During a conference at Istanbul Modern dedicated to the Turkish-Jordanian artist Fahrelnissa Zeid (1901-1991), the plans were revealed by Chris Dercon, current director of the Tate Modern who will leave the institution in 2017 for Volksbühne, Levent Çalıkoğlu, director of Istanbul Modern and the artist’s family.
Zeid is considered the first female modern Turkish painter; born in 1901 in Büyükada, she figured in several exhibitions by the Turkish avant-garde movement, Group D or Grubu D, before moving to Paris and participating in Nouvelle Ecole de Paris exhibitions organized by Charles Estienne. She became the most expensive female artist in the Middle East in 2013 with her 1962 piece Break of the Atom and Vegetal Life sold at Christie’s Dubai for $2,741,000.
