‘With Love, Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu’ exhibition opens at Casa Botter

ISTANBUL

An exhibition titled “With Love, Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu,” consisting of envelopes from letters exchanged between celebrated painter, writer and poet Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu and leading cultural figures and family friends of the period, has opened at Casa Botter.

According to a statement by Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) Culture, the exhibition was organized with contributions from İBB Culture and İBB Heritage.

The exhibition features envelopes dated between 1957 and 1974 that go beyond being mere historical documents, transforming into small canvases of Bedri Rahmi’s visual world. Abstract and near-abstract compositions, recurring forms, self-portrait silhouettes and fish motifs, as well as surfaces created with sand and various materials he used during his years in the United States, merge with traditional motifs, reflecting the artist’s distinctive visual language.

Visitors can also see a letter written by Fikret Mualla to Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu, along with the handwritten manuscript of Eyüboğlu’s poem “Zindanı Taştan Oyarlar,” widely known as “Yiğidim Aslanım,” written for poet Nazım Hikmet.

The addressed, undated or note-marked envelopes bear witness to correspondence between Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu and his wife Eren Eyüboğlu, his brother Sabahattin Eyüboğlu, his son Mehmet Hamdi Eyüboğlu, as well as prominent figures of the time including Fikret Mualla, Mustafa Pilevneli, Turan Erol, Mehmet Ali Cimcoz, Tosun Bayraktaroğlu and Ertuğrul Özakdemir.

The exhibition can be visited free of charge until March 29.