Mustafa Sönmez

Nazarat – Gazes

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

100 × 100 cm

Viewing

At the showroom — by appointment

On a pale ivory ground stands a blue-and-white porcelain vase, its surface painted with a curling wave in the manner of Japanese prints, cloud motifs, a flying bird and a pair of eyes drawn in fine lines. The bouquet rising from it is no ordinary spray of flowers: as the petals open, figures in the miniature tradition emerge from within them — a bearded man, a youth playing a wind instrument, women and men in robes and headdresses; from the dark brown bloom at the top a bird of prey with a yellow beak looks out. Clusters of grapes, buds with the texture of coral and large berries are scattered between them. A horizontal band divides the background in two, giving the composition a quiet ground. In this still life, where realist modelling walks alongside the miniature tradition, the gazes that give the series its name turn towards the viewer both from within the flowers and from the eyes upon the vase. The artist's signature appears at the lower centre.