In Beijing, the capital of China, a joint painting exhibition of Turkish and Chinese artists on the theme of "Silk Road on the Sea" met with art lovers.

The exhibition, to which Turkish artist Ayşe Emel Gümüş and Chinese artist Cang Dışıng contributed with their works, was opened at the Beijing Yunus Emre Institute on August 22, 2022.

Paintings made with oil painting and mixed techniques, combining the historical Silk Road civilizations stretching from China to the West with the theme of the sea, were presented to the appreciation of the audience.

Speaking at the opening of the exhibition, Undersecretary of the Embassy of Turkey in Beijing, Teoman Uykur, stated that the exhibition themed "Silk Road on the Sea" was the first exhibition organized at the Beijing Yunus Emre Institute, which opened last year.

Emphasizing that Yunus Emre put nature at the center of his works and that for him, every state of nature is a manifestation of creation, Uykur said, "Thousands of kilometers away from the land where Yunus Emre, who gave the name of our center, was born, we are hosting an exhibition that reflects his love of nature today, centuries later."

Uykur thanked the National Committee of the Chinese Population Culture Promotion Association, Yunus Emre Cultural Center, and artists Gümüş and Cang for their contributions to the exhibition and noted the following:

"We wish that, like our seas that cover our world, these works of our two esteemed artists, which depict the civilizations on the Silk Road, will serve as a bridge between our peoples. May our peoples, who are located at the two ends of the Silk Road and whose interaction dates back thousands of years, contribute to getting to know each other's cultures and traditions more closely and establish new friendships."

FROM THE TEMPLE OF HEAVEN TO HAGIA SOPHIA

Artist Ayşe Emel Gümüş's painting depicting the Silk Road, which stretches from the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, considered the center of Chinese civilization, at one end to the Hagia Sophia-i Kebir Mosque Sharif at the other end, with layers of the sea, desert, and sky, attracted great attention from the audience.

Reminding that the stars in the sky were the compass of the Silk Road travelers in ancient times and determined the route of their journeys both on land and at sea, Gümüş said, "The Silk Road has also been the compass of civilizations. Silk and other products transported from here also paved the way for civilizations."

In his paintings, Gümüş's representation of the ties between civilizations along the Silk Road route with lines of different colors, reminiscent of silk fibers, crossing the paintings drew attention.

DOUBLE PERSPECTIVE OF THE SEA

Chinese painter Cang emphasized that he tries to capture an image and reflection of life in his oil paintings, focusing on seascapes.

The master painter, who graduated from the China Central Academy of Fine Arts and the National Academy of Art, is known as the "inventor of the double-sided sea perspective technique".

Painting the movements of the sea, the flow and recession of the waters, as if there is a mirror dividing the painting, and sometimes as if the whole painting is reflected in a mirror, Cang stated that here he sees a parallel between the flow of life and the human will to live despite the difficulties encountered.

Commenting on his paintings depicting tides, waves piling up in blocks offshore, rocks, seagulls on the horizon, Cang said, "Art is not on the surface here, but in the reflection in the mirror, in the mirror image that appears here."

The "Silk Road on the Sea" exhibition can be visited at the Beijing Yunus Emre Institute between August 22-27, 2022.