Burak Delier, Crisis and Control, 2013, Film still, HD Video, 14’12’
Burak Delier, Untitled, 2004. Photograph, 175x125cm
Turkish artist Burak Delier, whose work explores capitalism through art, is announced this evening as the first to benefit from Iniva’s new Commissions and Exhibitions Fund. Iniva (Institute of International Visual Arts) will commission new work from the artist to be exhibited for the first time in the UK in March 2014.
The Iniva Commissions and Exhibitions Fund will provide the next generation of artists from around the world with the opportunity to create new work, offering them creative freedom in terms of content, and supporting them to take their careers to the next level. The Fund has been established through the proceeds of an auction of works generously donated by artists who were supported by Iniva earlier in their careers. The first works, sold at auction through Sotheby’s in February 2013, were donated by Yinka Shonibare MBE, Mona Hatoum, David Adjaye and Peter Randall-Page.
The new commission from Burak Delier, to be shown at Rivington Place from 26th March – 17th May 2014, will enable him to critique society in a way that is relevant to Turkey and beyond. Delier’s work incorporates guerrilla art tactics and absurdist humour, often employing the strategies of the neo-liberal media with which he disagrees. Delier engages with questions of how artistic and capitalistic forms of production overlap. His practice takes on various media from video to installation and is often produced with others, whether through performances, or by the participants becoming part of his research to produce the artworks themselves.
Delier’s 2012 work Collector’s Wish explored the questions of how an artist reconciles his integrity with the vested interests of the commissioner, and whose agency, the artist or the commissioner, the resulting artwork ultimately expresses. In the work Delier documented his conversations with a well-known art patron, displaying what he was instructed to create.
“We’re delighted to be launching the first Iniva Commissions and Exhibitions Fund artist. It is important artists are given the freedom to question society and this Fund gives them the support and opportunity to do just that. Burak Delier is not only commenting on the Turkish situation, but an economic system upon which so many of our societies are based.”
Comments Tessa Jackson OBE, Chief Executive of Iniva.
“Iniva played an important role in helping to establish my career at a crucial stage. I’m delighted that my donation is helping them to support other international artists and give them a significant platform in London.”
Yinka Shonibare MBE, artist.
“The work of Iniva is vital for maintaining a healthy visual arts ecology. The growing internationalisation of contemporary art has been shaped by organisations such as Iniva and initiatives like their Commissions and Exhibitions Fund enables new voices to be heard.”
Chris Dercon, Director of Tate Modern.
About Burak Delier
Burak Delier (born 1977) is an artist who explores capitalism through contemporary art. Delier studied Fine Art at the University of Marmara and the University of Yildiz. He has had solo exhibitions in Istanbul at PILOT and OUTLET, and taken part in group exhibitions across Europe. His work was shown at the Taipei Biennial in 2008 and 2010 and the Istanbul Biennial in 2005 and 2007. Delier lives and works in Istanbul.
About Iniva
Iniva (Institute of International Visual Arts) engages with new ideas and emerging debates in the contemporary visual arts, reflecting in particular the cultural diversity of contemporary society. Exploring key issues in society and politics, Iniva offers a platform for artistic experiment, cultural debate and the exchange of ideas. We work with artists, curators, creative producers, educationalists and the public to promote a greater understanding of diversity in a rapidly changing world. www.iniva.org
Founded in 1994, Iniva has become highly respected for seeking out and championing artists from around the world whose work and ideas provide new perspectives on cultural identity and the diversity of society. The organisation was established to present ‘unheard voices’ and provide perspectives on art histories beyond those of Western Europe and America. Today Iniva continues to create exhibitions, education projects, digital initiatives, research and publications that explore global artistic practice. Iniva works nationally and internationally and has been based at Rivington Place, Shoreditch, London, a public building designed by architect David Adjaye OBE, since 2007. Rivington Place houses two major project spaces, Iniva’s Stuart Hall Library and its education space as well as the arts organisation Autograph ABP. Iniva is a National Portfolio Organisation and funded by Arts Council England.
