Five young Italian artists immersed themselves in art after spending a month in Turkey as part of an artist-in-residence program of the Güler Sanat Gallery and the Italian Embassy in Ankara, bringing Turkish culture together with their own. The group exhibition "From a Distant Proximity" hosts the works of Dione Roach, Federica Cogo, Flavia Tritto, Maria Luigia Gioffre and Nicola Guastamacchia.

The opening reception of the exhibition at Güler Sanat Gallery started with the words of Italian Ambassador Massimo Gaiani, who thanked both the hosts and the young artists.

"This is the best way to celebrate the Italian day of contemporary art," Gaiani explained.

Speaking at the reception, Kemal Orta, the curator of the exhibition, also said, "Here, you can see the result of a great project. These artists have moved their workplace temporarily to Ankara. This was not a project conducted between four walls but rather included several trips, culture fairs, museum visits and visits to the workshops of Turkish artists in Istanbul, Eskişehir, Ankara and Cappadocia. Thereby, it is a project that gives the artists a chance to have a close look at the world of Turkish art."

The notions "distant" and "proximity" were put forth by the artists as a result of all these experiences and visits where they could observe Turkish architecture, history, geography and the social environment. The works were composed of different types of paintings, sculptures, digital installations and graphics. The exhibition of the artists, who came to Turkey for the first time and interpreted Turkish culture with their own observations, will be open to visit between Oct.11 and Nov. 29.

Speaking to Daily Sabah, the ambassador also mentioned that a similar project based on orientalist culture could be conducted in the future as Turkey and Italy's arts and culture have always shared close links throughout history.

"I’m certain that for the artists this project meant seeing and coming into contact with a rich culture – the experiences and feelings have been represented on their art," Gaiani stated.