Fevzi Yazıcı
DARK WHITE
January 30 – March 14, 2020
One of the earliest works in the exhibition, Egg (2009), depicts two amorphous figures hatching from umbrellas. After his incarceration in 2016, Yazıcı has created such as drawings as Arrest Socrates (2018), which depicts a hulking individual illuminated by spotlight. The chiaroscuro quality of Yazıcı's recent drawings results from his careful, labor-intensive use of stipple, creating gentle and detailed transitions from white to black via thousands of dots. The title of the exhibition, DARK WHITE, references both to the materials and techniques Yazıcı utilizes, as well as his current conditions of production in Istanbul's Silivri Prison. Design Director of The Washington Post Greg Manifold has contributed a text to the exhibition about his longstanding friendship with Yazıcı, who has written a letter from his cell about his work. He optimistically reminds us: “you cannot arrest art and imagination.”
This exhibition is curated by Alex Morel, Associate Professor of Photography, St. John's University, with the support of Owen Duffy, Director of the Yeh Art Gallery, and Firdevs Yaz.
Framing for Fevzi Yazıcı: DARK WHITE is provided by Imagic Studio.
Image: Fevzi Yazıcı, Arrest Socrates, 2018, white paper and prison pen, 8.26 x 11.81 inches. Photo courtesy Firdevz Yazıcı.
