artBahrain Online Gallery
...where unseen masterpieces is just a click away!
Copyright © 2010, artBahrain.org. All rights reserved. Use of this site constitutes agreement with our Terms and Conditions.
Planning your
trip to Art Dubai, Sharjah Biennial
or The Armoury Show?
Book ahead!
Save time
and money!
trip to Art Dubai, Sharjah Biennial
or The Armoury Show?
Book ahead!
Save time
and money!
Join artBahrain.org
Are you
looking for
a creative breakthough?
If you are a visual artist or curator looking for an opportunity to realise your project, we may have the answer to
your creative vision.
For more details
contact us on
info@artbahrain.org
looking for
a creative breakthough?
If you are a visual artist or curator looking for an opportunity to realise your project, we may have the answer to
your creative vision.
For more details
contact us on
info@artbahrain.org
February 2011
BELKIS BALPINAR
3D PLANES
La Fontaine Art Centre -Bahrain
until 27 February
3D PLANES
La Fontaine Art Centre -Bahrain
until 27 February
AFTER GRADUATING from Istanbul Academy of Fine Arts, Belkis Balpinar worked as a curator of carpets at the Museum of Turkish anmd Islamic Arts and was the founding director at the Vakiflar Carpet and Kilim Museum in Istanbul.
Belkis’ art kilims are unique. With a background in both contemporary weaving and the history of weaving in Turkey and Central Asia, Belkis is working in a medium with which she is intimately familiar. She has chosen to expand the traditional square of carpets into angular and round shaped that take off from a center and expand into space.
Her colours and patterns have a dynamic and creative relationship to tradition, and her designs are inspired by the various spatial planes in the universe and microcosm.
On the exhibition’s opening night, the talented UK tenor saxophonist Josh Ison makes his debut in Bahrain with long-time duo partner Tom Wood and a guest appearance from soprano Danae Eleni. An evening of jazz through the ages will feature both classic melodies and more progressive jazz.
Call +973 17230123 / info@lafontaineartcentre.net
Belkis’ art kilims are unique. With a background in both contemporary weaving and the history of weaving in Turkey and Central Asia, Belkis is working in a medium with which she is intimately familiar. She has chosen to expand the traditional square of carpets into angular and round shaped that take off from a center and expand into space.
Her colours and patterns have a dynamic and creative relationship to tradition, and her designs are inspired by the various spatial planes in the universe and microcosm.
On the exhibition’s opening night, the talented UK tenor saxophonist Josh Ison makes his debut in Bahrain with long-time duo partner Tom Wood and a guest appearance from soprano Danae Eleni. An evening of jazz through the ages will feature both classic melodies and more progressive jazz.
Call +973 17230123 / info@lafontaineartcentre.net
About Belkis Balpinar
Often referred to as; kilim paintings, mural/wall kilims, woven art, kilim tapestries or just simply artkilims, BELKIS BALPINAR is the artist behind the works on this site.
A DESIGNER BY TRADE After graduating from the Textile Department at the Academy of Fine Arts in Istanbul, Turkey, Balpinar worked as a carpet designer and researcher at Sumerbank, a state-run rug producing concern.
FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR OF THE CARPET AND KILIM MUSEUM Belkis Balpinar served as curator of the Carpet Section at the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts and was the founding Director of the Vakiflar Carpet and Kilim Museum in Istanbul. During this period, she has carried out extensive fieldwork in Anatolia.
AUTHOR AND LECTURER Balpinar has written and co-authored several books and articles about carpets and kilims. She has lectured at many conferences in Europe, Asia and in North America, on the topic of Oriental Carpets and has also taught a number of courses at Marmara University in Istanbul.
BRIDGING THE OLD AND THE NEW Balpinar pioneered a new art form in the second half of the eighties - the contemporary kilim. Since 1986, her career as scholar and artist has moved between the ancient and the contemporary, serving as a bridge between the old and the new.
TOGETHER WITH TRADITIONAL WEAVERS Her internationally acclaimed creations are actualized in the hands of Anatolian women. The inherent skill of these women in kilim weaving has found a new dimension in Balpinar’s artkilims. Each of her pieces is a unique creation and many are woven for exhibitions. Her one-of-a-kind pieces bear her distinctive personal logo.
SITE - SPECIFIC COMMISSIONS The kilim is her canvas. She challenges
the rule that says that kilims have always to be rectangular. Her use of knotted-pile sections and the division of the work into diptych and triptych has given a third dimension and extra depth to her pieces. Balpinar has developed techniques that permit her designs to be woven with both angular and curved shapes - all considered difficult to achieve with the normal kilim weave. She has also undertaken site-specific commissions and special corporate art commissions. Utilizing special computer programs, she has innovated ways to create realistic digital sketches that are later used to produce kilims or felt structures.
