Untitled 1996

Adnan Coker made this untitled painting with geometric forms against a dark ground. In Turkey during the mid-20th century, there was a push to define a modern Turkish identity in the wake of the Ottoman Empire. Artists grappled with how to express this new cultural identity through their work. Coker's abstract style, eschewing overt references to Turkish history or Islamic culture, can be seen as a conscious effort to align with international modernism. The painting's square and semicircular shapes evoke a sense of order and rationality, aligning with the secularizing, Western-leaning reforms of the Turkish Republic. But the painting's color palette and atmospheric quality might also recall the tones of traditional Turkish art. Art historians often consult exhibition records and artists' statements to understand their intentions and how their work was received by critics and the public. Coker's painting invites us to consider how artists engage with the social and political currents of their time, and how abstract art can be a vehicle for expressing cultural identity and navigating the complexities of modernization.