Iznik Legendary Ceramics from Turkey: An Art Reborn
Curated by Peter Hristoff

Presented by the School of Visual Arts
January 15 - February 26, 2005

Visual Arts Gallery
601 West 26th Street
Suite 1502
New York, NY 10001


Reception: Thursday, January 27, 6:00-8:00 pm.

Gallery hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 10:00 am-6:00 pm
Closed Sunday, Monday and public holidays.
The gallery is fully accessible by wheelchair.

For over two thousand years, Iznik (ancient Nicea) and its surroundings have been centers of ceramic production. The apex of ceramic development is Iznik came during the reign of Ottoman Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent (1520-1566). The numerous workshops of Ottoman Iznik created chinis for the medreses, mosques, tombs and baths of the empire, as well as ceramics – vessels, bowls and plates – for the imperial court. So popular and appreciated was this art form that its guilds and craftsmen were granted tax exemption in exchange for working exclusively for the palace.

Iznik is a special, mystical place; it is of great importance in political, religious and art history. My aim in curating this exhibition was to display works that exemplify some of the most beautiful and popular traditions (and motifs) of classical Ottoman Iznik ware from 16th to early 18th centuries, as well as to highlight the renaissance of Iznik-style ceramic production that is emerging in Turkey today. I am greatly indebted to The Metropolitan Museum of Art for its participation, as well as to the Iznik Foundation for the magnificent contemporary reproductions.

The revival of Iznik chinis has reinvigorated the town of Iznik – in a period of only 10 years – into one of Turkey’s leading centers of ceramic art. This is due in large part to the tireless efforts of the Iznik Foundation, which is housed in a sprawling compound of studios, laboratories, libraries and kilns. The foundation’s garden is planted with the flowers found on the tiles. Walking through the compound, watching the fluid hand movements of the painters and seeing the concentration with which they work is like watching a performance. Seeing stone quartz being ground into a talc-like powder, vats of pigment carried to and fro and the way images are transferred to large tile panels (by patting charcoal through pinholes in vellum)is a lesson in both ceramic production and artistic camaraderie.

Today, Iznik boasts over 35 ateliers that produce artworks based on various periods of the town’s history. While only four of these workshops use quartz-based clay in their production (traditional Iznik ware is 80% quartz and is fired at over 900 degrees), the general quality of the work is excellent. In the studio of Adil Can and Nursan Güven, I saw pieces inspired by Seljuk and Byzantine masters. The workshops of the Süleyman Pasha Medrese have become a destination for tour buses and people on shopping excursions from Istanbul. Uludağ University now offers degree programs in ceramic art production and restoration.

In Istanbul, The Elma Art Studio (artists Ugur Olgaç, Gül Arık, Ilknur Özören and their students) is creating porcelain pieces decorated with traditional Iznik motifs in unusual and innovative ways. This synthesis reflects an interesting approach that is now prevalent in Turkish ceramics – traditional elements integrated with new compositions and combinations, often decorated in unexpected color and scale. The elegant and spectacular works of tow contemporary masters, Adnan Hoca and Faik Kırımlı, are generously on loan for this exhibition. I would like to thank all of the aforementioned artists and collectors for their assistance and expertise in helping me organize this exhibit.

The popularity of Ottoman Iznik ware was due to its durability and beauty. As a style and source of inspiration, this art form never vanished, to be later excavated and copied. However, the decline of the Ottoman Empire and the demand for less expensive, more easily produced tiles and wares were responsible for the end of quartz ceramic production in Iznik for centuries. The masters left the town and production moved to Kütahya and Istanbul. Objects began being produced in earthenware to avoid problems of working with quartz-based clay – specifically the difficulties encountered in its modeling and the high rate of loss during firing. Nevertheless, Iznik motifs continued to adorn and inform the ornamentation of this new production of ceramics, as well as other forms of Turkish arts and crafts. One is hard pressed to avoid the stylized tulips a of Iznik in modern Turkey – it is the symbol of the country. Today, we need look no further than the vegetable markets, flower shops, fish stalls and fabric sellers throughout Turkey to see characteristics of a style that mimics the order, imagery and harmony we see in Iznik ware. To what extent does a specific art form shape the visual aesthetics of a country and the way its people see?

In Western art-making traditions, great value is placed on originality. In the East and Islamic Arts, that value is placed on the concept of perfection through repetition. Each copy, each borrowing of a traditional composition brings the artist closer to a revered source of inspiration and to God. If this exhibition sparks the viewers’ interest, I wholeheartedly urge them to visit Turkey and experience the overwhelming sensation of being in a room, a mosque, a hallway or a türbe where almost all of the surfaces are covered with Iznik tiles. One can sense the seamless transition of the outdoors (the enchanted, perfumed garden) into these interiors, as well as the beauty and goodness of life and its transitory nature. Western preconceptions of “decorative arts” disappear upon encountering an art that is hundreds of years old and still appears fresh and timeless. The divine opulence of Ottoman architecture is complemented and amplified by the use of chinis, and at the same time, all of this embellishment has the effect of serenity. The interiors feel cool, light, soothing – and yet magnificent, sophisticated, overwhelming. Throughout Istanbul and many of the great cities of the Ottoman Empire, there exist awe-inspiring installations of Iznik tiles. The Eyüp Mosque and Türbe complex, the Piyale Pasha Mosque, the Topkapi Palace and the great Blue Mosque are all good places to start one’s Iznik education.

My appreciation of Iznik tiles was cultivated by my family, my culture (I was born in Turkey) and by my travels throughout the country. This interest turned to passion in the courtyard of the Rüstem Pasha Mosque in Istanbul. While its interior is a perfectly balanced fusion of architecture and ornamentation, it is the panels adorning the entrance that profoundly moved me. In these collaged, mismatched , patch-work revetments, I saw the glorious history of the Ottomans and felt a connection to their anonymous makers.

I would like to express my gratitude to Silas H. Rhodes, Chairman of the Board of the School of Visual Arts, for his interest in this exhibition. Many thanks to Francis Di Tommaso and Rachel Gugelberger of the Visual Arts Gallery and its staff; Deborah Hussey at SVA for her help and advice; Dr. Daniel Walker, Stefano Carboni, Maryam Ekhtiar and Dr. Navina Haidar of the Islamic Art Department and to Deanna Cross of the Photo and Slide Library of The Metropolitan Museum of Art; the Iznik Foundation, its staff and artist; Allen Bianchi for designing the exhibition catalog; Attila Durak and the staff of the Visual Arts Department of the Moon and Stars Project of New York; Nur Emirgil, whose friendship, vision, passion and guidance made this exhibition possible. Most of all, I wish to express my very special thanks to all of the artists, past and present, who have dedicated their talent to continuing the Iznik tradition.

Peter Hristoff