplu in which one of his
creatures pushes a whole egg up a mountain while others watch. The far side of the mountain is crowded with forgotten eggs.
The gesture seems futile and curious but the evident determination of the worker creates a sense that the activity itself
provides potential solace and self-discovery, in keeping with some interpretations of the Sisyphus.
One of the painting evokes a proverb from Coplu’s native Turkey, which translates into: “Today's egg is better than tomorrow's
hen.” As the proverb makes clear, an egg has less objective value than a hen but it is still superior to the fantasy of a hen in
the future. However, the existence of similar proverbs throughout multiple cultures demonstrates mankind’s susceptibility
towards investing in fragile and false hope.
The positive implication of this quote is that hope can transcend reality. This sentiment possibly inspires the group of creatures
gathered on a series of rocks watching another of their kind travel the sky in a vessel with an egg as it sails. Ironically, the egg
is sunny-side-up. In this state, it will clearly never become a chicken. It’s potential for giving life has been arrested. As food, a
cooked egg can contribute to another creature’s nourishment but it cannot independently become an autonomous thing.
However, it’s appearance hovering above the heads of Coplu’s creatures still generates obvious hope within them. They gaze
at it with understandable wonder and envy their brethren flying under its steed.
Although eggs represent many aspects of our emotional and intellectual investment in life’s potential, eggs also signify the
limits of our understanding of life. Eggs’ simple but significant symbolic meaning is summed up in the eternal conundrum:
which came first, the chicken or egg? Like Coplu’s charming characters, this riddle’s apparent simplicity belies its hidden
profundity.
Ana Finel Honigman is an art critic and writer living in Berlin
What they have said/written
about Coplu ……
DREAMING OF A LAND OF COCKAYNE
This is the land where one can eat and drink to ones heart’s content, where there is no hunger, where the meal runs, flies or swims to the
dinner plate, no need to spend hours trudging behind the plough and watching the rain arrive in the middle of harvesting, worrying about
potato blight or aphids, taxes or warfare, where there is an unfailing ocean of wine on tap and beer floods out of the mouth of the fountain,
where true love is to be found, visible around the corner or perhaps only just over the horizon, the universal dream of mankind through the
ages, a “what if” world.
These paintings by Coplu are of course not copies of the painting by Pieter Breughel (c. 1525/30-1569) entitled “The land of Cockagyne”
that was painted in 1567, and Orhan was quite unaware of this connection with his paintings when I spoke to him about it in his
studio. Coplu’s paintings are modern and original paintings and they have this same flavor of a dream shared by people throughout the
ages. There is of course no question of any direct influence and the cultural context in which Coplu’s paintings were made and the
cultural context within which Pieter Breughel painted in the Spanish Netherlands, in Antwerp and Brussels almost half a millennia ago are
quite different, they come from different worlds and they have quite different perspectives upon this dream, but both painters’ works carry
this same heady, powerful taste of an intoxicating dream.
The iconography of these paintings
Certain images, compositions or designs that reoccur in an artist’s work, reflect the cultural and artistic choices that have been made by
the painter in a process of selection over the passage of time and these images have then been refined over the course of repetition and
variation by the artist to the point where they carry a particular sense or meaning or series of senses and meanings. More than any
signature on a canvas or drawing, the use of a particular refined group of images belongs to the artist and distinguishes a particular
artist’s work from that of others, even if the work were not signed, as the particular choice of images, their position on the canvas, the
technique and colors employed would show that these paintings were the work of this painter Coplu and nobody else. The use of these
motifs, those elements that are employed in a painting to express a meaning, form the categories that are described and touched upon
below. These pictorial images and devices have been worked upon for many years to refine a language of images-signs in relation to the
size of the pictorial space and the horizon line, that belong to and reveal the work of the painter far more than any signature, and these
strong images carry the meaning brushed onto the canvas, directed from the heart and mind of the painter into the eye and mind of the
viewer. These paintings open out vistas into another world, not too dissimilar but not the same as the world that we inhabit.
The Clouds of Dreams
Clouds at the same time both obscure the clarity of the sky and cast a shadow over the land beneath them, but also float through the sky
as dreams floating through the mind, bringing the reviving rain, the tears of love, the raindrops that feed both hopes and plants and
dreams, the clouds drift by, feed life, making both living and hope possible.
The clouds of dreams suspended on thin strings attached, one to each hand, of the six men sitting in the boat that is about to lift off,
elevated by the clouds of dreams and able to transport the travelers on their journey out across that far horizon, where the grass is
greener, the sky is brighter and the multitude of problems of living have all fallen away, freeing the viewer to participate in the always and
ever-present age of innocence and truth, in the great adventure. The worries and cares, the sacks of fears and mundane everyday threats
have been bundled away like old bed linen, dirty socks and shoes have been shed, the future looks brighter and a new day is dawning,
the troubles have slipped unconsciously away – the eggshell has broken and following the dream they depart-what a vision of innocence,
of simplicity in an increasingly complex world. Life is beautiful.
