Painter Ömer Onay’s second solo exhibition, ‘Stream of Consciousness,’ opened at AKM with a large group of attendees from the art, press, and business worlds.

The exhibition, which brings together three of Onay’s series – ‘Nocturne,’ ‘Lost Realms,’ and ‘Before Time’ – where he reinterprets traditional Turkish motifs, can be viewed for free at the AKM Multipurpose Hall until July 6th.

The second solo exhibition of painter Ömer Onay, who works in Istanbul, titled ‘Stream of Consciousness,’ met with art lovers at the Atatürk Cultural Center. The opening of the exhibition, held on the evening of Thursday, June 19th, took place with the participation of many figures from the worlds of art, literature, and business. The opening was conducted by Alper Kanca, Chairman of the Board of Kanca, who is among the supporters of the exhibition. Kanca, first mentioning that they have been friends with the artist for many years, said: “Our dear friend Ömer Onay, whom we all know as a quiet, taciturn figure, continued his life for years with graphic design work after graduating from fine arts. He designed many important, prestigious books and created exhibition catalogues for many artists. Years later, he produced these original works that surprised us all. We are very happy to stand by our friend Ömer, famous in our conversations for speaking little, as friends on this great success.”

ERKAN MUMCU: AN ORIGINALITY WE RARELY SEE IN OUR ART
Former Minister of Culture and Tourism Erkan Mumcu, also among the guests, shared his thoughts on the artist’s work, recounting that whenever he saw the artist, whom he has known for years, drawing on paper and asked him, “What are you doing?”, Onay would reply, “I’m searching for a form.” Mumcu stated: “The works that emerged as a result of Ömer’s years-long search for form and are presented to us in this exhibition today contain an originality we rarely see in our art. Ömer is not an artist concerned with recreating synthesized forms. Ömer Onay is a very authentic artist, a genuine painter because he is an artist who combines, animates, and composes forms that do not exist in nature with the meanings in his mind.” Mumcu shared the opinion that the artist’s works will occupy distinguished places in national museums in the future.

DURSUN GÜLERYÜZ: HE HAS COVERED SIGNIFICANT GROUND IN A SHORT TIME
Dursun Güleryüz, General Manager of Television Audience Research Inc. (TİAK), also stated in his speech that he had worked alongside Onay for many years in the business world. Güleryüz recounted that he convinced the artist to exhibit the works he created years later, highlighting the importance of the significant distance he covered in a short time after the exhibition opened at Page Cafe Gallery in Kadıköy in 2023. Güleryüz commented: “Ömer is by nature a very critical person, hard to please. I think this is the fundamental reason behind the success of these original works we see in the exhibition.”

ÖMER ONAY: I AM AN ARTIST WHO DOES NOT LIKE REPETITION
Artist Ömer Onay stated that the preparations for his exhibition ‘Stream of Consciousness,’ a continuation of his first series ‘Nocturne’ where he reinterpreted traditional Turkish motifs like çintemani, took two years. Onay emphasized that three of his series – ‘Nocturne,’ ‘Lost Realms,’ and ‘Before Time’ – can be seen together in the exhibition. Explaining that he continued his work in the field of advertising after graduating from the fine arts faculty in 1984, Onay said: “I worked as a graphic designer for years. While doing graphic work, producing something new was also an important factor. At the same time, even if not on canvas, I was always painting in my mind. I was following the world of painting, trying to find new understandings. The figures in my ‘Nocturne’ series, which I started working on in 2005, emerged this way.” Expressing that he has an expressionist perspective in the art of painting, Onay conveyed the idea behind his early works: “Connecting with people, understanding and grasping people’s world is important to me. I could say I am a portraitist of sorts. Then, with the thought ‘How can I express what has accumulated in my mind symbolically?’, I tried to use the language of metaphor in the figures I created. Thus, the ‘Nocturne’ series came into being. I exhibited these in my first solo exhibition in Kadıköy in 2023. The exhibition opening now at AKM is my second solo exhibition. Visitors will have the chance to see how my ‘Nocturne’ exhibition transformed after my first exhibition in this show. Because I am someone who does not like repetition.”

‘I DID ALL MY WORK WITH LOVE’
Onay also touched upon the prominent deer figure in his ‘Lost Realms’ series, emphasizing: “In Turkish societies, the deer is considered a sacred being. It is both very aesthetic and an easily startled creature. I transformed these characteristics, creating compositions in my own way, depicting the deer combined with a ram. I created a harmony from the ram’s horns and the deer figure. Mystical images in my paintings hide metaphors. That is, my works each have their own separate themes. I leave the interpretation of this to the viewer.” Thanking his friends and art lovers who did not leave him alone at the exhibition opening, Onay concluded by saying: “I am someone who does all my work with love. Many of my friends also accompanied me with the same love, giving great support to my exhibition meeting the audience here today. I thank each and every one of them. I will continue my path with even better works, God willing.”

EXHIBITION CATALOGUE ALSO PRESENTED TO VISITORS
At the opening of artist Ömer Onay’s exhibition, curated by Mehmet Lütfi Şen and coordinated by İlhan Efe, the exhibition catalogue, designed by Hayrettin Onay and edited by Akif Kuruçay, was also presented to the appreciation of visitors.
The exhibition’s organizing committee includes Bayram Çiçek, Ekrem Ayyıldız, İsmail Bayram, Neslihan Ünsal, Taha Yiğit Efe, and Benan Albayrak. Press consultancy for the exhibition is carried out by Saliha Sultan.
Sponsorship of the exhibition was undertaken by Faruk Boyacıoğlu, Muhammed Eşbah, Abdüsselam Ferşatoğlu, and Alper Kanca.

ART, PRESS, BUSINESS, AND POLITICAL WORLDS WERE AT THE OPENING
Many names from the art world, including Emre Zeytinoğlu, Savaş Çevik, Ali Toy, Muzaffer Malkoç, Süleyman Gündüz, Meryem Badiei, and Kemal Sayar, attended the opening of the ‘Stream of Consciousness’ exhibition.

Some of the figures who attended the opening, which also drew significant interest from the press, include: Mükremin Atmaca, Şerif Antepli, Bilgün Aygül, Oktay Özen, Yavuz Yılmaz, Cafer Vayni, Osman Koca, Murat Aydın, Mehmet Ali Verçin, Arzu Cihangir, Kemal Sezer, Ertan Acar, Oktay Özten, Erdem İskenderoğlu, Erhan Kılıç, Ahmet Yılmaz, Nevzat Onmuş, H. Salih Zengin, Ekrem Ayyıldız, Erhan Erken, Sezgin Çevik, Prof. Dr. Kürşat Demirci, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nuri Sağlam, Prof. Dr. Erman Gören, Prof. Dr. Haşim Şahin, Prof. Dr. Yaşar Çoruhlu, Prof. Sylvia Onder, Ceyda Arslan Kechriotis.

FREE ADMISSION DAILY UNTIL JULY 6TH
Painter Ömer Onay’s ‘Stream of Consciousness’ exhibition can be viewed for free every day between 11:00 AM and 7:00 PM at the AKM Multipurpose Hall until July 6th.