
Fractured Modernities: Contemporary Art from Turkey explores the present moment in Turkey’s cultural history through the work of artists Didem Erbas, Merve Unsal, Erdem Varol, and Zeynep Kayan. The unique crossroads between empire and republic, heritage and modernity, and containment and globalization have forged complex webs in the fabric of the Turkish society that are present in each artist’s work, as the nation grapples with its own identity and the social and cultural forces that make it so pluralistic. A dominant thread that brings the artists’ work together is a connection to this multicultural past, its manifestations in the present, and a critique of Turkey’s simplistic reputation as a bridge between the East and the West. The show fills a gap in contemporary art discourse by offering a rare look at the artworks being made in Turkey today.