Koray Ariş: The Skin We Live In

Arter will present Koray Ariş’s solo exhibition The Skin We Live In in its second-floor gallery between December 12, 2024 and August 3, 2025. Curated by Selen Ansen, the exhibition will weave together through a site-specific arrangement the artist’s works from different periods and series, as well as objects and materials documenting the production processes in his studio.

The Skin We Live In will offer a comprehensive view on Ariş’s six-decade-long sculptural practice through the lens of figure, skin, sound, movement and balance—central themes in his work. Reflecting the metamorphosis of forms, the approximatively 300 works and objects on display will embody a shared territory where sculpture takes on a sensual dimension through various materials like wood, stone, metal and leather.

An extensive publication featuring new texts by Selen Ansen, Francesco Albano, Sevinç Çalhanoğlu, Necmi Sönmez, and Yaşam Şaşmazer, along with archival essays by Ali Akay and Antonio Del Guercio that explore various aspects of the artist’s work, will also accompany the exhibition.

Born in 1944 in Istanbul’s Vefa neighborhood to Nezihe and Latif Ariş, Koray Ariş spent his childhood and early youth in Adana until graduating from high school in 1962. In 1963, he enrolled in the Sculpture Department at the Istanbul State Academy of Fine Arts and graduated from Şadi Çalık’s studio in 1968. Following his graduation, he received a state scholarship to study in Italy and attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome, where he studied in sculptor Emilio Greco’s studio from 1969 to 1971. The artist who explored the limits of figuration opened his first solo exhibition at Galleria La Nuova Pesa in 1972. He gradually shifted from early figurative work to creating a distinctive abstract sculpture style, recognised for his use of leather, alongside materials like wood and bronze. Later in his practice, Ariş further expanded his oeuvre to abstract and self-balanced forms and created sculptures centred around concepts such as sound and timbre, encouraging tactile and auditory engagement from viewers. The artist has exhibited extensively in Turkey and internationally, particularly in Istanbul and Rome. His works are included in prominent public and private collections. Ariş continues to create in his studio in Çatalca, Istanbul.

Visit here for Arter’s current and upcoming programme. Press contact: Senem Çelikörslü, senemc@arter.org.tr.