Mess

Öktem Aykut in Beyoğlu, Istanbul, presents Mess, a solo exhibition by the Izmir-born painter Gökçen Cabadan, from 24 October to 21 November 2026. The gallery has introduced the show with two works on paper from 2025. Adam and Eve (Planet of the Apes scene) is made in oil pastel and acrylic, while Vogue uses mixed media on found paper.

Adam and Eve measures 67 by 96 cm. Two figures in ape masks from Planet of the Apes sit inside an oval vignette, ringed by a dense pink patterned border. Vogue is smaller, at 42 by 50 cm. A woman's head, drawn in warm pastel tones, is laid over a printed Turkish ledger form headed Karar Defteri. Both pieces start from existing material, one a film scene and the other a found sheet of paper.

Cabadan works predominantly in oil pastel, and the work returns to domestic life and coming of age. Anti-Baby, the artist's previous exhibition at Öktem Aykut in spring 2025, gathered 13 works made over two years. Portraits and invented scenes appeared as paintings and as painting installations, and the image of a body curled in the fetal position recurred. Earlier exhibitions with the gallery included Dystopia in 2016, Monogamy in Recollection in 2017 and Gaslighting in 2021.

Born in Izmir in 1980, Cabadan studied painting at Dokuz Eylül University, graduating in 2009. A master's degree in media art followed at KASK, the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, in Ghent. Cabadan's first solo exhibition, Progeria, opened at Galerist in Istanbul in 2008. Group shows include Every Inclusion is an Exclusion of Other Possibilities at SALT in 2015 and Suppose You Are Not at Arter in 2024. Mess opened on Saturday 24 October 2026 at 3pm and can be seen from Tuesday to Saturday, 12pm to 7pm.