Exhibition in 2011

Remarks by ambassador Ole Egberg Mikkelsen on the occasion of the opening of an exhibition of paintings by Cevdet Kocaman at the Bilkent University Art Gallery 11 May 2011

Dear colleagues, dear guests.

May I first of all extend a warm welcome to all of you on this very happy occasion, marking the opening of the exhibition of paintings by Mr. Cevdet Kocaman.

I wish to thank the Bilkent Universiyt Art Library and its very efficient and dynamic coordinator, Mr. Attila Gülü for giving me the honor to co-host this event.

This is a very special occasion for me, because Mr Kocaman is not only a very prominent Turkish painter. You are also a living symbol of recent Turkish history and Danish-Turkish relations.

You are a member of the proud generation of 1968 – the generation that was strongly committed to change.

You were an activist in the social and political struggle in Turkey in the late 70’s. And like many thousands of your fellow activists you had to leave Turkey for countries in Western Europe after the military coup of 1980.

You and your family found refuge in Denmark. And suddenly you had time to focus on out to be the real vocation of your life: painting. So every cloud has a silver lining.

Later on when political life started to normalize in Turkey you became the cultural attaché of the Turkish embassy in Copenhagen. But I think that your most important contribution to cultural diplomacy between Denmark you are your paintings.

In your paintings your Scandinavian experience and your Turkish roots blend in a truly unique manner. Cool, grey and melancholic Scandinavia meets warm, vibrant and emotional Turkey as you will see from the paintings.

As a diplomat you would normally try to strengthen relations and to create understanding and dialogue through words and deeds. But as an artist you do it in a much more elegant way, namely through colors and shapes.

You do it through colors and shape in a much more elegant and efficient manner. And this is your real achievement, which we should cherish tonight.

By the way, Mr. Kocaman’s paintings are not the only thing that will remind you of Scandinavia tonight. At the bar you will be served Tuborg and Carlsberg thanks to the generosity of Turk- Tuborg.

Once again welcome. I hope that you will enjoy the evening.