ALAN Istanbul presents Ali Gel‘s new show “Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf”!
A short while later a red hooded girl will come out of the woods, and right after her the wolf… This is the reason why this place is so silent; we are standing on our tiptoes while waiting for them impatiently…[i]
Each story features a protagonist, and also an antagonist that justifies the existence of the protagonist. In the “Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf”, the girl represents innocence, while the wolf becomes a metaphor for the loss of her innocence as he attempts to trick her.
In his show “Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf”, Ali Gel, with his large-scale landscapes, seeks the innocence in the existence of the individual. His narrative is tale-like, his colors are vivid. In the imaginary woods of his creation almost all textures are intertwined. We see a vast universe covered with forests of grandiose trees, colored with effective brush strokes. Viewers might see an overturned tree, or a dark nook in this tale-like environment. These details are exactly the places where existence is hidden in Ali Gel‘s paintings. It’s because opposites balance each other. Nothing can be considered innocent, pure or clean by itself, if there’s nothing to compare it to.
“Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf” is a show that casts light upon the concepts of existence and individuality with a rare technical proficiency and formal expression. Questioning the subconsciousness of the individual through an extraordinary use of landscape painting, the artist invites viewers into his stories. Our existence is represented with the forest and depicted through high technical proficiency with all its contrasting qualities, with the unity and purity of intertwined textures. Thus the show, with its rich content and mastery of technique, underlines the unshakable place painting holds in art.
“Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf” can be seen at ALAN Istanbul between the dates 30 November 2016 – 31 December 2016.
[i] Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf, Yıldız Ersağdıç, 2015, İzmir.
Ali Gel, Tale, Acrylic on Canvas 170x200cm,2015
