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Senol Sak, the painter of a single passion..

All the light of the rainbow is dedicated to them, the whole space of the canvas opens to welcome them, each trait of the painter is busy giving them shape: the fish.
In our world which perpetually runs behind chimerical novelties, which is busy having more and more anything every time, in this world of instability, Senol Sak is a figure of permanence, stability and true wealth while creating works with a single image: the fish.
In each canvas reigns a single figure, multicolored, fascinating, spotted or shiny, beautiful or disturbing, as it unfolds in nature, offered to our gaze, whose image is furtive, dazzles us with its variety: the fish.
For many years, Senol Sak's works have spoken of only one presence, of one living being among living beings, to the point that it fills the world of the artist, evoking all the infinite variety that populates nature - the fish.
The composition is simple, only one being reigns there, sometimes it is presented alone, sometimes in a group, and always in its environment. The fish is produced by firm and secure drawing lines, the color fills the interstices, most often multicolored. On this surface are scattered numerous colored dots, depending on the color of the fish and extending over the entire surface of the canvas. This is how the painter recreates the impression of a liquid substance in which the fish donuts.
When we attend an exhibition of painting by Senol Sak, we have the impression of being in a machine at the bottom of the ocean and observing through a porthole the superb movement of fish of all kinds. In addition, we can even familiarize ourselves with these fish because, on each canvas the name of the fish is indicated in full: butterfly-fish, damselfish, frogfish, anemonfish ...
The letters surround the fish as if to increase the impression of aquatic depth. This use of writing in painting can be compared to the Lettrist movement of the 50s and 70s, but also to Arabic calligraphy where the characters are intertwined with the representation of plants or animals.
Senol Sak’s painting is a lively, multi-colored world that goes on forever, always starting over with the same subject.

Ksenia MILICEVIC  / Paris-FRANCE
Writer, poet, painter

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Senol Sak, le peintre d'une seule passion

Toute la lumière de l'arc-en-ciel leur est dédiée, tout l'espace de la toile s'ouvre à les accueillir, chaque trait du peintre s'affaire à leur donner la forme : les poissons.
Dans notre monde qui court perpétuellement derrière des nouveautés chimériques, qui s'affaire à avoir chaque fois plus de quoi que ce soit, dans ce monde d’instabilité, Senol Sak est une figure de permanence, de stabilité et de vrai richesse tout en créant des œuvres à une seule image : le poisson.
Dans chaque toile règne une seule figure, multicolore, fascinante, tachetée ou luisante, belle ou inquiétante, tel qu'elle se déploie dans la nature, offerte à notre regard elle, dont l’image est furtive, nous éblouit par sa variété : le poisson.
Depuis de longues années les œuvres de Senol Sak ne parlent que d'une seule présence, d'un seul vivant parmi des vivants, au point qu'il remplit le monde de l'artiste, évoquant toute la variété infinie qui peuple la nature - le poisson.
La composition est simple, un seul être y règne, parfois il est présenté seul, parfois en groupe, et toujours dans son milieu. Le poisson est réalisé par des traits de dessin ferms et sûrs, la couleur remplit les interstices, le plus souvent multicolore. Sur cette surface s’éparpillent des nombreux points colorés, suivant la couleur du poisson et s’étendant sur toute la surface de la toile. C'est ainsi que le peintre recréée l'impression d'une substance liquide dans laquelle beignet les poissons.
Quand on assiste à une exposition de peinture de Senol Sak nous avons l'impression de nous trouver dans un engin au fond de l’océan et d'observer à travers un hublot le déplacement superbe de poissons de toutes sortes. De plus, nous pouvons même nous familiariser avec ces poissons car, sur chaque toile le nom du poisson est indiqué en toutes lettres : butterfly-fish, damselfish, frogfish, anemonfish ...
Les lettres entourent les poissons comme pour augmenter l'impression de la profondeur aquatique. Cette utilisation de l’écriture dans la peinture on peut la rapprocher du mouvement lettriste des années 50/70, mais aussi de la calligraphie arabe ou les caractères s'entrelacent avec la représentation des végétaux ou des animaux.
La peinture de Senol Sak est tout un monde animé et multicolore qui se décline à l’infini, recommençant toujours avec le même sujet. April-2020

