EXHIBITIONS

Current Exhibitions

Ali Kazma: Landscapes of the Mind

June 13, 2025–February 1, 2026

Istanbul Modern is preparing for a solo exhibition titled “Landscapes of the Mind” by Ali Kazma (1971), whose works continue to explore fundamental questions about the meaning of human activity. The exhibition will feature videos from the 2010s to the present focused on books and literature and a selection of photographs from the artist’s extensive archive.

The exhibition will mark the debut of Kazma’s latest work, “Sumi” (2025), which documents one of the world’s oldest known ink productions, a 600-year-old tradition in Nara, Japan. Making their first appearance in Türkiye, “A House of Ink” (2023) and “Sentimental” (2022) offer an intimate glimpse into the apartment and archive of Nobel Prize-winning author Orhan Pamuk. Also showing for the first time in Türkiye is “Alberto in Lisbon” (2024), which traces the relocation of Argentine-born writer and book historian Alberto Manguel’s library from France to Portugal. “Ali Kazma: Landscapes of the Mind” will further include “Calligraphy” (2013) and “Tattoo” (2013), which explore ink-based craftsmanship and were previously exhibited at the Pavilion of Türkiye during the 55th Venice Biennale, along with photographs documenting printing houses, libraries, and bookstores as spaces for books.

Curators: Öykü Özsoy Sağnak, Demet Yıldız Dinçer

Assistant Curator: Yazın Öztürk

Ömer Uluç: Beyond the Horizon

March 21–December 12, 2025

Istanbul Modern presents the solo exhibition of Ömer Uluç (1931–2010) titled “Beyond the Horizon,” which showcases his artistic journey. Bringing together different forms of expression that are key in the artist’s practice through various themes, it features a comprehensive selection of works from the 1960s to 2010.

The exhibition includes examples from various disciplines such as patterns and drawings on paper, acrylic on canvas, collage, and sculpture, along with Uluç’s works created with materials like rubber, felt, aluminum, acrylic sheet, PVC, and polyester.

“Ömer Uluç: Beyond the Horizon” presents over 300 artworks by the artist, who pushes the boundaries of his time by exploring the complex relationship between humanity and the universe. Inviting visitors to an experience beyond time and space, the exhibition guides them to explore Uluç's creative world.

Curators: Öykü Özsoy Sağnak, Nilay Dursun

Assistant Curator: Naz Uğurlu Benek    

Chiharu Shiota: Between Worlds

September 6, 2024–January 25, 2026

Chiharu Shiota's solo exhibition “Between Worlds,” organized on Istanbul Modern’s invitation as part of the 100th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Türkiye, centers on the artist's sense of being “somewhere in between.” In shaping the exhibition’s conceptual framework, Shiota draws on Istanbul's location between Asia and Europe. She is also inspired by Istanbul Modern's location in Karaköy, one of the city’s busiest districts and home to its historic, centuries-old harbor. The artist weaves a connection between the ships docking and departing from the harbor, the passengers traveling on these ships, their stories, and her own migration story.

In her installation at Istanbul Modern, the artist wraps the entire gallery with web-like red threads and places the suitcases inside this intricate mass, emphasizing the theme of “presence in the absence.” Red, the color most frequently used by the artist, represents the flow of blood and life coursing through veins, metaphorically connecting people, emotions, and memories. Each suitcase represents an individual from the artist’s perspective. Tied together with red threads, these suitcases create a visual narrative that makes the viewer question both personal and collective themes such as home, belonging, and identity. In this manner, Shiota weaves concepts of time, space, movement, and memory into her installations, and invites the viewers to engage both physically and emotionally to complete their experience. Beyond the objects they carry, suitcases also serve as conveyors of symbols, carrying emotions and memories, bridging the past and the future.

Drawing inspiration from Istanbul's cosmopolitan identity and the artist's own migration story, “Between Worlds” constructs a contemplative space that invites viewers to reflect on their own lives, memories, and relationships within the broader universal context of humanity. Thus, Shiota’s universe of threads is not only visually captivating but also an invitation to delve into the labyrinth of one's inner world.

Curator: Öykü Özsoy Sağnak
Assistant Curator: Yazın Öztürk

Floating Islands

“Floating Islands,” Istanbul Modern’s 9th collection exhibition, besides the permanent exhibition gallery, encompasses other spaces throughout the building.

The exhibition presents a chronological selection from the museum collection that traces the development and transformation of art scene in Türkiye after 1945. Touching on different subjects and approaches, from figurative paintings to installations and videos, the selection reveals interactions between artists. While shedding light on the popular tendencies of the time, each work also informs viewers about the specific style of the artist.

“Floating Islands” pays homage to artists’ extraordinary imagination and spheres of influence. It indicates their attachment to a specific place while also emphasizing the impact of their thought and production beyond borders and geographies.

