Trici Venola uses Istanbul as her inspiration for creating meaningful art.

I think that a lot of art that’s being produced misses the point. The images depicted are disguised by smoke and mirrors, or clever little ways of being delightfully symbolic or gratuitously shocking.  I think that art should try to get to the heart of the matter. I can’t help thinking that things should crucially matter to the artist; a pure exercise with no pointless subterfuge. If there is symbolism it should be employed in a way that is relevant, without an ounce of misused publicity seeking flesh. The concepts behind a work of art should be important to the creator; work that is conceived purely with the viewer in mind tricks certain people but is largely transparent. Maybe some find the transparency or gratuity of certain art fascinating; I just find it boring.
I like art and I like going to some shows; I read books on the subject; however, the thing I don’t do or can’t bring myself to do is talk about it anymore with those ridiculous, exaggerated terms: ‘this collection is sooo exciting’, ‘how did he sculpt a whole toilet out of toilet paper?’, ‘I love the way he paints the urban dweller; so much insight into the horrifying lives of the disenfranchised’. I prefer to drift around most questionable exhibitions ignoring anyone and everyone’s fleeting glimpses, jolly, smiley attempts to make contact. Maybe they want to create new friendships, form business alliances in front of the scrap metal sculpture entitled ‘broken toaster’, who knows what!
At the moment I am on the look out for art that is interesting; intelligent art that literally blows my skirt up. A few weeks ago I interviewed Trici Venola, an American digital artist who has been living as an expat in Istanbul for the past five years. I was really in the mood to meet an artist to cut through all of my recent heavy encounters with predictable art, and the cocktail partygoers that flock. There were several things I honestly admired about Trici right off the bat. Firstly, she produces illustrations on a regular basis for Hustler, a brilliant editorial mag packed full of good writing and art! She is also a friend of one of my favorite comic book artists Robert Crumb and when I asked her who her prime influences were she provided an interesting eclectic mix which included Van Gogh, Leonardo, filmmakers such as Kurosawa and Fellini, the Zap artists and of course Mr. Crumb himself.
Before she moved to Turkey, she earned the bulk of her income as a successful digital artist in California designing iconic video games such as Super Mario and producing a lot of significant work for major film studios. She continues to produce digital work (children’s books, story board art, promotional posters, concept art) for Turkish clients too. The current show in Sultanahmet is comprised mainly of drawings however and the binding subject is the diametrical opposite of contemporary Istanbul. When I asked her why she came to Istanbul, she just blurts out ‘love’ followed by ‘the man is gone but I am still here’; she seems to be blunt in a non pretentious, endearing sort of way that is refreshing and demonstrates experience. The reason she continues to stay in Istanbul is the vast source of inspiration that I suppose surrounds all of us: ‘I recently drew a minaret with a plane gliding above and a Mercedes parked next to a crumbling piece of the old walls’ she states.
Whether her subject is architectural or human she manages effectively to capture the essence, deeply personal, expressionistic renditions of objects or people that most importantly, she finds interesting. ‘If it’s a portrait I go right into that person; I don’t draw everybody’ she explains. I like the way she draws what she wants and who she wants. Though she is obviously technically gifted, she is never ostentatious with her ability. When she is not engrossed in her digital commercial work at home on the Mac, she is out and about in Sultanahmet dynamically finding suitable subjects for drawing compositions.
All of the drawings in her show are inspired by Istanbul and are the end result of her personal curiosity and expression; this to me sounds like a relevant artist to write home about. Trici explains that her new exhibition is a form of illustration; ‘I am illustrating what it’s like to live in Istanbul, the best way that I can. The more opposite motifs representing history and modernity appear the more I love them and the more I love to draw them. It’s just an ongoing process!’ I asked Trici about the longevity of her Istanbul adventure: ‘I seem to have found a life and work here. It’s like a marriage, the honeymoon is over, but I don’t want a divorce’. If you want to go and see an important exhibition that draws on Istanbul, an exciting collection of beautifully crafted drawings that are direct and essential, make your way to Sultanahmet as soon as possible! You’re allowed to wax lyrical and use the phrase ‘exciting collection’ if the show in question really is worth shouting about. I would much rather be a regular at Trici’s show than a bored, full of regrets guest swanning around a sleeker, hipper, converted loft art venue somewhere else.

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