Aslan S. Arik

Aslan S. Arık is a figurative metal sculptor who has exhibited consistently in Istanbul, Turkey and internationally in Spain. Besides an education in art, Aslan also has a background in engineering...

Aslan S. Arık is a figurative metal sculptor who has exhibited consistently in Istanbul, Turkey and internationally in Spain. Besides an education in art, Aslan also has a background in engineering, math, and science. He has won several awards from the Erdemir Steel and Sculpture Competition as well as notable recognition from The Aerogramme Center for Arts and Culture as well as Artsin Square Platform. 

The steel sculptures portray figures from ancient and medieval mythology from various cultures such as Nordic mythology, Babylon, Sumeria, and ancient Egypt / Greece. The figures usually depict gods and goddesses such as Freya, titans such as Atlas, or even historical figures with mythological ties such as Gilgamesh or an ancient Minoan huntress. These sculptures contain a combination of rough and smooth textures with pockets of holes spread across the surface. The works have both a finished veneer along with scratches and fragments of steel hastily forming together to create abstracted structures of human-like figures. With a theatrical, dramatic, and dark poses of the figures, they appear confident and assertively interact with objects such as bows, globes, scrolls, metallic wings, and even attempt to strike the viewer with their bare hands. 

Freya’s Will (pictured above) represents the Norse goddess of battle, death, love, fertility, and beauty. The sculpture depicts the goddess standing tall ready to strike with her bare hands as if she remains so powerful in a manner of not needing a weapon. She stands nude and almost represented with bare anatomy as if she were a corpse with ghostly facial features and her hair appearing like a dark cowl over her head. Some portions of the figure show bare ribs while other portions convey robust portions of flesh around her thighs and legs. Regardless of size, Freya’s Will comes across as monumental in depiction and contains Aslan’s signature application of portraying historical and mythological figures with intimidating structure and posture. 

Aslan S. Arık creates fascinating, dark, and theatrical sculptures which almost appear like metallic puppets. The infusion of history and mythology in his works creates a bridge with our human ancestors and the relevance of remembering historical lessons from folklore and legends. These mysterious sculptures seek to create dramatic depictions of human structure in the form of interactions with various historical objects and metamorphosis. With skeletal-like appearances and portions of bare anatomy, Aslan builds upon great expressive artists such as Alberto Giacometti but with a polished veneer and a robust imposition. 

Artist website: https://www.asarik.com