Türkiye 2026

Title: A KISS ON THE EYES
Commissioner: Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV)
Curator: Başak Doğa Temür
Exhibitor: Nilbar Güreş

The exhibition features a range of existing and new productions, including sculpture, installation, painting, and mixed-media works on paper and fabric. The title is derived from the Turkish phrase “Gözlerinizden öperim”, a traditional closing remark used in letters and conversation.

Güreş’s practice engages with cultural symbols, social inequalities, and identity. The exhibition focuses on large-scale sculptures and installations created in Istanbul between December 2025 and March 2026 in collaboration with various craftspeople. These works treat material as a carrier of memory and labour, positioned alongside earlier pieces from the artist’s career.

The work is structured through spatial relationships rather than a linear narrative, inviting viewers to consider their bodily position in relation to the space. The works address themes of gender, migration, and belonging, often focusing on how social norms and power relations become visible through bodies and relationships.