Gürbüz Doğan EKŞİOĞLU

Gürbüz Doğan EKŞİOĞLU was born in Mesudiye (Ordu) in 1954. He studied Graphics at the State Collage Of Fine Arts. He is presently an assistant professor at the same school, now called The Marmara University Faculty of Fine Arts.

Many art critics share the opinion that EKŞİOĞLU’s artworks defy categorization: are these paintings? caricature? graphic design? All of the above? Everyone, however, agrees, that it doesn’t matter, really, which of many styles and art movements his works belong. Just look at some of his works, and you’ll understand why.The artist’s creative portfolio does not particularly impress by its extraordinary artistic skill or colors. One should take focus away from purely visual effects, and give in to a deep philosophical meaning and subtle humor, laid down in each of the artist’s works.

One can meditate for hours over each work, trying to figure out what the author wanted to say, while finding more and more meaning and coming to his/her own understanding of the many “stories” found in his paintings.

What the artist meant depicting a couple in love, wrapped in strands of the two balls of yarn? Is it simply about love between a man and a woman?  Is it about our lives being thus intertwined? Or it’s about us, as we seek stronger ties with one another?

And what does the night sky where the stars and the moon swapped? Another attempt to break stereotypes or something else?

The idea of this work, obviously, is devotion and self-sacrifice of one for the sake of another: If the dove, sitting on top of the cage, flies away, its caged comrade’would fall into the water and drown.

Some viewers admit that initially they only glanced briefly at the paintings of the artist, not finding anything special in them. And only afterwards came across the work that grabbed their attention. And then another one, and another, and more… So do not rush immediately to conclusion. Take another look, and look closely. If not in this selection, you might find works that’ll impress you on the artist’s site.

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What? Where? Why?

In a black box there is a white object. Degrees of its freedom are limited to a configuration of capital L in Latin alphabet.

Question: What object is hidden in the black box?

Right. It’s a chess piece — a White Knight.

This question (and  the answer) came from a Russian TV game WHAT? WHERE? WHY? going on since 1975. The team of “experts” is pitted against a team of TV viewers from all over the country. The experts try to answer pre-selected questions from viewers. The questions are mostly of “lightly intellectual” type, just like the one above. Or the three below.

Osman Hamdi Bey. Tortoise Trainer

This 1906 painting by Turkish painter Osman Hamdi Bey“The Tortoise Trainer” features a male figure, dressed in oriental attire, watching the tortoises eat lettuce on the floor.

Why is the picture called The Tortoise Trainer?

Stop. Do you know the answer?

Here it is: The tortoises were trained to move non-stop and walk in a single-file line. What for? When trained to move and walk properly, they’ll be carrying candles on their backs, which were to illuminate the grounds at the sultan’s palaces, Dolmabahçe Saray and Topkapi Saray.

This is a painting by Turkish painter Gürbüz Doğan Ekşioğlu with part of it obliterated by a question mark.

What is concealed behind a question mark? What this painting is about?

See the answer at the end of this post.

François Rabelais (1483 – 1553), a major French Renaissance writer, doctor, humanist, monk and Greek scholar, traveled from Rome to Paris, staying for a night in one of Lion’s hotel. In the morning, he made three small packages and filled each one with white  substance.

He labeled packages Poison pur le Roi  (Poison for the King), Poison pur la Reina (Poison for the Queen) and Poison pur le Daufin (Poison for the Heir), and made absolutely sure the packages are open for every idle eye to notice and observe.

Why he had done it? What was the purpose of it?

Answer: By the time Rabelais reached Lions he catastrophically run out of money.The snooping hotel owners saw the packages and immediately reported him to the authorities. Rabelais was arrested and delivered to Paris in a police carriage, free of charge. Rabelais was released from custody immediately after he ate the content of the packages, which was, innocently enough, sugar.
The answer to the picture with a question mark.  This how the entire painting by Gürbüz Doğan Ekşioğlu looks like.

The idea of the work, obviously, is devotion and self-sacrifice of one for the sake of another: If the dove, sitting on top of the cage, flies away, its caged comrade’would fall into the water and drown.