Curated by Senem Özgören, "Increasingly Distant" by young artist Tom Fellows will open at REM Art Space in Istanbul and run from May 7 to June 15. As the first solo exhibition by Fellows it will comprise of his latest paintings.

After completing his studies in Art and Design at Sutton Coldfield College, Tom Fellows entered Cheltenham College to study sculpture. After working at Headlands Center for the Arts in San Francisco, he returned to London to complete his architectural studies. After meeting his wife in 2011, he decided to move to Istanbul. He continues his works at his own workshop in Maslak Oto Sanayi. His work has been in group exhibitions in Istanbul. The promising artist now is primed to open his first solo exhibition.

In this solo exhibition titled "Increasingly Distant," Fellows does not only use canvas and paints. He also deals with objects which are an important part of the culture he was raised in. He manipulates the surface of objects and works like a scientist.

In this series, the artist displays the development of his relationships in a foreign culture. The works carry parts and reflections of language, graphics and the city. While he had to understand a new world and culture when he first moved here, this situation made him utilize a childhood skill: Reading signs. He is the son of a sign painter from Birmingham. His world comprises of open details related to the visual culture in which he was born. Signs were his first language. The architectural education that he received allowed him to escape from traditional art history and incline toward new creation not limited to materials, brush strokes or sizes.

In this exhibition, the artist completes a period in which he questions how the new world he met in Istanbul can be reinterpreted. When he reaches the necessary distance, shapes get clearer and his journey becomes visible from all perspectives.

About the curator

After completing her high school education at Robert College, Senem Özgören earned a degree in Art History at London University's School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). She studied the art of the Seljuks in Istanbul and completed her master's degree in Art History at Sorbonne University in France. She has combined the history of Middle Eastern and Oriental art with the study of the goddesses of the Neolithic period and started her doctoral studies at SOAS this year. Özgören works as an artist representative at the Galerist art gallery.

INTEGRATIVE Art Space

Located in Çukurcuma, Istanbul, REM Art Space aims to be an interdisciplinary art space where unique content is exhibited and created. REM Art Space also serves as an open structure for innovative cooperation and critiques.