To chance ones hopes upon a bold stroke, an adventure, flying without wings, a step out into weightlessness, out into the unknown,
dream chasing, directed by the quest for love.
Imagine, that there is this windmill, its painted red, but the four wooden white arms of the sail that powers the mill, the mill that grinds the
corn into flour, that grinds so fine, are not in this case powered by the wind. These windmill sails of unrobed ribs of wood are instead
powered by the clouds that are tied to the ends of each of the four arms of the windmills sails, clouds composed of hopes and dreams,
spinning round upon their axis, clouds that can bring the rain, the powerful clouds of tears that water the crops, the hopes and wishes that
change the dark threatening clouds and whirling winds into the white clouds of summer bold against an azure sky.
Clearing the clouds away, to reveal a dark blue night sky with the whitest stars, the dream is real.
These figures play some rich music, the tunes of dreams, they play upon their instruments, upon their faculty of imagining summoning up
their dreams and dreaming of actualizing their dreams, of making them real, living through the vibrating chords of their dreams, they stand
strumming their clouds that are shaped like musical instruments, some perhaps playing a lament for dreams not followed, or is there here
fresh hope and joy, are there dreams in the playing that will bring the dream to life, that shatters illusions with the crystal clarity of a new
awakening?
The Heart and Love
These paintings speak to the individual but in an international language that is both understandable and yet individual and particular. Not
localized to any specific place, to any exact location that would be unknown to many, but instead, these are scenes that are accessible at
a deeper level, below the apparent diversity of place, here is the sea, there is the land, the shore, a flower, a heart, a windmill and another
world. I have a dream these paintings announce to the viewer, a dream from the heart of love adventuring into another different and
cleaner, a peaceful world, where the sorrows and cares have been set to one side to depict what could, what might almost be. There is a
recognition that passes from the picture to the eyes.
On the tight-rope stretched between two cliffs, slightly sagging but spanning the abyss between them, upon a thin rope there are two large
hearts, together they hang suspended on this thin rope, almost entirely free of all ties. Between two continents, two hearts, exposed and
fragile, but these hearts are together, of lovers and these hearts are beating in the open and are free of the disguise of outward form, a
common source of much confusion.
This figure stands bent head leaning forwards and so much in love that tears fall, spaying out from the head, as with the drops of water that fall
from the rose at the end of a garden watering-can, falling from the eyes to the dry ground and, from those tears of wishes and desire that wash
the earth, there springs up, a brightly colored but fragile flower with petals spread wide, a crimson flower of hope, thin stem, small leaves, no
rock of ages, yet a frail vibrant living symbol of care, of possibilities and of the innocent unknowingness of love.
There is no dust or grime or dirt, this is no tired old world, there’s no litter on the beach, no others footprints darkening the sandy shore, no
broken glass, tower-blocks of anguish and inactive deadened eyes, no hordes of people dragging their accumulated mega-byte stores of
vicarious living, of video images accumulating each day inside their heads, no, this is a fresh world that is full of possibilities, where hearts can
love and dreams just might be shared and some may even be adventured upon.
Against a blue sky there is a large brown tree that forks into two main branches and, on the lesser branches, there are numbers of hearts of a
variety of colors. Below, lying on the ground like fallen leaves there are more hearts. Fallen hearts, perhaps no longer alive. A man is leaving
the tree with a heart clutched to his breast. Perhaps he has found a true love, a true treasure, perhaps. Perhaps he’s found his own heart,
perhaps. Perhaps he has rescued a fallen heart, a heart fallen from the tree of hearts, perhaps. Another version of this painting has a man
asleep under the tree of hearts deep-rooted in nature, perhaps he has been watering the tree of hearts with his tears and exhausted has then
fallen asleep or has he fallen asleep content to be resting beneath the tree of hearts, or is he a dreamer dreaming of the tree of hearts, wishing
he could find the source of love, of joy and companionship, the tree being the tree of life - the waters of life - the tree of life, the heart of life –
the life of the heart.
Upon the very edge of that great blue fathomless unknown, before the orange-lemon yellow half sky beneath the blues created by a setting sun,
backs to the viewer, eyes upon the distant line but seeing well beyond that far horizon, there sit upon the shore two figures, male and female
and from each right hand a thin string rises to a reddened heart, far bigger than any breast can hold, these two hearts, tethered but floating free.
Within this painted space-there-is where-the inherent possibilities appear-long unrecognized and unrealized but which are written in a code of
images-articulated in paint-startlingly clear and perhaps speaking clearly to some deeply buried thought of what might have been and could-just
possibly-become-of which one is usually less than half aware of-some images certainly relate both a story and also a wished for dream.
