murat akagündüz

İzmit, 1970

Murat Akagündüz, graduated from the Painting Department of the Mimar Sinan Fine Arts Academy in 1995, and opened his first solo show the following year, in Istanbul. He was among the founding members of the “Hafriyat” group, which nourished itself from the sociology of the city and of “being urban”, and took part in many exhibitions with “Hafriyat” artists - among them Hakan Gürsoytrak, whose works were also on display at Nev. “The False World” opened in Munich in 2004, “Production Error” organized within the framework of the 2005 Istanbul Biennial, and the “Fiscal Officers” opened in Istanbul in 2006, drawing particular attention with its comprehensive catalogue compiled by Hafriyat Publications, can be cited as recent examples of “Hafriyat” exhibitions. Resisting the “art market”, since May 2007 Hafriyat is organizing group exhibitions in their own showroom in Karaköy while Hafriyat members continue their solo shows in Ankara and Istanbul.

“Imaginary Vision”, one of Murat Akagündüz’s most recent shows in Istanbul within that framework, is set on one of the “musts” of urban life: “holiday”. The brochures pledges of multi-star holiday resorts and the decorated windows of travel agencies are the inspiration of the “sociological landscapes” Akagündüz creates.