Ksenia MILICEVIC / Paris-FRANCE
Écrivain, poète, peintre

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ATTRIBUTE A MEANING TO A FORM WITH LINE, COLOR AND HARMONY!
Ümit Yaşar Gözüm*

Projection to an Expressionist Şenol Sak Art Through the Fish Form…
In the painting art, it is important that fiction is transformed into an aesthetic and plastic value as well as the importance of composition. In Şenol Sak's production of esthetized plastic value from a single form, non-compromising for the technical principles of the painting art and his competence have a large share.
The three feminine powers that humanity knows well in its historical adventure are sea, fish and art…. You witness a mermaid tale when you see his works. If you have knowledge, in these navigations you will be integrated into the various kinds of beauty of Hatmehit which is the Fish Goddess of mythology.
Perhaps the thing that causes Şenol Sak to run behind a blessed creature which is clearer than water that floats in the foggy sea, being mentioned in the idiom "the land of the person whose heart is set on fish is the sea" is the desire to express his internality through the image of fish.
Easier said than done, travel around the world with fish-shaped compositions from the 1990s to the present and portray them as passion! But it's a way for people to take their soul to calm in the waves of the oceans.
There are many reasons why the artist is so attached to fish. Different mythologies have blessed the fish, which is a universal value, with different meanings and tasks.
The most significant of these is the meaning of wisdom, which was attributed by Celtic mythology, while many idioms have been derived from its memory. Since it symbolizes the womb in Africa, it is a symbol of fertility in the Phoenicians, Assyrians and Chinese. It was sanctified by the power of change and transformation in ancient Rome.
What does the artist tell us with the fish which is the bird of the lower worlds; the continuity of the spiral, the so-called time, like the underground river that flows under the sea listening to its own voice? Or is it the passion to reach the eternity created by the motion? Or is it the sadness mixed with enthusiasm created by a fish jumping from the tip of the fishing rod to the sea with a cunning and quick movement?
Therefore, Sak is among the artists who believe that there is no message concern in art. It is a subjective preference that the artist confronts the viewer with the will to choose rather than directing the viewer.
When you accompany the art adventure of an idealist dedicated to drawing fish paintings, you will encounter versatile sea and fish fictions that you can understand.
His continuous search for new forms and his continuous development are based on the research and fiction power of the artist. Each fish he draws carries different shapes and colors from the other.
An artist's desire to leave his mark in the historical process leads him to a rich specialization. The fact that Sak focuses on the fish form and draws it reaching to different parts of the world is because he thinks of creating a rich memory in this sense.
Fish is a very meaningful and layered figure in Sak’s art. It is one of the four existential elements of mythology and history of thought, a feminine element like water and earth.
The artist follows a different depth and a universal way by integrating his paintings with calligraphy. The artist takes Turkish painting on a universal journey in different continents of the world such as Europe, America, Africa and Asia.
The source of his personal accomplishments is his fearlessly efforts in this field. As long as I witness his perception of change devoted to wisdom, I remember Mevlana's saying, ‘Other than the sea is the torment to the fish.' So much so that he is not only involved in the establishment of the Paris-based Art Resillience, but also works on the emphasis on ‘Mobility and Flexibility in Art’ hereby.
In recent years we have seen microchips instead of flakes in fish forms that create a world atlas effect. It also draws our attention to the deep dilemmas created by the age of communication on our existence by bringing scholarly elements to his paintings as much as Sak's philosophical tendencies.
Sak depicts his fish independently of the place with strong spots that create a spatula effect. The harmony that he creates on the same floor with warm, bright and contrasting colors shows the artist's competence in the color scale.
Not only does he impress the audience with the colors that constantly create enthusiasm on people, but also invites them to wander and explore the mysteries of painting with his emotions. With this aspect, it meets the insatiable taste of wandering through the vortices of thought.
While his fish sometimes glide in a blue starry sky, sometimes they turn into painting with scales accompanying sea horses. In some of his paintings, you cannot stop thinking that Piri Reis used the fish form as an world image in the map and calligraphy to explain the world.
We can see the indispensable aesthetics and beauty quest of History of Thought and Philosophy of Art in Sak's fish.
Sak believes that softening his heart and brush is the scholarly side of virtue. When we consider the ground of his paintings, which we call independent from space, as water, it includes references to a very colorful fertility that attracts the audience. He transforms the figure, which he detached from his concrete bonds and formed into an inner form, with the power of subjective line.
His fish are like the Leibnic's ‘Monad’s, all of them are fish, but it seems as if they all are representatives of a different sea and thought.
It will be right for those, who will make critical projection to Şenol Sak's painting, to evaluate the artist within the scope of philosophical background and mythological time inquiries without imprisoning the triangle of sea, water and fish.
The range of Sak's painting goes beyond the fictional debates of a painter and explores the horizon of our art scene. A transition line between the two sides of the canvas; whatever is good for art is for society.
In the face of his paintings, you do not have the feeling that the painter has achieved perfection, nor talk about the inability of the viewer to find a part of himself/herself. The painter does not invite you to the bottom of the oceans in dark destructive times, but invites you to wander through the valleys of meaning.
This attitude is an expression of the immanent emotion, a call of the spirit integrated with intelligence. He produces in the way of being the voice of silent depths, believing only in the permanence of art..

