Bringing together his latest works, Murat Morova’s solo exhibition “Cosmic Latte” is opening on February 1st, 2019 at Galeri Nev Istanbul. Developing his unique visual iconography throughout the years, the artist’s latest series that has an integrated narrative in itself could be seen until March 16, 2019.
As a result of astronomers’ studies, it is known that the average color of the universe is called “Cosmic Latte” today. Thus, Murat Morova’s exhibition that narrates the universal integrity from macro-cosmos to micro-cosmos around the cyclical time, takes its unique name from this specific color. Throughout the years, Morova has created his unique symbolic language by taking the heterodoxic side of Islamic aesthetic as a resource. This time, his recent series focus on the symbols, myths and metaphors originating from both Eastern and Western cultures.
From Leonardo da Vinci’s anatomy drawings to Nicolas de Nicolay’s eastern engravings; from the designs of Caspar David Friedrich and German romantic landscapes to Hoca Ali Rıza’s drawings; from Frederik Ruysch’s designs and dervish lodge paintings to Ottoman market painters; a wide range of reference points constitute a path for the broader reading of this exhibition. Here, the artistic expression and aesthetic norms of Islamic mysticism “Tasavvuf” along with its own philosophical tradition meet the symbols and aesthetics of the West in order to decode Morova’s visual symbols.
The artist’s sensitivity regarding the universe and human are embodied in the perfect human being called insan-ı kâmil, whois a guiding figure that carries certain symbolic details in Islamic Sufism. Emphasizing the nature of being human in every culture within his created eclectic aesthetics, Morova constructs the story of this figure in an aesthetic language and with landscapes that we are all familiar with. On the other hand, the works also examine how Islamic aesthetics that Morova interprets as “a systematical but non-stationary whole” could approach today’s contemporary practices.
In Morova’s works, the symbols and codes illustrate that the Cosmic Latte colored universe is associated with the perfect human figure (insan-ı kâmil): both the macro and micro-universes compose this figure, who has the same virtue in all cultures and most importantly, who carries a part of all of us in his own being. Requiring a rich cultural and philosophical reading, this symbolic language of the artists gives the lead for a challenging, yet enjoyable process of reinterpretation.
