ART ROOMS Gallery

Emin Çizenel’s art discipline is like an uninterrupted memory record of interconnected subjects archived under a series of headlines based on his life story. Çizenel internalises the political, cultural, and ecological transformations and destruction suffered by the island where he was born and continues to live. He experiences this Mediterranean island from all perspectives and blends the images formed by these elements in his memory and imagination with references from nature. In forming these headlines, we see parts of the artist’s life and images that find a place in his imagination. These headlines, which appear as layers in his paintings and the images he uses in his works, are recurring in the artist’s works in different periods. The reappearance of images in his memory in different periods, in various guises, is one of the primary elements that ensure continuity in the artist’s work. Although produced months, years and sometimes decades apart, Çizenel’s works are fundamentally interconnected and in constant dialogue. While a solitary interpretation cannot capture the intricacies of his artistic universe, we can observe that one of the primary resources of his work is nature. These forms appear abstract at first, however, within the artist’s more expansive oeuvre, they transform. Linear forms representing the rhythm in nature in a painting turn into the dispersed linear movement of water particles flowing from a fountain or the flowing energy of rain in other paintings. Çizenel has been doing this through his art for years; in addition to forming an artistic language, he is also configuring a ‚historical memory record‘ that will contribute to the creation of the social by starting from the individual, which becomes the fate of those living in this geography.

Emin Çizenel was born in Malia, Cyprus. He completed his undergraduate and graduate studies at Istanbul Fine Arts Academy (1973-1974). He has participated in artist-in-residence in programs in Turkey and Vienna and as a Fulbright Fellow in New York. Since the 1970s he has been working as an independent professional artist, presenting his work in over 30 solo and countless group exhibitions. His works have appeared in international and local exhibitions/biennials in countries including Cyprus, England, Turkey, Sweden, Austria, France, Greece, Luxembourg, Germany and the USA. His works are in private and public collections worldwide. He is the recipient of many awards for his work. Çizenel’s artistic practice often comprises intertextual serialities that follow voyages of discovery where encounters with new aspects of objective reality shape and reshape new interpretations of his creative world. Each series documents physical and mental impressions related to some lived experience, and each questions the nature of his individual existence. The artist’s synthesis of aesthetic concepts in the process of working physical material in specific geographical contexts thus produces an enigmatic object that in various ways both reveals and conceals questions around universal and individual identity. Çizenel’s oeuvre travels along the transcendental surfaces of abstract colour stains and rests at the point where painting is no longer a narrative, but a space of self-exploration. In this space, his experiences and memories function as traces, physical or hypothetical, that indicate the possibility of establishing forms of reality in the space of its absence. These forms are repeated in different contexts, generating a mythological dialectic of identity.

ART ROOMS Gallery is one of the leading contemporary art galleries in Cyprus. Situated in the heart of Kyrenia, our gallery hosts up to six exhibitions annually, presenting a diverse array of works by both local and international artists. Established in 2012 as the first actualisation of Arkin Group’s commitment to the arts, ART ROOMS Gallery has paved the way for the formation of a network of dedicated institutions, including the Arkin University of Creative Arts and Design (ARUCAD) in 2017, the Arkin Rodin Collection Gallery of Erbil Arkin’s private collection in 2018, ARUCAD Art Space in 2018, and the Arkin Iskele Art Hotel in 2022. Our mission is to unite contemporary artists and audiences, emphasizing top-notch exhibition curation and display techniques. Rooted in the belief in teamwork, camaraderie, and the supremacy of ideals over ideologies, our gallery fosters and supports the generation of ideas that motivate our team. We recognize that exceptional artistic production will ultimately become an embodiment of idealistic expression. Each exhibition is complemented by meticulously designed publication materials, including monographic books, catalogues, handbooks, as well as ancillary resources like pamphlets and postcards. The gallery is open to the public, providing free access to enriching artistic experiences. ART ROOMS Gallery is managed by a team of in-house specialists and a vast network of external consultants, artists, and cultural workers. We consistently create opportunities for aspiring artists by offering training opportunities. With a decade of active contribution to the cultural landscape of Cyprus and the broader Mediterranean region, ART ROOMS Gallery remains a driving force, continuously inspiring and supporting artistic innovation and production.