Ümit Yaşar GÖZÜM
* Art Philosopher, Writer, Critic
Ankara-2019
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SENOL's ART…..

Şenol Sak has started his efforts founded upon his academically training, using the known and the unknown of his unique art style inspired by the nature with his admiration to it. Later to develop towards his recent paintings which reflect the intensive thought interpretations .
Further his exploration of his art formulae “gained recognition in found expression in “fish form” which he expressed the clear interpretation with rich colours and interactive harmonious motifs .
“I wish I was a fish in a bottle of Raki” .Well known phrase in Turkish modern literature of expression of the desire to be encapsulated within the certain nationally celebrated sprit of Raki resembles in his presentation of the “fish” in different forms in dynamic compositions which brings forward to the surface of the depths.
There is hardly any aspect of nature remains that the artists have not paid interest and explored or touched with their brushes . The subject is the reason in this adventure and exploration of the nature .
Sometimes his calligraphical text on the surfaces resembles the unique scale of the particular species own characteristics achieved with motives and the lines.

Prof. Erol ÖZDEN

Bolu-1998



A Fisherman of Deep Water Artist, Senol SAK

While some artist depict flowers, others prefer to generate images of birds. And while some artists portray pitchers others prefer painting bottles. The work of an artist is. therefore, inherently unique to the individual’s experiences, emotions, and memories. The artist Senol SAK spent his entire life not catching fish but painting them, And when we talk about bird paintings, the unique work of Turkish artist Salih ACAR quickly comes to mind. In looking to authentically depict the unique allure of his subjects, Salih ACAR
derives his inspiration from past visits to the majestic Manyas lake. With an exposure to raw nature, ACAR has been able to create images we recognize and love today, leaving us with extraordinary examples of beauty to pass on to future generations.
Senol SAK’s works are majestic in its combinations of color and form, His paintings first reminded me of the small coral and red-dotted trout from Bolu’s Karadere forest, species once inherent to the trout farms of lake Abant. It was here where these red- dotted fish were set free; and it is SAK’s images that naturally bring back these wonderful memories
As like with migrant birds, SAK’s fish evoke a need for reflection on the diversity of worlds and colors alike. An innovator, Şenol utilized his brushes to bring to life a world of fish, creating their destiny with color and light. The results were nothing less than extraordinary works of art.
It is our earnest desire that these beautiful fish manifest themselves in every aspect of our daily lives, be it through conventional paintings, textiles or ceramics. Why should’nt fish images be used in window curtains, drapes, vases, ceramic dishes and utensils? Shouldn’t the importance of local motifs be considered invaluable, especially when works from Europe and the Balkans share a similar affinity for fish? The truth is that fish motifs remain steadfast in our daily lives. And once my dear professor Mr. Bedri Rahmi EYUBOĞLU created hand printed similar art works in textile and ceramics.
We should not be surprised, then, when we see our Şenol SAK successfully sharing his fish motifs all over the world

