RODEO Istanbul

September 15 – November 10, 2012

All That Shines Ain’t No Gold

Mark Aerial Waller, Michael Anasstasiades, Banu Cennetoğlu, Lukas Duwenhögger, Haris Epaminonda, Joey Frank, Apostolos Georgiou, Emre Hüner, Iman Issa, Gülsün Karamustafa, Ian Law, Shahryar Nashat, Füsun Onur, Christodoulos Panayiotou, Eftihis Patsourakis, Eftihis Patsourakis, Steve Reinke, James Richards

The beginning of a new year
The fifth birthday
The new space
The End of the Summer
The Autumn
The Garden

This exhibition does not pretend to be a curated show. It is the pretext for us to celebrate; an invitation to friends. At the same time the party has a theme and the theme is gold. And the need to celebrate is as old as gold.

Though it’s not an excuse, the idea of a metal, the metal of all metals, is justified in variety. This idea is what really matters and not the metal itself.

It’s impossible to avoid discussions about the crisis in which Europe is mired, and one is taken back to the roots of old exchange values (one goat for two sacks of flour, a car for a painting, diamonds for love). The world is full of that and always will be. By contrast the new old world of Turkey is booming… but all that glitters is not gold.

It’s hard not to think of archaeological findings, remnants of afterlife companions, jewelry of the ancient and modern times, status symbols, the golden gods and heroes, boys and girls… This show is not about gold. Things haven’t changed really. What comes with it is eternal and decadent. And so beauty can be. Beauty like gold is rarely pure. How could one possibly translate the carat measure into a measure for ethics? The golden canon of every second of our lives.

The huge industry of fake shiny things in all that surrounds us spans from food decoration to clothing, frames, shoes, packaging material, pens, lighters, key holders, watches and anything you can think can blink; Midas’ touch MADE IN…

Installation view, All That Shines Ain’t No Gold, Rodeo, Istanbul, 2012

Installation view, All That Shines Ain’t No Gold, Rodeo, Istanbul, 2012

Füsun Onur, Untitled, wood, tulle, wire, 60 x 66 cm (23 5/8 x 26 in)

Füsun Onur, Untitled, wood, tulle, wire, 60 x 66 cm (23 5/8 x 26 in)

(Centre) Lukas Duwenhögger, Herald, oil on cotton drill, 45 x 29 cm (17 3/4 x 11 3/8 in), 1997, 2012(Right) Michael Anastassiades, Mirror, polished metal, 39 cm dia. (15 3/8 in. dia.)

(Centre) Lukas Duwenhögger, Herald, oil on cotton drill, 45 x 29 cm (17 3/4 x 11 3/8 in), 1997, 2012

(Right) Michael Anastassiades, Mirror, polished metal, 39 cm dia. (15 3/8 in. dia.)

Michael Anastassiades, Mirror, polished metal, 39 cm (15 3/8 in. dia.)

Michael Anastassiades, Mirror, polished metal, 39 cm (15 3/8 in. dia.)

Steve Reinke, Untitled: The Flawed and the Fallen, six found polaroids with metal leaf on a shelf, 8.8 x 10.9 cm (3 1/2 x 4 1/4 in), 2004

Steve Reinke, Untitled: The Flawed and the Fallen, six found polaroids with metal leaf on a shelf, 8.8 x 10.9 cm (3 1/2 x 4 1/4 in), 2004

Eftihis Patsourakis, The Permanence of Change #1–5, gold leaf on used photo album transparency, 2012

Eftihis Patsourakis, The Permanence of Change #1–5, gold leaf on used photo album transparency, 2012

Iman Issa, Bus Station (Meeting Point Series), vinyl print, 200 x 160 cm (78 3/4 x 63 in), 2004

Iman Issa, Bus Station (Meeting Point Series), vinyl print, 200 x 160 cm (78 3/4 x 63 in), 2004

Shahryar Nashat, Post-Venice Plaster Chop, plaster, acryl, 18 x 18 x 22 cm sculpture (7 1/8 x 7 1/8 x 8 5/8 in sculpture), 74 x 48 x 41 cm (29 1/8 x 18 7/8 x 16 1/8 in), 2012

Shahryar Nashat, Post-Venice Plaster Chop, plaster, acryl, 18 x 18 x 22 cm sculpture (7 1/8 x 7 1/8 x 8 5/8 in sculpture), 74 x 48 x 41 cm (29 1/8 x 18 7/8 x 16 1/8 in), 2012