Yapi Kredi Cultural Center of Istanbul, Turkey will exhibit “Happy/Sad”, a selection of recent works by Peter Hristoff, opening May 10th and running through June 30th, 2007. The paintings, works on paper and halis (rugs) exhibited explore themes of joy, sorrow, hope, despair, belief, time and entropy as well as the forces and cyclical elements of nature. Symbols characteristic of the artist's visual vocabulary—flowers, clocks, stars, hands, skulls and clouds are combined with looser, painterly passages and washes of color to imply unusual, otherworldly landscapes. Figures, with their carefully considered postures, reinforce the symbolic meanings of the works. The composition of many of the recent works incorporate the shape of the Mihrab (prayer niche) as a proscenium for the drama implied. These works continue to explore ideas of Vanitas, sacred space, the formal concerns of the of the seccade (prayer rug) composition and the rituals of prayer and absolution.

The exhibition will include, on the mezzanine of the gallery, “Benim Turkiyem” (My Turkey), a series of works on paper, started in 2003, based on the artist's observations, interpretations and fantasies about his birth place, Turkey. A catalog, with an essay by Evan Izer and poem by Sidney Wade will be available. A short documentary by experimental filmmaker Marie Losier, will be shown at the gallery. Losier’s five minute film, in a style reminiscent of silent-screen cinema, presents quick scenarios from Hristoff’s life drawing classes at the School of Visual Arts in New York. The classes, theatrical and performance based, are improvisations by Hristoff (using a group of models he has worked with for years) that explore themes of Contemporary Orientalism as well as other artistic genres. Through the film, Losier implies a seamless link between the studio practices, personal interpretations and teaching endeavors of the artist.