PRIVATE COLLECTIONS AND COMMISSIONS Balpinar has created special designs for private collections as well as corporate commissions (80 pieces for the Marmara - Manhattan Hotel, in New York; large-scale wall hangings (World Bank, Washington, D.C. and Aramco Center in Dhahran); Ekonomi Bank (Istanbul) and one of a kind pieces for private collections including Miuccia Prada (Milan), Bernard Chappard (New York), Ignazio Vok (Padova).
IN THE PRESS Belkis Balpinar and her designs have been featured in numerous publications including Connoisseur, Elle Decor, Interior Design, Designers West, Beautiful Home (Japan), Arts and Antiques, Washington Post - Home Section, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Homesteader, Hali, Vi and Manads Journalen, Elle Decor (USA, Sweden and Turkey), Aramco World, Sotheby's Guide to Oriental Carpets, Skylife, Turkish Daily News, Cornucopia, Icon (Turkey), Cartier Art and Design Through Discovery by Marjorie Elliot Bevlin (Harcourt Brace, 1994)
EXHIBITIONS Balpinar has participated in group exhibitions as well as private exhibitions in the Milli Reasürans Gallery in Istanbul and the Japan Cultural Center in Ankara, the Bodrum Castle in Turkey, New York, Washington DC, Stockholm, Caracas, Galleria Nilufar in Milan, Green Gallery and Fujiya Gallery in Tokyo, G Art Gallery in Istanbul, CD Cultural Center in Ljubljana. Some of her pieces have been displayed at the Modernist Exhibition in New York City and at the Basel Art Fair in Miami by Galleria Nilufar from Milan.
Often referred to as; kilim paintings, mural/wall kilims, woven art, kilim tapestries or just simply artkilims, BELKIS BALPINAR is the artist behind the works on this site.
A DESIGNER BY TRADE After graduating from the Textile Department at the Academy of Fine Arts in Istanbul, Turkey, Balpinar worked as a carpet designer and researcher at Sumerbank, a state-run rug producing concern.
FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR OF THE CARPET AND KILIM MUSEUM Belkis Balpinar served as curator of the Carpet Section at the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts and was the founding Director of the Vakiflar Carpet and Kilim Museum in Istanbul. During this period, she has carried out extensive fieldwork in Anatolia.
AUTHOR AND LECTURER Balpinar has written and co-authored several books and articles about carpets and kilims. She has lectured at many conferences in Europe, Asia and in North America, on the topic of Oriental Carpets and has also taught a number of courses at Marmara University in Istanbul.
BRIDGING THE OLD AND THE NEW Balpinar pioneered a new art form in the second half of the eighties - the contemporary kilim. Since 1986, her career as scholar and artist has moved between the ancient and the contemporary, serving as a bridge between the old and the new.
TOGETHER WITH TRADITIONAL WEAVERS Her internationally acclaimed creations are actualized in the hands of Anatolian women. The inherent skill of these women in kilim weaving has found a new dimension in Balpinar’s artkilims. Each of her pieces is a unique creation and many are woven for exhibitions. Her one-of-a-kind pieces bear her distinctive personal logo.
SITE - SPECIFIC COMMISSIONS The kilim is her canvas. She challenges
the rule that says that kilims have always to be rectangular. Her use of knotted-pile sections and the division of the work into diptych and triptych has given a third dimension and extra depth to her pieces. Balpinar has developed techniques that permit her designs to be woven with both angular and curved shapes - all considered difficult to achieve with the normal kilim weave. She has also undertaken site-specific commissions and special corporate art commissions. Utilizing special computer programs, she has innovated ways to create realistic digital sketches that are later used to produce kilims or felt structures.
PRIVATE COLLECTIONS AND COMMISSIONS Balpinar has created special designs for private collections as well as corporate commissions (80 pieces for the Marmara - Manhattan Hotel, in New York; large-scale wall hangings (World Bank, Washington, D.C. and Aramco Center in Dhahran); Ekonomi Bank (Istanbul) and one of a kind pieces for private collections including Miuccia Prada (Milan), Bernard Chappard (New York), Ignazio Vok (Padova).
IN THE PRESS Belkis Balpinar and her designs have been featured in numerous publications including Connoisseur, Elle Decor, Interior Design, Designers West, Beautiful Home (Japan), Arts and Antiques, Washington Post - Home Section, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Homesteader, Hali, Vi and Manads Journalen, Elle Decor (USA, Sweden and Turkey), Aramco World, Sotheby's Guide to Oriental Carpets, Skylife, Turkish Daily News, Cornucopia, Icon (Turkey), Cartier Art and Design Through Discovery by Marjorie Elliot Bevlin (Harcourt Brace, 1994)
EXHIBITIONS Balpinar has participated in group exhibitions as well as private exhibitions in the Milli Reasürans Gallery in Istanbul and the Japan Cultural Center in Ankara, the Bodrum Castle in Turkey, New York, Washington DC, Stockholm, Caracas, Galleria Nilufar in Milan, Green Gallery and Fujiya Gallery in Tokyo, G Art Gallery in Istanbul, CD Cultural Center in Ljubljana. Some of her pieces have been displayed at the Modernist Exhibition in New York City and at the Basel Art Fair in Miami by Galleria Nilufar from Milan.
