Turkish Cypriot painter Aşık Mene’s solo oil painting exhibition titled “Existence” and opened by President Ersin Tatar at the Near East University Faculty of Dentistry Exhibition Hall can be visited until end of month.
Date Added: 20 October 2021, 20:31
Last Updated Date:25 October 2021, 13:59


The solo oil painting exhibition titled “Existence”, consisting of 30 works exclusively prepared by Turkish Cypriot painter Aşık Mene for the Cyprus Museum of Modern Arts, was opened at the Near East University Faculty of Dentistry Exhibition Hall with the participation of President Ersin Tatar. “Existence”, the 387th exhibition of the Cyprus Museum of Modern Arts, will be open to visitors until October 30.

President Ersin Tatar and Near East University Founding Rector Dr. Suat İrfan Günsel realized the opening of the exhibition along with the opening of the bust of Aşık Mene made by Kyrgyz sculptor Isken Abdaliev.

At the opening ceremony, President Ersin Tatar, Near East University Acting Rector Prof. Dr. Tamer Şanlıdağ and Aşık Mene made speeches.

President Ersin Tatar: “We are giving an important message to the world with the power of artistic production in our country and the self-confidence it gives us.”
Reminding that the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is subject to many political restrictions and embargoes, President Ersin Tatar said, “The artistic production carried out in our country, with its universal language, surpasses these embargoes and reaches the whole world.” Stating that he opened six exhibitions on the Near East University campus in the last 10 days, President Tatar said, “We are giving an important message to the world with the power of artistic production in our country and the self-confidence it gives us. Even though they think that they will do us injustice with outdated practices such as embargo and restriction, no one can stop the production, motivation and energy that emerge here. Because this place continues to produce.”

President Ersin Tatar, who said “we must produce” in order to make ourselves accepted by the whole world, continued his speech as follows; “There is success and production at the Near East University with the works and projects it constantly produces. Every production they bring to life carries us to the world, and by continuing to carry us, the works produced here will break the shackles that they are trying to hit us.”

President Ersin Tatar, who also thanked the artist Aşık Mene for his works, said for the Turkish Cypriot painter, “Our artist Aşık Mene is our own artist, who has been working on art for years and has produced beautiful works by combining his productive nature with his thoughts and feelings.” In his speech, President Ersin Tatar also referred to the name of the exhibition and used the phrase “The backbone of our existence is our culture”.

Prof. Dr. Tamer Şanlıdağ: “New and creative scientific discoveries only come from societies with a deep artistic background.”
Saying that a society without an artistic background cannot meet science in real terms, Near East University Acting Rector Prof. Dr. Tamer Şanlıdağ said, “New and creative scientific discoveries only come from societies with a deep artistic background. Art gives birth to science, science gives birth to technology. With the awareness that we can continue our existence as long as we produce, as Near East University, we are taking firm steps towards becoming a global center in education, science, health, art and innovation.”

Emphasizing that the Near East University is among the top 250 universities in the world in the field of “Engineering” and “Computer Sciences” in the World University Rankings of 2022, according to the data announced by Times Higher Education last week, and ranked first among the universities of Turkey and Cyprus, Prof. Dr. Şanlıdağ said, “As our Chairman of the Board of Trustees Prof. Dr. İrfan Suat Günsel points out; This success we have achieved as Near East University is the result of a systematic strategy and vision.”

Congratulating the artist Aşık Mene for his exhibition, Prof. Dr. Tamer Şanlıdağ said in his speech, “I would like to express my gratitude and respect to each member of the Günsel Family, our artists, our employees, especially our teacher Suat, who have signed many important projects and led us with his experiences in all areas of life.”

Aşık Mene: “Near East University undertakes a very important mission with the steps it has taken in the artistic and cultural field and with the Cyprus Museum of Modern Arts it founded.”
Speaking at the opening of his solo oil painting exhibition titled “Existence”, Turkish Cypriot painter Aşık Mene said, “As artists, we are workers who produce emotions. Our purpose of existence, our work, our power is to produce emotion. We derive these feelings from the culture, history, present and future dreams of the society we belong to.”

“While we are producing emotions, universities, as institutions that produce science and methods, constantly conduct research on how these emotions can be produced more vividly and develop methods, laying the groundwork for the existence of future artists. Near East University and the Cyprus Museum of Modern Arts, founded by Near East University, undertake a very important mission with the steps they have taken in the artistic and cultural field.”