Evren Tekinoktay: BOOGIE
The exhibition BOOGIE by Evren Tekinoktay comprises neon objects, tapestries, collages, and the scent Fanny, coming together to create an immersive universe in dialogue with the architecture of Nikolaj Kunsthal. Tekinoktay’s work is characterised by meticulous craftsmanship and process, with a particular emphasis on the handmade. The three tapestries placed on floor podiums have been created after collages by the artist and are hand-knotted, crafted by the artist’s specially selected weavers in Turkey, while the remaining works are produced by Tekinoktay herself.
All the pieces have been created specifically for this exhibition and draw on symbols referring to the decoration and significance of the old church. One recurring motif is the heart — a universal symbol of existence, being, love, life, and care. The heart, appearing across both high and low culture, becomes in this context a marker that links a profound spiritual search with a more kitsch-inflected approach to art.
Broadly speaking, Tekinoktay works methodically to dissolve the boundaries between everyday life and aesthetic experience. Through dynamic and innovative strategies — such as opening a lingerie boutique or launching a perfume brand — her oeuvre expands beyond the conventional art world and into the realms of accessible popular culture.
Sensuality and aesthetics are central to Tekinoktay’s practice, which is grounded in personally developed systems and a strong sense of intuition. The systemic patterns in her collages instil a sense of calm through repetition, while also holding within them stark contrasts between light and dark. This same duality appears in the tapestries, where soft and muted backgrounds are set against sharply outlined female figures in powerful postures, placed prominently within the compositions.
The title of the exhibition, BOOGIE, is inspired by Piet Mondrian’s Broadway Boogie Woogie (1943), which portrays New York’s street grid as a graphic system. It also originates from a floral symbol created by Tekinoktay in 2020, which she named BOOGIE. This flower reoccurs in several of her works. The neon pieces at the Upper Gallery consist of three mirrored neon hearts, one of which also forms the face of a female figure depicted in one of the tapestries. The two other faces appear as a starfish and a flower, respectively. In this way, the portraits are linked to symbols of existence, intuition, life, and nature, allowing a subconscious stream of poetry to emerge within a universe rich in contrasts and magic.
Evren Tekinoktay was born in 1972 in Copenhagen, where she lives and works. She was educated at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam, the Jan van Eyck Academie in Maastricht, and the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. Her work has been exhibited at The Approach in London, Galerie Nordenhake in Stockholm, Patricia Low Contemporary in Gstaad, and Nordic Contemporary in Paris. BOOGIE is Tekinoktay’s first major solo exhibition in Denmark.