Platform: Erkut Terliksiz

Erkut Terliksiz (b. 1978) is an Istanbul-based artist whose brightly coloured canvases are  inspired stylistically by classic cartoons and artists such as Pablo Picasso, Philip Guston and George Condo. For his first Platform exhibition, Terliksiz contemplates notions of human fragility, the passage of time and the importance of seizing the moment. To encourage dialogue on the human condition, he creates peculiar amalgamations of physical anatomy and human psychology. The seemingly gloomy subject matter is enlivened by a playful painterly approach. 

Drawing on the Cubist deconstruction of form pioneered by Picasso, the artist distorts his subjects according to his unique visual vocabulary –  protruding noses and ears accompany grinning mouths and frenzied eyes. Terliksiz’s subjects are rendered as geometric forms, with rounded contours outlined by sharp colour contrasts to produce dynamic compositions. With eyes bulging wide, the protagonists’ wavering emotional states are emphasised by the coarsely applied brushstrokes. Each figure is bestowed with a mouth agape in wonder, imbuing the paintings with a charismatic and playful quality. In this fantastical world, each of these naive characters appears full of hope – carefully inspecting their surroundings or else striding confidently towards new beginnings, unaware of the underlying difficulties that may lie ahead. 

The figures’ disproportionate anatomy creates an interplay between near and far in the composition, flattening out the perspective. The subjects’ unconventional scale means that no particular element or line is emphasised or prioritised, allowing viewers to choose where to focus their attention. Terliksiz’s process, based on intuition and chance, reflects the artist’s sensitivity to the world around him. As he explains, “I always enjoy the small, unintentional elements of painting. Allowing those accidents leads to  subplots in the works.”