ARKOBJECT is a curatorial gallery dedicated to contemporary collectible design and art. It gives particular attention to designers and artists working in Istanbul and to their relationships with local artisans and specialist workshops. The gallery aims to bring these creative practices and the knowledge behind their making into dialogue with the international collectible design scene.

 

Furniture, lighting, mirrors and functional objects sit alongside sculpture and wall art, selected for their material character, craftsmanship and presence within a space. One-of-a-kind works, limited editions and bespoke pieces reveal different ways of translating an idea into a physical object.

 

ARKOBJECT explores how an object can acquire a presence beyond its intended use. The distinctive character that form, proportion and material lend to a piece informs the gallery’s selection, particularly in design. Collectibility is understood through the strength of an idea, the integrity of its making and the object’s capacity to carry meaning beyond its function.

The gallery’s interest in Istanbul begins with the people who make there. Many of its designers and artists develop their work in close dialogue with local artisans and specialist workshops, drawing on material knowledge and techniques that remain part of the city’s working life. These relationships allow contemporary ideas to be tested, developed and realised through making.

 

In this context, craft is also a field for experimentation. Familiar techniques can lead to unexpected forms, while the demands of a new piece can prompt a maker to reconsider an established process. By making this exchange visible alongside the finished works, ARKOBJECT connects Istanbul’s culture of production with a wider audience.

The gallery brings established names and emerging voices together across both design and art. Its selection includes Zeynep Fadıllıoğlu, Tayfun Mumcu, Betül Özkan, Marāu, Ayşe Demir, Sevgi Karay, Emel Güneş, Mesut Öztürk, Işıl Kapu, Maral Taşkırıcı, Dilek Fidan, Begüm Alkan, Sami Savatli and Animate Objects, among others.

 

Internationally recognised as the first woman to design the interior of a mosque, Zeynep Fadıllıoğlu brings her sensitivity to colour, texture and craftsmanship to pieces such as the Gloss side table. Tayfun Mumcu’s furniture and objects bring together aesthetic references from different periods through material and craftsmanship.

 

Betül Özkan works with wool and thread to explore memory and the body through sculptural forms and hand-worked surfaces. Through Animate Objects, Zeynep Satık translates narratives drawn from theatre, performance and art history into furniture, producing her limited editions by hand with local artisans.

 

Each practice brings its own material language and approach to making. Presented together, the works retain the distinct identities of their artists and designers while offering a view of the creative relationships taking shape in and around Istanbul. Differences in scale, surface and form become part of the gallery experience. The selection encompasses functional and sculptural pieces, as well as works that evolve through an exploration of a material or technique.

Alongside its curatorial programme, ARKOBJECT brings designers, artists and local artisans together to develop works exclusively for the gallery. Through these collaborations, ARKOBJECT Editions draws on Istanbul’s material knowledge and workshop culture to create original, limited-edition pieces.

 

Working together from the earliest stages of an idea, the collaborators develop form, material, scale and methods of production through an ongoing dialogue. Some works open a new direction within an existing creative practice; others emerge from these encounters. The gallery participates in the production process as well as shaping its selection, creating space for the knowledge of designers, artists and artisans to find expression in new works.

Sami Savatli is an Istanbul-based designer whose practice spans architecture, interiors, furniture and collectible design. He founded SAVATLI Architects in 2010. His work explores the relationship between material, form and spatial experience.

 

LOVE, a sculptural chair and side table collection, forms part of Savatli’s independent design practice and is included in ARKOBJECT’s selection. The gallery provides a setting for his curatorial approach, bringing different artists, designers and cultures of making together.