About La Fontaine Art Centre
la fontaine centre of contemporary art is an historical monument dating back to a hundred and fifty years, located in the heart of Manama close to the old “Suq”.
The centre is the only one of its kind throughout the Middle East, revered by all as a masterpiece of architectural and artistic glory, which makes it a special haven for architectural connoisseurs. The property, belonging to the Alireza family, is very unique as it captures the grand essence of a European chateau, while retaining the charm of the fine, authentic Gulf Islamic architecture. It has been completely restored and renovated by French artist Jean Marc Sinan, who transformed a beautiful residential house into a distinctive, exceptional centre for art and leisure enthusiasts alike.
It features a number of contemporary art galleries, an open-air amphitheatre, an exquisite fine dining restaurant, an exclusive spa, and a state-of-the-art Pilates & Dance Studio, the first of its kind in the Gulf region.
Architecture
Seven years of architectural refurbishment and innovative design, a "master work in situ", around 5,000 square meters were formed and restored by French artist Jean Marc Sinan.
Today the project is divided into two sections, the restoration of the old historical monument, the principal building, dating back to the 19th century, and the other is the creation of six new buildings within the old edifice, demonstrating a unique fusion between European and Arab cultures within one of Bahrain's oldest private homes. The centre preserves the four main features of fine Gulf Islamic architecture: the wind tower, the double enclosure, the timber louvers at the balconies and the portico. A well balanced architectural design makes the Alireza house known for being the most advanced traditional building in the Gulf.
The masterwork is based on the vision of angles, materiality, textures, proportions of round and geometric volumes. The invisible energy according to the light and the hand made coloration of each square meter of wall space generate a feeling of harmony as the water flows from the twenty six ton, hand-made fountain.
It took 3.6 million hours of labor and over 5.2 million dollars of private investment.
la fontaine centre of contemporary art is an historical monument dating back to a hundred and fifty years, located in the heart of Manama close to the old “Suq”.
The centre is the only one of its kind throughout the Middle East, revered by all as a masterpiece of architectural and artistic glory, which makes it a special haven for architectural connoisseurs. The property, belonging to the Alireza family, is very unique as it captures the grand essence of a European chateau, while retaining the charm of the fine, authentic Gulf Islamic architecture. It has been completely restored and renovated by French artist Jean Marc Sinan, who transformed a beautiful residential house into a distinctive, exceptional centre for art and leisure enthusiasts alike.
It features a number of contemporary art galleries, an open-air amphitheatre, an exquisite fine dining restaurant, an exclusive spa, and a state-of-the-art Pilates & Dance Studio, the first of its kind in the Gulf region.
Architecture
Seven years of architectural refurbishment and innovative design, a "master work in situ", around 5,000 square meters were formed and restored by French artist Jean Marc Sinan.
Today the project is divided into two sections, the restoration of the old historical monument, the principal building, dating back to the 19th century, and the other is the creation of six new buildings within the old edifice, demonstrating a unique fusion between European and Arab cultures within one of Bahrain's oldest private homes. The centre preserves the four main features of fine Gulf Islamic architecture: the wind tower, the double enclosure, the timber louvers at the balconies and the portico. A well balanced architectural design makes the Alireza house known for being the most advanced traditional building in the Gulf.
The masterwork is based on the vision of angles, materiality, textures, proportions of round and geometric volumes. The invisible energy according to the light and the hand made coloration of each square meter of wall space generate a feeling of harmony as the water flows from the twenty six ton, hand-made fountain.
It took 3.6 million hours of labor and over 5.2 million dollars of private investment.
ArtCalendar
Bahrain - January
- Diary
- 37th Fine Arts Exhibition - BNM
- Al Riwaq Print Workshop
- Al Riwaq Market 338 Opening
- Al Riwaq Graphic Exhibition Opening
- BFH Fine Art Gallery Launch
- Bita Ghezelayagh - Albareh Art Gallery
- Cityphilia - Albareh Art Gallery
- Galleri Hornan - Falun
- Bahraini Collectors Exhibition
- Canvas Education Bahrain
- Ahmed Nawar - The Art Centre
- Artists' Opportunities
- Awards
- Competitions
- Residencies
- ArtGuide
- Art Fairs
- Art Dubai
- Art Paris
- Tokyo Art Fair
- Review - Art Stage Singapore
- Review - Miami Basel
- Biennials
- Galleries/Museums
- Art Fairs