Rust marks, shifting climates, and chance encounters on canvas: Canan Tolon turns the small talk of weather into urgent questions of our time. Text in English and Turkish.
About the Weather accompanied Canan Tolon's second solo exhibition at Dirimart (23 November-24 December 2023) with the same title. The bilingual publication gathers Tolon's large-scale works in rust and acrylic on canvas, created in 2023, alongside earlier pieces in the same technique. Her abstract compositions emerge through a process that embraces chance: metal fragments placed on canvas interact with water, air, and weather, generating unpredictable rust forms shaped by conditions beyond the artist's control--humidity, pollution, temperature shifts, or wind. These works register environmental processes, functioning as both material traces and invitations to free association, constantly renewed in dialog with the viewer. The volume also includes essays by art historian Berin G�l�n� and curator Kevser G�ler, who reflect on Tolon's practice and the exhibition's ironic title, which alludes to our tendency to avoid urgent concerns--such as the climate crisis--by resorting to "small talk" about the weather.
Text in English and Turkish.
Canan Tolon (b. 1955, Istanbul) studied Literature and Philosophy at the French Lycée in Istanbul. In 1976, she attended Edinburgh Napier University and Fachhochschule Trier for design, later studying interior architecture at A.A. Middlesex University in London. She completed her Master's degree in architecture at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1983. Her most recent selected solo exhibitions include Refrain, Dirimart Pera, Istanbul (2025); About the Weather, Dirimart Dolapdere, Istanbul (2023); Tunnel Vision, Dirimart Pera, Istanbul (2022); Limbo, Cocoon by CIF, Fişekhane, Istanbul (2022); You Tell Me, Istanbul Modern, Istanbul (2019); Where were we, Anglim Gilbert Gallery, San Francisco (2018). Her works are held in the collections of esteemed institutions such as The British Museum (London), ARTER (Istanbul), and Istanbul Modern (Istanbul). Canan Tolon lives and works between Istanbul and San Francisco. Berin Golonu is an assistant professor at the University at Buffalo where she teaches courses in art history and visual studies. Her research focuses on urban ecologies, spatial practices, and landscape imagery. Her first monograph, titled Naturalizing Modernization: Urban Greenspace and Cultural Memory in Late Ottoman Istanbul traces changing concepts of urban public space in the Ottoman capital during the long 19th century, and draws connections with the uses of the city's historical green spaces today. Golonu's peer reviewed research articles have appeared in publications such as Third Text and the Journal of Visual Culture, and her art criticism has been published in art journals worldwide. More recently, she has been awarded numerous fellowships for her publication research, including a UB Humanities Institute Faculty Fellowship (2023-24); a Getty/ACLS Fellowship in the History of Art (2022-23); an American Research Institute in Turkey/NEH Fellowship (2019) and a Leibniz Fellowship for Historical Authenticity (2018). Kevser Güler worked for the Istanbul Biennial between 2007-2014. She was part of the founding team of the Cappadox Festival Contemporary Art Programme and its Associate Curator between 2015-2017. She conducted research on Arter's collection between 2014-2019 and worked as Curator and Exhibitions Director at Yapı Kredi Culture and Arts from 2020 to 2021. Güler took an active role as a consultant and jury member in many art programmes including SAHA Studio, Ankara Queer Art Residency, Lucy Art Residency, Berlin Senate Visiting Artist Programme, and took part in the advisory board of the Istanbul Biennial Production and Research Programme, where she mentored artists.
