Cevdet Erek's second solo exhibition at Galeri Nev Istanbul, Us and Them, takes place between 12 September and 7 November 2025. The exhibition continues the artist’s Away Terrace series, first initiated in 2023 with the exhibition çepeçerçeve, which examined the duality of unity and opposition through the spatial arrangements of stadium terraces. The exhibition also features a new site-specific installation.
In the exhibition çepeçerçeve (2023) at Galeri Nev Istanbul, Erek drew inspiration from the display of paintings in the gallery’s office and storage, linking the painting frame format with the architecture of football stadiums, a recurring form in his practice. By combining the conventions of painting display with a reduced stadium model, the artist created çepeçerçeve – Away Terrace, where the away terrace—the smaller, confined section for supporters of the visiting team—was accentuated with gold leaf. This area is a restricted zone often associated with inferior conditions, evoking resonances beyond the world of football. Addressing broader notions of public spaces where access and resources are tightly controlled, the work layered new meanings onto the notion of the “away terrace.”
Since June 7, Erek has been presenting an expanded version of this research at the ongoing Liverpool Biennial, under the theme BEDROCK and in dialogue with the city of Liverpool. His installation Away Terrace (Us and Them) highlights the away terraces of rival football clubs, Goodison Park and Anfield. This stadium-like construction takes its proportions from his wooden frames, while the rival fan sections are underscored through contrasting colours and opposing rhythmic sounds, capturing both the collective euphoria and the underlying tension of the terraces.
At Galeri Nev Istanbul, the exhibition Us and Them reintroduces the frame – stadiums first presented at the Liverpool Biennial in a new arrangement. The installation Away Terrace (Us and Them) – Two Slices, incorporating elements from the large-scale structure originally conceived for Liverpool, is now reconstructed with earth blocks produced in Central Anatolia and adapted to the specific conditions of the gallery space. Borrowing its title from Pink Floyd’s 1973 song Us and Them, the work also recalls the recently restored and re-released concert film Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii (1972), as well as the Liverpool supporters’ chants heard in the track Fearless from the band’s 1971 album Meddle. Thus, the series that began in 2023 with an exploration of frames and stadiums, and that expanded through its journey in Liverpool, now returns to Istanbul, the place of its inception.
With our sincere thanks to:
Can Cumalı & Çağlar İşbilir (Mono Earth) for the production of compressed earth blocks
Seda Yazkan for gold leaf applications
Selin Şentürk for architectural modeling and drawings
Şakir Şaban Sunmaz for woodwork
neugerriemschneider, SAHA and the Liverpool Biennial team — with special thanks to Marie-Anne McQuay (Curator), Amy Stevenson (Assistant Curator), Dave Berger (Production Manager),
Mark McNulty (Photographer) for their support and permissions.
