In selecting the art works for BistrOuge we were inspired by the book 'My Name is Red' by Orhan Pamuk where the Sultan has commissioned a miniature book to demonstrate his power by employing the Frankish (European) style.
The miniatures that adorn the brick exposed walls are the miniatures of Levni. These reproductions printed on canvas were brought from Istanbul.
Abdulcelil Çelebi Levni was a noted figure in Tulip Period when the Ottoman Empire started to entertain westernization in the 18th century.
His name, Çelebi, indicates that he was an educated, elegant, well-mannered, respectable gentleman. Levni worked as a nakkas in a nakkashane. He was also a poet writing in Ottoman Turkish. He produced twenty-two sultans’ portraits and illustrated the ceremonies and festivities held in Istanbul to celebrate the circumcision of the son of Sultan Ahmed III. This manuscript was entitled Surnâme-i Vehbî . The miniatures at Bistrouge are from Surnâme-i Vehbî .
Ottoman miniatures were two-dimensional. The portrayal of human body was forbidden in Islam to prevent people from worshipping idols or false gods. Levni is the first painter who made human expressions and bodies visible in his miniatures. He painted ordinary people in ceremonies, painted costumes in detail, and gave a realism to the figures unlike any other miniaturists had done. He is a turning point in the art of the Ottoman Empire.
Levni did not sign his miniatures as other miniaturists to reject individualism.
Previous Exhibitions
We have featured local artists around the city, providing them a venue to present their artwork in a unique neigborhood environment and allowing them to connect with our guests, neighbors and other artists.
KURT HERMANN's PAINTINGS - COLORED WATERS
Kurt Hermann's paintings, "Colored Waters" were exhibited @ Bistrouge in July.
ELIF LEVENT PHOTO EXHIBITION
Portraits of Nicaraguan and Panamanian people taken in the local bazars of Granada & Masaya, Town Square of Granada, Panama de Vieja (Old Panama City), on the Lake Nicaragua and Zapatera Island will be exhibited at Bistrouge in June.
Opening reception : June 2nd 7-8pm
MAIA-GREEK GODDESS OF SPRING
Fine art photographs painted with light by Vicky Benitez
Reception
May 1st , 5-7pm.
NICOLE Mayhew’s PAINTINGS
Reception
March 10th, 5:30-7:30pm.
CHINATOWN PHOTOS by Kitty Katz, www.geocities.com/katzunlimited
Reception
Tuesday, February 3rd, 6-7:30pm
BLACK AND WHITE NEW YORK PHOTOS by Andreas Sandberg, andreassandberg.blogspot.com