The painter, studio, technique, the web etc.
After moving to Canada and physically escaping from “a climate of artistic envy”, Coplu’s palette has become even brighter, more free and
lively and his treatment of his subjects has deepened, while his chosen groups of images have become clearer and are placed with a greater
assurance within the landscape and of which they are an integral part.
Coplu has a web site that shows a number of his pictures, but the photographs of these paintings on this web site seem very odd indeed, if you
have actually seen these paintings, not only do the colors on the web-site seem far less vibrant but of course the loss of scale is almost as
important as the loss of color and texture. The size, the scale of the painting is lost on the screen and the size of these painting is important,
seeing these paintings in their original size allows you to fill your eyes and mind with a painting.
Coplu has an original manner of dress while working in his studio, I last saw him wearing an orange jumpsuit spattered with bright smears of
paint and desert boots, at night there is occasionally a young cat or two peering out from the vee of his zippered jumpsuit or just in the cold
night hours, the bulge and the soothing purr of a sleeping feline, and, contrasting starkly with this perhaps somewhat eccentric studio
appearance under florescent light in white painted walls, are what are placed around the walls and on the easel, a series paintings of original
compositions, compositions that have been repeatedly refined to produce a painting which is seemingly simple, and it is in part, this apparent
simplicity that gleams, that both engages the feelings of the viewer and raises the level of these paintings to the unusual, to the clearly
memorable and to the oddly iconic.
The quality of the brushwork suffices to indicate this paintwork is not directed from any spray-can but has been applied brush stroke by brush
stroke and there is no clutter in this painter’s resolution, no lack of clarity. In this world the sky is bluer, the stars brighter, the sand is
unbelievably yellower than would usually seem at all possible, except that entering this world all appears quite possible, this richness of paint, of
color has been worked over, refined, clarified and skillfully graduated; the forms and composition are clear and resolved leaving sufficient space
draw the viewer in, to permit the viewer to participate and then a silent dialogue between painting and self begins.
In these painting the clear night-time world possesses a diamond clarity and the time of day each picture represents, requires no clock to tick or
bell to ring or peal to tell oneself the time, for there within this painted world of space there is no outward noise.
Together with the bright colors of the acrylic paint, combined with the large size of some of these canvasses, a world has been created by
Coplu that draws the viewer in, to take part in this dialogue, this world, this Land of Cockayne, of simplicity and depth of feeling, and to wander
into what these painting’s depict, a story from the heart and a dream in the world. Here are some of humanities longest lasting dreams,
concerning love and travel, of dreams, of the sheer root-ed-ness of trees, both below and above the ground, and these paintings speak of the
capacity of some human beings who are able to refine and frame an image that then speaks on many levels, from the painters of the wall
paintings on the adobe-mud walls of Catal Hoyuk in Central Turkey, the oldest large inhabited settlement in western Eurasia or the paintings on
the cave walls of Lascaux and those painted later, 4000 years ago in the monuments of ancient Egypt to Coplu’s painted images, time has
passed but the dreaming and recording of the dream remains.
By Michael P. Duggan
Duggan is an art historian and draughtsman-painter. He graduated in History of Art from Manchester University in 1980, an art and cultural
critic for the Turkish Daily News from 1997 to 2003. He has known Coplu for more than 10 years and Coplu’s artwork of memorable images for
a still longer period of time.
DREAM OF CHOICES
No matter what our dreams are, there are many choices and alternatives for us to reach them, but
we tend to see only one way.
In order to reach our dreams, we sometimes need to see and take the other ways of action and be
ready for other choices – otherwise reaching our dream is not even close.
The key is to see things in different ways other than their actual appearances.
夢想抉擇
不論我們夢想甚麼，總有很多方法達到；但我們往往只看到一條路。
要達成夢想，很多時須面臨抉擇。我們要看到其他的路，並願意選擇它們，否則夢想只會離我們越來
越遠。
抉擇的關鍵是從不同角度考慮事情，不要只看到表面。
About the Artist
Coplu’s journey as an artist began at a very early age when he was a child. His family was involved in the carpet business
so they spent their days making dyes, coloring yarns, drawing figures and matching patterns. His mother carried him in
her backpack while weaving and she would explain to him what the various patterns meant and the effects of color in
carpets.
His family moved to Istanbul when he was six and he lived there for thirty years. The sixties and seventies were periods of
optimism, socialism and humanism in Turkey but the 80’s brought very difficult political and social events. In response to
censorship and oppression of freedom of expression he began to draw cartoons. His passion for drawing grew as he was
studying to become a mining engineer at Istanbul University, but he found he could not keep his mind on his studies while
it was completely occupied with social issues. He witnessed great turmoil in his day to day life which he documented in
his art and it was not long before his art became more important to him than his studies.
