NewsArt & Culture

Architect turned artist literally peels and pinches the walls of a New York gallery

In his first American solo show, Turkish architect turned sculptor, Mehmet Ali Uysal (Mali), has peeled and pinched the walls of the Sapar Contemporary gallery in New York City.

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Mehmet Ali Uysal's spiralling white installation with concentric circular bands creates an illusory peeling effect inside the gallery space

Deceptively simple, Mail's installations capture an improbable balance between movement and stillness, gravity and ephemerality. His outdoor work Skin 2, a giant clothes peg pinching the grass, is included in the top 10 public works of all time by the UK’s Independent newspaper.

His indoor series Peel is about creating an illusion of peeling the walls of a space and exposing what lies beyond them, as he has done in Sapar's new gallery space in Tribeca. In the gallery's own words: "Internationally recognised for his playful reevaluations of the white cube, Uysal has transformed the space into a whimsical three-dimensional sculpture that poses subtle yet forceful questions about physical and emotional boundaries, both concrete and metaphysical—and about being at home in one’s own skin."

On show at Sapar Contemporary until 19th June 2016. Discover more at www.saparcontemporary.com.

White gallery space with a curved white wall structure and a horizontal wooden element protruding from the wall, creating an illusion of peeled architectural surfaces
White gallery space with concrete floor and support columns, featuring an undulating wall installation with peeled and pinched sections creating dramatic shadows beneath track lighting
A long horizontal slit in the gallery wall appears peeled back, revealing a dark interior space beyond, with a ladder visible in the background
Minimalist gallery interior with white walls featuring a large curved sculptural cutout on the right wall, polished concrete floor and recessed lighting
Curved white wall panel appears to peel away from gallery wall, creating an illusion of movement and depth beneath gallery lighting
Close-up of a white wall with a curved peeling section revealing a dark void beneath, from Mehmet Ali Uysal's Peel installation at Sapar Contemporary gallery
Sapar Contemporary gallery interior showing white walls with a curved metallic structure and exposed red brick base, track lighting above on grey floor
White gallery wall with peeled and pinched sections creating an illusion of depth and movement, part of Mali's Peel installation series
White rectangular section of gallery wall with peeled and pinched surface creating an illusion of depth and movement against the white wall behind it
Multiple wooden dowels protruding from a white gallery wall at varying angles and depths, creating an illusion of the wall surface being punctured or peeled away
Wooden clothes pegs pinch and crimp a white gallery wall, creating an illusion of peeled and folded surface in Mehmet Ali Uysal's Peel installation
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