Elif Saydam

In their expanded painting practice, Elif Saydam addresses the relationship between social categories and the construction of taste. Drawing on decoration, ornamentation and embellishment, as well as the judgements these entail, they raise questions around valued labor, identification impulses and social mobility within late-Capitalism. Saydam’s profound and humorous practice brings forth connections between aesthetic and social ambivalences and the transgressive potential within these realms.

Elif Saydam (b. 1985 Calgary, Canada) lives and works in Berlin. Recent solo exhibitions include 'F*rgiveness' at Tanya Leighton, Berlin in 2022, '... schläft such durch’ at Kunstverein Harburger Bahnhof, Hamburg in 2021; ‘Everybody’s Fool’ at Galerie Rüdiger Schöttle, Munich, ‘Gut feeling’ at Tanya Leighton, Berlin, and ‘Selfing’ at Melange, Cologne, all in 2020. Their work has been included in group exhibitions at Kunsthalle Bern, Switzerland; Landes-Stiftung Arp Museum Bahnhof Rolandseck, Bonn; Künstlerhaus Schloss Balmoral, Bad Ems, Germany; Kunstverein Nürnberg - Albrecht Dürer ...