DRIFTERS OF THE DREAMPOND

Buket Savci
On view: September 17th – October 23rd, 2022
Opening Reception: September 17th, 4 - 7pm

5-50 gallery is proud to announce DRIFTERS OF THE DREAMPOND, Buket Savci's first solo show in NYC. The show features vibrant paintings populated with people, toys and inflatables. Her work probes questions of community, immigration, ephemerality, freedom, and happiness. The show will be on view from September 17th through October 23rd, with an opening reception on Saturday the 17th, 4 – 7pm.

As an immigrant from Turkey, having to create community and a sense of belonging in an unfamiliar place has inspired Buket Savci to convey radical love through paintings with an explosion of color, light and sense of touch. Expressing the emotions of —or aspiration towards– belonging and play. Savci distills the many reasons that made her immigrate into playful and joyful paintings to inspire a more hopeful and positive future. She underscores issues of displacement while emphasizing the values that give us hope. 

Savci uses toys as metaphors for being childlike, carefree, non-judgemental and innocent. While the boats and inflatables invoke a sense of lightness, a carefree attitude through their material qualities, buoyancy, and association with summer pastimes. They also represent the false sense of security, and question the sincerity of our constant drive for satisfaction and pleasure.

No doubt images of boats and inflatables remind us of the trials and tribulations of immigrants and refugees. Underneath the colorful and joyful settings, Savci conveys an unsettling feeling, urging us to remember the hopes and struggles of the immigrants and refugees, when escaping their homelands and risking their lives to be able to reach foreign lands for a safer future and equal rights.  

The paintings on display at 5-50 Gallery orchestrate multiple figures entangled with each other surrounded by inflatables and toys, filled with details of textiles and patterns. Vibrant colors reinforce the playful, joyful aspects of the paintings. The figures are lost in this perfect moment, but still aware that something is not right, that this won't last forever.  

Savci’s painting practice has evolved from expressing her own personal narrative to representing the universal desire for human connection, a sense of belonging and freedom. While celebrating trust and togetherness, DRIFTERS OF THE DREAMPOND invites viewers to join Savci in exploring the duality and interpretations of notions such as community, freedom, and happiness.

To view and/or purchase works from the show click here.