Hakan Topal is an artist living and working in
Brooklyn, New York. He was the co-founder with Guven Incirlioglu of
xurban collective (2000–12), and is known for his research-based[1]conceptual art practice. He is an Associate Professor of New Media and Art+Design at
Purchase College,
SUNY.[2]
Education
Hakan Topal attended
Middle East Technical University (METU) in Ankara, where he also grew up. Trained as a
civil engineer, during his studies Topal became an active member of the university's activist networks and visual arts community, where he realized exhibitions and performances.[3] He received an M.S. degree from the Gender and Women’s Studies graduate program at METU. He continued studies in
sociology, receiving an M.A. and Ph.D. from the
New School for Social Research with a concentration in
urban sociology and
sociology of art.
Exhibitions
Topal exhibited his collective and individual artworks and research projects in institutions such as the 8th and 9th Istanbul Biennials; apexart, New York; Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary (TBA21), Vienna; Kunst-Werke, Berlin; ZKM Center for Art and Media; MoMA PS1; Kunstwerke, Berlin;[4] Platform, Istanbul and Roundtable: The 9th
Gwangju Biennale.[5] He recently contributed to "Harbor" show at
Istanbul Modern Museum, Istanbul, and "Perpetual Revolution" at
International Center of Photography Museum, New York.
Topal represented
Turkey at the
49th Venice Biennale. His texts and projects have been featured in many international journals, books, and catalogs. He is co-editor of the book, The Sea-Image: Visual Manifestations of Port Cities and Global Waters[6] which is the outcome of visual research and an international symposium for the Istanbul European Capital of Culture 2010.
Bibliography
“Urgency: Artistic Responses to Natural Disasters, The Case of New Orleans” in MaHKUscript. Journal of Fine Art Research. 2016
“Mırıltıdan, Homurdanmaya: Sanatın Yeni Bağlamı”, introduction to Pascal Gielen’s Turkish translation “Murmuring of the Artistic Multitude: Global Art, Politics and Post-Fordism”. Istanbul: Norgunk Yayinlari. 2016
“Impossibility of Professional Art or Politics of Amateurism” in Dosya 37. Edited by Gokcecicek Savasir. Journal of Architecture. Issue 37. Ankara Architectural Association. 2016
“Fighting the Banality of Moderates: An Artist’s Vision for a Peaceful Turkey” in
Hyperallergic. March 31, 2016
“Against Anatolia: Ruins and Friendship” in Serhh Poetry and Criticism Journal. Istanbul. Issue 3. May 2015
“Collateral Damage, Condolence and the Aesthetic of Impossibility Justice” in Aesthetic Justice, edited by
Pascal Gielen and Niels Van Tomme. Valiz, Amsterdam. 2014
Topal, Hakan. “On Bottany Carcinoma” in Mobility and Fantasy in Visual Culture, edited by Lewis Johnson. Routledge, New York. 2014
Altındere, Hallil and Evren Sureyya, eds. 101 Artworks: 40 Years of Turkish Contemporary Art. Rotterdam: Revolver, 2011
Topal, Hakan and Incirlioglu, Guven. "The-Sea-Image: Visual Manifestations of Port Cities and Global Waters". New York: Newgray, 2011
Kafetsi, Anna. Politics of Art. Athens: EMST, 2010
Amirsadeghi, Hossein. Unleashed: Contemporary Art from Turkey. London: Thames & Hudson, 2010
Carvalho, Denise. Bodies of Dispersion: Mechanism of Distention. Galeria Arsenal, 2010
Biesenbach, Klaus. Political/Minimal. Nürnberg: Verlag für Moderne Kunst, 2009
Mortenbock, Peter. and Helge Moonshammer. Networked Cultures: Parallel Architectures and the Politics of Space. Rotterdam: NAI Publishers, 2008
ACMA. Biennale Del Paesaggio Mediterraneo. Milan: ACMA Centro Di Architettura, 2008
Altindere, Haili., Evren S, eds. User's Manual / Contemporary Art in Turkey: 1986-2006. Istanbul: Revolver Books, 2007
Elliot, David. Time Present, Time Past: Highlights from 20 Years of the Istanbul Biennial. Istanbul Modern, 2007
Madra, Beral. Neighbours in Dialogue. Istanbul: Feshane, 2007
Erdemci, Fulya, ed. Modern and Beyond. Istanbul Bilgi University Press, 2007
Biesenbach, Klaus. Greater New York. New York: PS1 / MoMA, 2005
Eche, Charles and
Vasif Kortun. 9th International Istanbul Biennial. Istanbul Art and Culture Foundation, 2005
Conover, Roger. Call Me Istanbul. Karlsruhe: ZKM, 2004
Mermoz, Gerard. Time Lines: Reading the City of Signs. Istanbul: Aksanat Center, 2004
Cameron, Dan. Poetic Justice: The 8th International Istanbul Biennial. Istanbul: Istanbul Art and Culture Foundation, 2003
Akay, Ali. 60 years 60 Artists. Istanbul: Eczacibasi, 2002