The Skin We Live In

Accompanying Koray Ariş's solo exhibition The Skin We Live In at Arter, this comprehensive book offers an in-depth look at the artist's sculptural practice spanning six decades. Ariş developed a sensorial approach to sculpture by incorporating leather into a material palette dominated by wood and bronze, starting in 1969. From the 1990s onwards, by focusing on the concepts of balance, motion and timbre, he began inviting the viewer to become part of the experience. His oeuvre is represented in the book through images and texts that reflect all phases of his career.The publication opens with a letter by Selen Ansen, the curator of the exhibition, titled The Skin I Live In, written through the voice of a stone, and also includes a specially commissioned essay by art historian Necmi Sönmez, focusing on Ariş's period in Rome (1969-1974); two texts by sculptors Francesco Albano and Yaşam Şaşmazer that provide a written account of their "encounters", where they share their personal and creative connections with the artist's world and works; and a poem by Sevinç Çalhanoğlu, in which the poet offers a reinterpretation of the artist's understanding of form and balance in particular. The archive section presents photographs from Ariş's journey spanning the 1960s to the 2010s, along with previously published texts by Ali Akay and Antonio Del Guercio, now brought together in this book.Designed by Emre Çıkınoğlu, the book also features reproduction images by Hadiye Cangökçe; exhibition photographs by flufoto (Barış Aras & Elif Çakırlar); and photographs by Fırat Rüzgar, capturing Ariş performing works from his Euphony / Percussive Sculptures series at Arter.