Vav 1987

Erol Akyavaş made Vav with paint, maybe gouache, but I could be wrong, who knows? What interests me is how this piece speaks through material presence, how color and mark-making shape how we feel and what we think. That ground of deep, deep blue, almost indigo, creates a kind of endless space. It feels cosmic, especially with those tiny white dots, like distant stars, sprinkled around the edges. Then there’s the contrast of textures. The swirling, cloud-like form on the right, soft and dreamy, set against the flat, matte expanse of the blue. And what about that golden square? It’s almost like a portal, shimmering with an otherworldly light. The artist's handprint to the left, shows that Akyavaş may have applied this using their hands. The real magic is in how these elements combine to create a sense of mystery and contemplation. It reminds me a little bit of Hilma af Klint’s mystical abstractions, but with a distinctly Turkish sensibility. Ultimately, Vav resists easy explanations. It invites us to look, to feel, and to let our imaginations wander.