About the exhibition
Wandering between good and evil, hope and despair, Nihad Al Turk’s paintings take a colorful, naive approach to express his philosophical reflections on humanity.
Without formal art schooling, Nihad Al Turk built his career through years of dedicated practice. In his quest for a unique artistic voice, after countless hours of experimentation and refinement, he has developed a distinctive visual language that blends colors, forms, and patterns, preserving his naïve sensibility while conveying his philosophical outlook and artistic vision.
Anthropomorphic shapes and figures take center stage in the artist’s compositions, serving as a form of self-portraiture. They reflect Al Turk’s view on humanity and his connection with the world. These haunting, creature-like beings represent the complexity of our human ecosystem. In his earlier works, the figures seem burdened, heavy, and bloated, almost rock-like in their presence, only to later shed that weight and become lighter as his characters evolve. Symbols and recurring motifs are woven into his paintings, playing a key role in creating works that reveal the flaws and contradictions of human nature.
An apparent shift in color, combined with shapes resembling fruits, trees, and birds rather than human forms, symbolizes optimism in this body of work. The tree may even symbolize the Tree of Life, infusing new vitality into his works and filling them with renewed hope for humanity’s future. While his human figures remain present, they now seem to embody a sense of relief; they appear light and airy, enhanced by their increased brightness and vibrant colors. Patterns further contribute a sense of lightness and playfulness to Al-Turk’s work, reinforcing his childlike approach to representation. The layering of pattern, medium, and color complements Al-Turk’s favored medium of collage. A contradiction then appears between the artist’s introspective state and the message conveyed, as well as how his works are rendered.
About the Artist
Informed by readings in literature, philosophy, and theory, many of Nihad Al Turk’s deeply psychological compositions can be read as allegorical self-portraits. Central to his work are thematic explorations of the endurance of man amidst the power struggles of good and evil—an existentialist question that has engrossed the artist for some time. Al Turk’s regular cast of imperfect creatures, mythical demons, still lifes, and botanical elements serve as the symbolic outcasts, anti-heroes, and rebels of a harrowing narrative. Recently, he has set aside the dark palette of his earlier mixed media paintings by injecting vivid hues in the form of solid colour fields that accentuate figures. This visible sense of optimism is juxtaposed with the quieting of his protagonists through a physicality that is robust and no longer disfigured as they finally escape the weight of their world.
