The current works of Günnur Özsoy show that contemporary art is able to combine aesthetical, conceptual and spiritual issues in an artistic research that is formally attractive and intellectual challenging. Her exhibition “Spiritual Experiences” raises questions around the notion of tombstones and wings, as well as the relations between the soil that carries us and the wind that holds the bird in the air. By questioning the visible surface of the known, the show gives us a chance to look behind the limits of our world perception in order to enrich us spiritually, philosophically and intellectually.
 
The development of a piece’s form and idea is always intermingled and closely connected to its production process. Although her work shows relations to minimal sculpture, it differs from minimalism’s formalism by inhabiting personal stories that Özsoy is not afraid to share with the spectator. In “Spiritual Experiences”, the narrative dimension of her artistic approach is even more obvious than in previous exhibitions. Looking at characteristics of her oeuvre, the term “organic” seems to be appropriate for describing the aesthetic of her works. The artist mistrusts and dislikes rational linearity, which is traditionally since the modern abstract avant-gardes connected to a geometrical form-vocabulary. Özsoy is also against artistic perfectionism, as well as academic conservatism. She possesses an anarchic notion of art, which frees her from any strict canon, and gives her the possibility to create works, which are unlimited in idea, material and form.

For the last years, more and more, the exhibition space became an intrinsic part of her sculptures. Previous shows like “Gar” or “I See You” proved that she used the emptiness of the spatial surrounding of the works as one of its formal parameters. Nevertheless, unlike many of her contemporary colleagues, Özsoy still uses pedestals in her exhibitions, because she believes in its descriptive power that underlines the existence of the sculpture. Though, often, she plays with the pedestal and understands it as a part of the exhibition design, so that her unorthodox use of the pedestal adds a dimension to the particular pieces as well as to the whole show.
 
 “Spiritual Experiences” consists of two sculpture series and one video work. The first series is dealing with tombstones, while the second investigates the notion of wings. In relation to the latter, the video adds another dimension to the exhibition by presenting fragmental and meditative sequences of flying birds. Both series conceptually discuss the notion of time as well as travelling. The tombstone resembles a destination and the beginning of a new part in an ongoing human journey. The wing is an instrument for overcoming the boundaries of our physical existence. I believe that the formal and contextual interconnections and intersections of these two series in one exhibition create a strong pluralistic and heterogeneous tension in the gallery, from which the particular works gain even more power.
           
The inspirational source of the tombstone series dates back to the time when she was an industrial design student at Mimar Sinan University. She became influenced by visits of the large graveyard in Eyüp, which for Özsoy resembled a sculpture garden, where stories melt with histories. As Istanbul did not have any real art museum then, and sculptures could not be seen anywhere, she understood the grave yard as an open air museum. There, especially the craft and formal beauty of the tombstones fascinated her. Later, the personal experience of loss and grief made her think about the fact that everybody has a tombstone ready waiting for him/ her. Though, the works in Günnur Özsoy’s current exhibition only slightly reveal their connections to tombstones. In fact the pieces are not made of heavy stone, and although being large in size, due to the use of polyester, they are light in weight. So, their physical existence differentiates from their aesthetical appearance. Also due to their minimal form as well as attractive and shiny surface, the pieces resemble design works. Though, their functionality remains unclear. Looking formally attractive and conceptually familiar, the lack of functionality gives the works a strangeness that makes the visitor question their origin, content and intention.
 
The wing series draws on reminiscences of childhood, travelling and flying. For Özsoy, seagulls are important representatives of Istanbul, which due to their sound and majestic appearance are as symbolic for this megalopolis as minarets and the classic skyline of the historical peninsula. Though, again, in this series, the artist plays with the divergence between aesthetical and physical reality. Although formally recalling wings, the small sculptures are heavy due to the use of marble. So again, the functionality of the object is destroyed by the choice of its material. Also, as the wings are shown in groups, where a number of them are glued to each other, it would be impossible to use them for overcoming gravity. The works of this series therefore are like silent reminiscences of past dreams. They cause a warm melancholy, which might make the spectator forgetting his reality for a while, and carry him away from the boundaries of his daily-life-routine. So, these sculptures can be seen as wings for the mind, which help the spirit to lift itself up above the limits of the horizon of our world. Therefore, Özsoy pieces create parallel worlds, in which the spectator, at least for a few moments, can free himself from the rush and chaos of the reality he lives in.
 
For the first time in her artistic career, Günnür Özsoy created a video work. She believes that, due to the viewing habits of our media society, it communicates conceptual issues easier than any sculpture. Also, the artist feels that there is a need for movement and floating images in “Spiritual Experiences”. Here again, her lust and courage to experiment, and independently create becomes obvious. The video work is a hypnotic collage that through its formal fragmentarily pulls in the spectator to make his mind and perception parts of the piece.
 
I believe that only a strong artist like Günnur Özsoy is able to combine two on the first look incoherent subjects like tombstones and bird wings in one exhibition. The presented works inhabit a striking combination of formal beauty and conceptual deepness, and reveal relations that normally are hidden in the mist of our known and believed. That is why they go beyond any aestheticized formalism, which is common in contemporary sculpture. In “Spiritual Experiences”, Özsoy transforms cold marble and artificial polyester into fragile narrations discussing various dimensions of issues surrounding the dichotomy of life and death. The exhibition is based on her artistic independence and freedom, and the works have the power to help the spectator overcoming the physical limitations of his existence for getting beyond the known layers of his reality.