Osman Zeki ORAL
Ereğli, 2010



Foreword
Abant Izzet Baysal University ardently pursues to accomplish Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’s core principles to the best of is ability. In striving to carry out the particular mission and vision of reachang above the level of contemporary civilization.’ the university continues to support the innovative spirit within academia.
Since its establishment on July 3. 1992. our university has proudly hosted numerous brilliant artists and invaluable scientists from all over the world, We strive to share with our community the wealth of knowledge and culture fostered at our institution. In this aim, we challenge ourselves to build a vital awareness of cultural heritage within the public, and hope that it be passed on to future generalions.
To further commemorate the achievements of this institution, it is on its 20’th anniversary that we present the national and international artist Şenol SAK A native of Bolu, this innovator has proudly transitioned his education at Abant Izzet Baysat Universaty’s Art Education Faculty of Education into a successful career
At this exhibition curated by Associate Prof. Dr. Alpaslan UÇAR chair of the Department of Art Education Faculty of Education, the artist’s works (from 1995- 2012) are proudly displayed It is a true pleasure to present Şenol SAK’s works at our university’s art gallery, and on behalf of his alma mater, I would once again like to thank Mr. SAK for his great contribution to the institution of art.

Prof. Dr. Hayri COŞKUN
Rector of Abant Izzet BAYSAL University, Bolu-Turkey



FISHPAINTER Senol SAK..
Senol Saks painting is depicted by semantic layers, richness of colours, ecquisite composition, unique approach to the form and specific inner poetry. All that essential facts are to be kept in mind.
As one, Senol is a build up artist, with unique stile and individual approach to visual art. Taking a form and composition in mind, his canvases depict sea creatures, mostly fish. This fact might lead its critics to a conclusin, that sea fish is a major theme in Senol Saks work, however that conclusion might be quite one sided.
Semantic plan of his work actually has a large number of layers, of wich we are to specify only the most remarcable ones. There is no doubt that Sak is showing us the water world, the world of sea, and in its essence that is a fish. This water treasure is really fascinating and it poses itself as an inevitable explanation that Sak is trying to preserve a glance of that world for future generations.
That point of wiev is correct but it is to simple to stop here since semantics of his work are much deeper.
It is nescessary to emphasize that Sak is a very conscious artist both of art directions as well as other connectin fields (philosophy, aestetics, mistics etc.). He simply embraces a theory that life was concepted in water and that the essence of it is still there active.
While painting underwater world he is exploring pure essence of our existence.
Sak is well acquanted to mythology considering creation of the world. It has been created in contact of water and fire Being first solar principe, water came from caos and gave form to everything. Reflecting underwater conditions Sak paints through form at its source. In that manner his work receives a form, essence, true art.
At that point it is necessary to observe that the mere creation of work is as well a celebration of recreation of the world, contact of fire (his talent and inspiration) with water (art) that provides a form.
Use of color is an unique expirience. For some reason we can compare artists expirience with some contemporary art scenes in postmodern painting of today. We can observe a strong communication of his work with works of post modern colorists and expresive colorists of today. However in both cases Sak gives his own focus, his personal vison of color and above all his contribution to tracks in modern art, for Sak is not a follower, he is more of a silent leader, that through his work dictates directions of modern visual art. His colors carry energy, emotions but also
they think – carry a message and take part in plan of his work.
Compositons are perfect, as a reflection of absolute beauty, that is artists seek and find. This quest of/for beauty is artists mission an it has not changed since antic. We stil all seek for joy, love, harmony, eros... beauty.
Sak manages to build all this in his work and that is why his paintings are so magic and fascinating...

Nikola Kitanović / Serbia
Poet,Novelist,Artist..




There are two known universes. The first one is the objective one, the one in which we live and breathe. The other one is woven by the artist's creation of emotions, color, mystery, and purity.
Sometimes the work is highly ambitious ...and at the same time so very quiet.
Şenol SAK is not pushing the boundaries; he is simply creating new borders. His artistic identity has naturally become a universal business card. SAK transpires the wisdom of his age, busy mind, rich subjectivities and diaries to his work via an aesthetic and plastic approach.
Whatever it is the artist creates, his sole purpose is to communicate, express himself. Both familiar and unfamiliar images in Şenol SAK’s art generate a new intellectual dialogue and aura with the audiences. This unique dialect makes its viewer feel introspective, excited, and boundless at the same time. And, yes, sometimes sad as well.
The audience encountering SAK’s fish images cannot escape from the vortex of emotions. We are in it now… and it is so easy to get taken in by his works of art.
His universe exists in spiritual and poetic dimensions. It is just as deep as the depth of the ocean; it is as endless as eternity.
SAK’s fish images are simply as free and sincere as fish, and that’s the beauty of it.

Prof. Dr. Alpaslan UÇAR
September-2012, Bolu, Turkey





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