Balance of Rythm – Mustafa Hastürk’s new Art Exhibition

By Heidi Trautmann

“Tell me, have you heard music when you watched my paintings? If yes, then I have reached my goal”, says Mustafa Hastürk with his introductory words to his exhibition at the Eaved House on the evening of the opening on June 2. And this was confirmed positively by Prof. Dr. Uğurcan Akyüz, Dean of the Fine Arts Department at Hacettepe University and founder Dean of Fine Arts Department at Near East University, who had come from Ankara to open Mustafa’s exhibition. It was not only due to the five musicians from the State Orchestra playing in the courtyard of this beautiful place and giving the occasion a very festive touch, classical Turkish music played with typical instruments such as the Ud.

We have not heard from Mustafa Hastürk for a long time for a very good reason. He has been on a track of research at the Near East University where he not only teaches but also studies.

I have met Mustafa years ago for an interview in his studio where he retires to work and here he turns on his kind of music, classical music of all colours and tunes - also jazz by the way – and he realized one day subconsciously that the music had an impact on his work, his palette, brushstroke, and the tempi became the tempi of his work. He asked himself why is that so and he made this question the theme of his thesis: The influence of music in the arts, its influence in the past, today and in the future, a work he has finished last year in June,  and I am looking forward to read his conclusion.  

There definitely is an influence by music onto all levels of our life and I can find out the mood I am in when I realize what kind of music I have put on, subconsciously.  Music as therapy and self-discoverey.

One of Mustafa’s earlier exhibitions was My Universe in Balance; actually that is his life’s leitmotiv, he cannot live with disorder and chaos, he is always looking for a balance in his surroundings.

Balance in painting is to measure the parts of composition, the red dot must equal the amount of green, to say it with simple words. Now, the title of his new exhibition is Balance of Rhythm: Music, which is today in the foreground of his work, or rather in the foreground of his consciousness, follows in its composition certain exact rules, mathematical rules, ergo Rhythm balanced.

Mustafa’s new work has become more daring in colour and composition, more aggressive, trying to leave the secure circle of balance. He offers himself and his work as a test to his thesis that music has an enormous impact on the process of art, he offers himself to the music while he paints, there are no plans, just the rhythm, the beat which he transposes onto the canvas. The beautiful works on display are done with different media, acrylic, oil and mixed media such as collages which I find very interesting and moving.

Musical compositions on canvas, I wonder if musicians can read the language and give us back the melody in return.

The exhibition is still open until June 10 at the Eaved House during office hours.