In his personal show which will be opened on March 11 at MERKUR, Şevket Sönmez will attempt to compose the image of Istanbul that both stands the closest and most alien to us by leading his dreams to himself and vice versa. The paintings in this exhibition are related to the desire to possess, dreams, visions, touching, the wind and the delusion that deep tides bring with themselves. With this exhibition, the arist takes the watercolor technique he applies on large size paper to its limits. A distinctive technique of using different media meets a visually diverse visual world. The view of the Bosphorus, a street dog, and a close friend are all images of İstanbul for the artist.
 
Şevket Sönmez’s works are far from the “landscape” concept which comes to mind when one thinks of Istanbul. For many, Istanbul today expresses a state that is referred to by longing, love and hate instead of a city in which we are living. The artist also creates his works at the exhibition “ISTANBULGRADE” by departing from this kind of circumstances. The tides and the tension of the Bosphorus gains a new meaning while it meets the artist’s curiosity for liquid materials such as watercolor and ink. Believing in the significance of a childish reality,  the artists both tries to come up with a direct narrative technique as a method and the superposed images, figures and objects bound by different perspectives come together in eclectic compositions.
 
Şevket Sönmez’s solo show can be visited at MERKUR between March 11 – April 4, 2015