Bedri Baykam is bold and expressive in every area of his life. He is one of Turkey’s internationally most well known artists. He has had exhibitions since the age of six until today all over the world.

His vast creative endeavors include painting, writing, politics, teaching, filmmaking and more. He has had 141 one man shows around the world and countless group shows and is the author of 29 published books.

Baykam’s recently published book in English “Guerilla Carries No Umbrella” was first launched in Los Angeles. The publication of 460 pages comprises two sections, on art and politics.

It contains several articles by Baykam about the rights of non-western Artists, as well as his struggles for a world with a better democracy, human rights and freedom of speech record, among many others.

Bedri’s artwork sends messages to the viewer about a deeper understanding of the worlds political expressions and views. His work incorporates both a brilliant visual presentation with a mystique to a new generation of art collectors and young artists. Bedri inspires those who desire to find their own way of speaking out creatively either by hanging a painting of great intention on their wall leading to intellectual conversation or an artist beginning to express their feelings through different mediums.

Bedri’s life’s work will forever be known in history as a collective of New Expressionism with a political voice. His influential speaking causes movement and adds great value to subjects that many shy away from.

In Bedri’s Forward about his book “GUERILLA CARRIES NO UMBRELLA” he says….”Every issue I have undertaken has always been on “long and winding roads”. Being the son of Dr. Suphi Baykam, a young politician who had been a youth leader as well as later a top-level parliament member, being a believer to the ideas and life philosophy of our great founder of the Turkish Republic and revolutionary leader Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, it was easy for me to get engaged on risky grounds.

In the art field, all the injustices I have encountered starting with the fact that my Turkish identity operating against me, since my youngest days, all western shows were shaped with European or American nationality alignments, gave me pain but more than that reaction power and struggling spirit. After I distributed The San Francisco Manifesto, I wrote on one of my paintings ‘it’s going to be a long fight”, I knew that things were not going to change in a day or week or a year…

Only some 33 years later, Penguin Books published a book called “Why Are We Artists” edited by Jessica Lack; it included my Manifesto as one of the most influential 100 ones in art history. Ageneration and a half had passed till the official recognition of the issue…

During all these years, I have managed to change the attitude of so many historians and journalists in the west about these problems. Some of them became fierce defenders of much more multi-cultural standpoints. Actually, my pioneer position was about 6-7 years ahead of multi-culturalism as well. Sometimes it’s good to be a pioneer and sometimes the “rooster that crows far earlier than all others” can go less noticed than the rest. This is one of the capricious characters of the pioneer position!

Bedri speaks much more and he also writes…

You might encounter some repetitions, especially in the first half of the book, dealing with “monkeys’ Right to Paint”, the fight for rights of non-western artists. You can just think that I believe sometimes one needs to hear more than once, about critical issues that have gone in wrong directions for long decades or even centuries…So, I apologize for that inconvenience but I don’t regret it!

MORE…

Bedri’s latest book, “Guerilla Carries No Umbrella” written in English, half about art and the other half about politics, is appearing simultaneously with Baykam’s show at the Gloria Delson Contemporary Arts. It comprises the artist’s long struggle for the rights of non-western artists as well as his different artistic analysis’ like his famous “Curatorial Schizophrenia” among others. The political part of the book gives insights about Baykam’s long struggle in his own country for the protection of secularism as a sine-qua-non concept for defending democracy and Atatürk’s ideas (Founder of Turkish Republic).

INTRODUCING “BEDRİ BAYKAM’S ART HISTORY MAP”

Baykam launched his Art History Map in Turkey this year in April; it has raised since then a great deal of interest. Prepared in two sizes (large and medium) as well as two different mediums (numbered and signed canvas editions of 250 and 350 respectively for each of those sizes, and prints on laminated paper) “Bedri Baykam’s Art History Map” accomplishes an important task.

It comprises all the art movements and major (or sometimes lesser known!) artists chosen by Baykam, from Renaissance till today. It also shows all related connections of art movements among artists from different centuries, different decades as well as their simultaneity with all the explorers, philosophers, statesperson, scientists, musicians, filmmakers etc. from all over the world. Thus, the Map acquires also a world cultural and socio-political dimension as well.

BEDRI BAYKAM “VISUAL ADVENTURES”

UNTIL FEBRUARY 1ST

A VIP Cocktail Reception in the presence of the artist will be held on Saturday,

January 18^th from 5pm – 10pm.

Baykam’s 4D works – highly developed lenticulars holding 20 to 25 layers of depth, that had been shown previously in several other museums such as the Berlin Akademie der Künste, Barcelona Picasso Museum, Paris Pinacotheque and Roland Garros Museums, as well as several art fairs and galleries worldwide – were seen for the first time by Los Angeles based art lovers, who were very impressed by discovering Baykam’s fresh and new world of images.

GDCA Gallery
727 South Spring Street / Los Angeles, CA 90014
(between 7th & 8th Streets)
#(323) 309-2875
Petra@GDCAgallery.com
www.GDCAgallery.com

Parking:
There are multiple Parking Lots located along Spring Street,
as well as a large structure on 7th Street between Broadway and Spring Street.