Zeliha Berksoy (L) and Istanbul Modern Chair Oya Eczacıbaşı pose with the donated work. (AA Photo)
A work by pioneering Turkish artist Semiha Berksoy will join the Istanbul Modern collection through a donation by her daughter, theater artist Zeliha Berksoy, as the museum’s exhibition “Semiha Berksoy: Aria of All Colors” approaches its closing date on Nov. 22.
The exhibition brings together more than 70 years of Berksoy’s work across the performing and visual arts, cinema and literature. Having been extended due to strong public interest, it is expected to attract 650,000 visitors by the end of its run.
The donated work, “Ariadne auf Naxos (Self-Portrait),” was created in 1998 using oil paint on fabric and belongs to Berksoy’s distinctive bedsheet paintings series. The work reflects the artist’s experimental approach to materials, transforming everyday surfaces into expressive spaces.
Istanbul Modern Board Chair Oya Eczacıbaşı said the exhibition had helped make the multifaceted practice of one of Türkiye’s pioneering women artists more widely visible. She said the addition of another work to the museum’s collection would support a more comprehensive understanding of Berksoy’s artistic output and help preserve her legacy for future generations.
Zeliha Berksoy said donating the work carried deep personal meaning, adding that her mother had never regarded art as separate from life. Her experiences, emotions and relationships on and off the stage had all found expression in her paintings, she said.
The work’s title refers to Richard Strauss’s opera “Ariadne auf Naxos.” In 1939, Berksoy performed the role of Ariadne at the Berlin Academy Opera during events marking Strauss’s 75th birthday, becoming the first prima donna from Türkiye to perform on a European stage.
Curated by Istanbul Modern Chief Curator Öykü Özsoy Sağnak and curator Deniz Pehlivaner, with Yazın Öztürk as assistant curator, “Semiha Berksoy: Aria of All Colors” remains on view at Istanbul Modern through Nov. 22.