Artists: Kuzgun Acar, Murat Akagündüz, Erol Akyavaş, Hüseyin Bahri Alptekin, Halil Altındere, Refik Anadol, Avni Arbaş, Yüksel Arslan, Tomur Atagök, Kutluğ Ataman, Fikret Atay, Bedri Baykam, Aliye Berger, Nurullah Berk, Sabri Berkel, Semiha Berksoy, Albert Bitran, Cihat Burak, Anthony Cragg, Hüseyin Çağlayan, Adnan Çoker, Richard Deacon, Nejad Melih Devrim, Burhan Doğançay, İpek Duben, Nezaket Ekici, Abidin Elderoğlu, Olafur Eliasson, Devrim Erbil, Neş'e Erdok, İnci Eviner, Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu, Ara Güler, Mehmet Güleryüz, Neşet Günal, Nedim Günsür, Selma Gürbüz, Altan Gürman, Balkan Naci İslimyeli, Ferit İşcan, Nuri İyem, Zeki Faik İzer, İhsan Cemal Karaburçak, Gülsün Karamustafa, Şahin Kaygun, Zeynep Kayan, Ali Kazma, Nur Koçak, Komet, Azade Köker, Yıldız Moran, Aydan Murtezaoğlu, Julian Opie, Mübin Orhon, Kemal Önsoy, İrfan Önürmen, Ferhat Özgür, Serkan Özkaya, Şener Özmen - Erkan Özgen, Ardan Özmenoğlu, Orhan Peker, Anselm Reyle, Adrián Villar Rojas, Sarkis, Jennifer Steinkamp, Hale Tenger, Canan Tolon, Seyhun Topuz, TUNCA, Selim Turan, F.Tülin, Ömer Uluç, Burhan Uygur, Richard Wentworth, Nil Yalter, Fahrelnissa Zeid, Yılmaz Zenger

Curators: Levent Çalıkoğlu, Deniz Pehlivaner

Renzo Piano: Genius Loci

“Renzo Piano: Genius Loci” focuses on the architecture of Istanbul Modern’s new museum building and its design and construction process, which spanned six years. Designed by Renzo Piano Building Workshop (RPBW), the new building greets art lovers at the same location where Istanbul Modern opened its doors in 2004 as Turkey's first museum of modern and contemporary art.

The title of the exhibition refers to the architectural understanding of Renzo Piano, whose vision is to integrate tangible elements and non-physical qualities of the building site. “Renzo Piano: Genius Loci” examines in detail the design process and structural components of the new museum building, which Piano designed taking inspiration from the light and atmosphere unique to the Bosphorus and Istanbul. The exhibition also surveys the various artistic and cultural projects that Renzo Piano has realized throughout his career in different parts of the world as well as the transformation Istanbul Modern has undergone since its foundation.

“Renzo Piano: Genius Loci” is located at the entrance of the library on the museum’s ground floor, which is open to the public free of charge. A Turkish-English monograph on Istanbul Modern’s new building, prepared by the Renzo Piano Foundation as part of the book series on RPBW buildings, presents the reader with a record of the new building’s journey.

Curator: Ümit Mesci

OCTOBER EVENTS

Workshops 

Weekend Art Workshops for Children 

7–14 years old 

Children take part in programs which are designed for specific age groups and focus on exhibitions held at the Istanbul Museum of Modern Art, works of art featured in the exhibitions, and the careers of artists whose works are exhibited. Participants thus gain experience in different fields of art ranging from painting, sculpture, and video to performance, design, and architecture. 

Click here for details. 

Family Art Workshops 

2–10 years old 

On weekends, Istanbul Modern carries out education programs that children can participate with their families. Designed in parallel with exhibitions and led by a museum educator, the programs are organized for families of children of different ages. 

Click here for details. 

“Ömer Uluç: Beyond the Horizon” Exhibition Event 

A Talk with Catherine Millet 

Istanbul Modern hosts art critic, writer, and editor Catherine Millet for the second public event of the exhibition “Beyond the Horizon,” which explores the artistic journey of Ömer Uluç (1931–2010). Millet, who contributed to the exhibition catalogue with a text on Uluç’s creative world, shares her insights on the role of gesture in modern painting, while revisiting her personal memories of the artist, and reflecting on the exhibition. 

Date: Wednesday, October 8, 2025 

Time: 18.30 

Venue: Istanbul Modern Auditorium 

Website: https://www.istanbulmodern.org/en/events/a-talk-with-catherine-millet

Events 

“Your Thursday” Artist Meetings: Conversation with Ahmet Rüstem Ekici and Hakan Sorar: Digital Scalpel: The Anatomy of the Surface 

In this conversation, artists Ahmet Rüstem Ekici and Hakan Sorar delve into their interdisciplinary practices. Shaped by their backgrounds in interior architecture and engineering, the duo traces the notion of “surface,” which they place at the core of their work. In this journey that ranges from archaeological strata to digital textures, from the human body to the architectural shell, Ekici and Sorar examine how new media tools enable them to both reconstruct and deconstruct narratives of the past. 

The duo’s presentation focuses particularly on their Rest in Pieces series, which explores processes of digitally reassembling memories of what has been fragmented. Ekici and Sorar invite participants into the “kitchen” of their creative practice, where they build bridges between the texture of an archaeological object and the fluidity of pixels. This artist talk promises a profound journey into how technology transforms historical and bodily narratives. 

Date: October 16, 2025 

Time: 13.00–14.30 

Venue: Istanbul Modern Event Room 2 

Duration: 90 mins 

The event is free of charge.  The program is held in Turkish. 

Website: https://www.istanbulmodern.org/en/events/your-thursday-artist-meetings-conversation-with-ahmet-rustem-ekici-and-hakan-so 

Long Friday with Mastercard: October 2025 

As part of Istanbul Modern’s “Long Friday” program on Friday, October 24, Gökçe “CheChe” Gürçay – drummer of the music group Gevende and member of the ensemble KeKeÇa – will lead a melodic body workshop at the museum. Participants will use their own bodies as instruments to create melodies, transforming into a moving, polyphonic orchestra. 

Date: Friday, October 24, 2025 

Program: 19.00 Melodic Body Workshop with CheChe 

Website: https://www.istanbulmodern.org/en/events/long-friday-with-mastercard-october-2025