He participated in his first art exhibition in Istanbul in 1984, followed by many solo exhibitions in Turkey and group
exhibitions in Italy, Japan, France, Germany, Belgium, Russia, Spain, USA and Canada. His illustrations have been
published in numerous magazines, newspapers, books and catalogues both in Turkey and across Europe. Since his first
international recognition in 1989 with the Nasreddin Hodja International Cartoon Competition Special Talent Award, he
has received 25 awards in national and international competitions, including second prize in cartoon competition in
Okhotsk - Japan.
He contributed cartoons to the Turkish Daily News for over five years. He established an Open Air Cartoon Exhibition
Space and the Cartoon School of Antalya. Under the auspices of these institutions he taught many pupils the art of
seeing the humorous side of life. He has been exploring forms of visual art and he developed his own style of painting.
He has been painting for years.The subjects of his paintings are always human beings and the environment they are part
of. His work mirrors human beings’ feelings, beliefs, thoughts, fears and experiences.
He has been interviewed by many media, his work has been recently documented by Channel News Asia and screened
arodn 22 countries around Asia, his paintings are mainly bought by private collecters and institutions. Six of his paintings
are printed as limited editions by Aurora Fine Art Publisher and sold in over 50 galleries in the UK.
Some Solo Exhibitions
2011 Ode to Art Gallery-Singapore & Kuala Lumpur
2009 Ode to Art Gallery-Singapore & Kuala Lumpur
2009 State-of-the-Arts Gallery & Festival Walk - Hong Kong
2008 Ode to Art Gallery - Singapore & Kuala Lumpur
2007 State-of-the-Arts Gallery - Hong Kong
2006 MJC des 4 Bordes Metz - France
2003 Eurocentre - La Rochelle - France
2002 Room George Chepfer Nancy - France
2001 Int.Contemporary Art Fair Malaga - Spain
2000 Gallery Hittite Toronto - Canada
1999 Vienna Centre - Vienna - Austria
1998 Caravanserai Aksaray -Turkey
1997 State Fine Art & Sculpture Museum - Izmir- Turkey
1996 Pimapen Culture House –Istanbul - Turkey
1996 Atelier House – Hamburg German
1996 State Fine Art & Sculpture Museum-Ankara - Turkey
1995 Hilton Exhibition Hall – Istanbul - Turkey
1995 Archelogical Museum Art Gallery – Antalya - Turkey
1994 Pamukkale Museum – Denizli - Turkey
1993 Cartoon Alley – Antalya – Turkey
1992 Is Bank Art Gallery – Antalya Turkey
1991 State Fine Art Gallery – Antalya - Turkey
1989 Akbank Art Gallery -Istanbul- Turkey
1988 Culture Center Exhibition Hall- Eskisehir - Turkey
1985 Antalya Municipality Culture Center - Turkey
1984 Bilim Art Gallery - Istanbul- Turkey
Presented by State-Of-The-Arts Gallery
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means,
electronic imaging, photocopying and recording media without
written permission of the publisher or the copyright owner.
© Copyright 2010 by State-Of-The-Arts Gallery Ltd
All right reserved
Designed and published by State-Of-The-Arts Gallery
State-of-the-Arts Gallery is a wonderful Art Gallery to visit
both for the wide range of art it has to offer from artists all
over the world, and for the setting, on beautiful cobbled
Pottinger Street in Central.
Since opening in 2003 State-of-the-Arts Gallery has
organized numerous exhibitions, charity functions and
special events for an array of artists worldwide. It has
rapidly established itself as a contemporary international
fine arts gallery featuring artists from countries across the
continents: from Austria to other parts of Europe like
France and England; and from Australia to Latin American
countries including Mexico, Chile and Columbia.
The Gallery offers purchase, lease, or commission of a
variety of artwork including paintings, sculptures,
photographs and glassware. All artworks are selected
within the parameter of high quality and collection value.
Our works share the common characteristics of conceptual
originality, thematic consistency, and refined techniques.
As well as this, sharing the artists‟ self-cultivation and
philosophy of art has always been our priority when
promoting commercial art. This ensures that our customers
know a little about the artist and the work that they are
interested in, adding a personal touch.
In working with artists from all over the world, we get a
range of techniques and content in the art that we show.
Each artist brings to their art their different cultural
influences and their own style, adding individual flair. With
such a broad range of art, the overriding commonality is
high quality at a reasonable price, which makes visitors
sure to find something that they love.
Contact
For more information, please contact us via
email at [email protected] or call us
directly at +852 2526 1133
State-Of-The-Arts Gallery
36, Pottinger Street, Central,
Hong Kong
www.sotagallery.com.hk