Alev Ebüzziya Siesbye’s solo exhibition Repetition brings together stoneware bowls the artist created in 2019 specially for this exhibition. By minimising the variation in size, shape and colour in her works, Alev Ebüzziya invites the audience to discover the subtle nuances among the repeated forms.

The exhibition borrows its title from Søren Kierkegaard’s book Repetition, published in 1843. The inquiries addressed in the book on “whether or not repetition is possible, what significance it holds, and whether something is gained or lost in being repeated” provide insight into the principles of Alev Ebüzziya Siesbye’s ceramic art, which she has been producing since the 1960s.

Created by way of countless repeated actions and rhythms, these timeless bowls present both the impossibility of, and the consequent transformations instigated by, repetition. Monumental regardless of their size, they embody the delicate balance and manifest the tension between density and spaciousness, firmness and fragility, force and ease. Alev Ebüzziya Siesbye’s works are her authentic contribution to an ancient and prevalent form. Produced through persistently focusing on a single material, method and structure, they draw attention to a set of values often overlooked in contemporary art practices, which tend to prioritise experimentation with a wide variety of materials and techniques to expand on conceptual thought.

Exhibition Guide