SSM hosts landmark Yoko Ono retrospective

ISTANBUL

The most comprehensive exhibition of works by Japanese artist Yoko Ono ever presented in Türkiye has opened at Sabancı University Sakıp Sabancı Museum (SSM), offering visitors an extensive overview of the pioneering artist’s seven-decade career and her influential contributions to contemporary art.

Titled “Yoko Ono: Insound and Instructure,” the exhibition has been realized in collaboration with Castile and León Museum of Contemporary Art (MUSAC) in León, Spain. Following its presentation at MUSAC between November 2025 and May 2026, the exhibition opened in Istanbul on June 25 and will remain on view through Dec. 27.

Bringing together 67 works produced over more than 70 years, the exhibition traces Ono’s artistic journey from the avant-garde circles of New York in the late 1950s to the large-scale installations and participatory projects that have defined her later career. The show includes instruction pieces, conceptual works, performances, films, photographs, drawings, sculptures, videos and installations, reflecting the breadth of a practice that has consistently challenged conventional definitions of art.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, SSM Director Professor Ahu Antmen said Ono’s life and artistic career mirror many of the major cultural and political transformations of the 20th century.

“Yoko Ono’s journey bears the traces of the tension between tradition and modernity,” Antmen said. “From the political upheavals of the 1960s to her engagement with popular culture, many important developments can be followed through her artistic practice. With nearly 70 years of uninterrupted production, she is not only an artist but also an important narrator of contemporary art.”

Antmen emphasized that Ono’s interdisciplinary approach and pioneering role have made her a key figure in art history. She noted that the artist is often described as “the world’s most famous unknown artist,” a perception that has gradually changed since the early 2000s as institutions around the world have reassessed her contributions.

According to Antmen, Ono’s works continually invite audiences to reconsider what art can be and how it can function.

“Yoko Ono invites us to question the boundaries of art and its very nature,” she said. “Her works are not object-based. Participants are at the center of her practice. She works with imagination rather than permanent materials and her primary medium is mental effort and creativity. This exhibition should also be seen as an example of a collective and participatory experience.”

The exhibition takes its title from the concepts “insound” and “instructure,” terms introduced by Ono in 1964 that form the conceptual framework of the show. Spread throughout the museum, including Gallery -2, Gallery -3, the gardens and the gallery housing the Arts of the Book and Calligraphy Collection at Atlı Köşk, the exhibition explores themes such as imagination, perception, participation, memory, peace and human connection.

Studio One Director and co-curator Connor Monahan highlighted the participatory nature of Ono’s artistic practice, describing her works as “open, unfinished and living.”

“Ono’s defining characteristic is her ability to create works that remain open,” Monahan said. “Even when she began producing larger installations in the 1990s, her message remained unchanged. She presents her works not as complete entities but as fragments. These unfinished works invite us to create and experience art together. Without the participation of visitors, this exhibition would not truly exist.”

Curator Jon Hendricks described Ono as both an artist and an activist whose work consistently seeks to transcend conflict and division. Referring to several works featured in the exhibition, he said her artistic vision encourages audiences to imagine alternatives to the boundaries that separate people.

“There are many conflicts and wars in the world today,” Hendricks said. “Many of Ono’s works, from photographs of mothers to invisible flags, reflect an effort to move beyond these divisions. The exhibition offers numerous opportunities for visitors to engage with and experience these ideas firsthand.”

The exhibition includes some of Ono’s most influential and widely recognized works, among them “Grapefruit,” “Cut Piece,” “Sky Ladders” and “Mend Piece,” alongside major installations and participatory projects developed since the 1990s. Many of the works require direct audience involvement, reinforcing the artist’s long-standing belief that art is created through interaction as much as through authorship.

According to SSM, “Yoko Ono: Insound and Instructure” is one of the two most comprehensive recent exhibitions dedicated to the artist’s work, alongside “Music of the Mind,” which has been presented at institutions including Tate Modern, Gropius Bau and Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago.

“Yoko Ono: Insound and Instructure” will be open to visitors until Dec. 27.