Our next exhibition is dedicated to multimedia artists Costantino Ciervo (Italy, lives and works in Berlin) and Ferhat Özgür (Turkey, lives and works in Istanbul). They are both interested in political art that takes society to task – and they both use video and drawing as their media of choice.

Costantino Ciervo’s art deals with current issues such as changes taking place in science, technological and genetic research, information and communication technology, terrorism, ethics as well as complexity. Searching for answers to fundamental questions his works and texts bespeak a profound commitment to analysing humanity and man-made systems. Rather than being accusatory or provocative, however, he does so in an analysing and questioning way, using an emotional visual language that oscillates between moments of demanding solemnity and aesthetic pleasure.

Ferhat Özgür, poetical chronicler of his direct surroundings, is one of the most exciting contemporary artists from Turkey. Most of his wonderful works are created in the historically significant melting pot of his home country, where different cultures and religions come together. He is a master of quiet nuances who knowns how to search for clues by looking at things from different angles, locating his works between the poles of tradition and modern times with profundity and humour: They are sometimes spontaneous observations, at other times cinematically composed works.

Bernhard Bischoff, October 2014