'Vertical Highways' in front of Istanbul Modern

The sculpture 'Vertical Highways V02 ' by Iranian-born German artist Bettina Pousttchi took its place in front of Istanbul Modern.

**Vertical Highways V02** . **Photo: Flufoto**

The artist's 5.9-meter-high sculpture, which uses overlooked furniture and objects from the city such as highway safety barriers, barricades, street poles and sidewalk bollards in his works, draws attention with its moving forms that reflect the dynamic structure of Istanbul.

The work, which takes its name from a series that began with Bettina Pousttchi's 2019 exhibition at the Berlinische Galerie, was produced specifically for Art Basel's " Unlimited" platform, curated by Giovanni Carmine, in 2024. It was presented to the public in an exhibition featuring monumental installations, colossal sculptures, and large-scale video-photography. A twin of the sculpture, identical in form, color, and size, has been on display in the square in front of Berlin Central Station, where it was specially produced, since 2023.

In his work " Vertical Highways V02 ," the artist bends and shapes highway safety barriers individually, bringing them together to create a dynamic red form. Using techniques like bending and pressing, Pousttchi detaches everyday objects from their functions, imbuing them with new meanings, dissolving the boundaries between speed, movement, and public and private spaces.

**Bettina Pousttchi. Photo: Norman Konrad.**

Bettina Pousttchi expressed her excitement at the addition of her sculpture, " Vertical Highways V02," to the Istanbul Museum of Modern Art Collection and its display on the museum's façade. The artist stated, "Istanbul Modern's new building and its location on the Bosphorus provide a compelling context that highlights my sculpture's fluid form. Istanbul is a historical center of cultural dialogue and an extremely dynamic city. This is a theme central to my artistic approach."

Istanbul Modern Artistic Director Çelenk Bafra stated that for a museum, exhibiting art in a public space means establishing new connections with the city and the environment.

Bafra said: “ The presence of this sculpture, which focuses directly on the concept of the metropolis and is by a female artist from countries with cultural ties to Turkey, such as Iran and Germany, in a public space in Istanbul also reinforces the museum's relationship with the city. The work establishes a visual and conceptual dialogue with Istanbul Modern's new museum building while simultaneously reflecting Istanbul's complex, fluid, and dynamic structure through intertwined vertical spiral forms.”

Pousttchi's sculpture, which was brought to the Istanbul Modern Collection with a donation from Oya-Bülent Eczacıbaşı, was placed on the front facade of the museum, while Tony Cragg's work "The Runner ", which was previously located here, was moved to the side facade.

From the Istanbul Modern Collection, Adrián Villar Rojas's The Most Beautiful of All Mothers (I) , Anselm Reyle's Above the Underworld and As the Dust Settles , Koray Ariş's Motion and Balance Series I and II , Olafur Eliasson's Your Unexpected Journey , Selma Gürbüz's Red Shadow , Richard Deacon's Model House , Richard Wentworth's False Ceiling , Yılmaz Zenger's Bence Ayça , and Zhan Wang's Jia Shan Shi 121# (Artificial Rock) are also available to visitors on the museum's ground floor, which is free to visit.

Bettina Pousttchi studied fine arts, philosophy, art history, and film theory in Paris and Cologne. From 1995 to 1999, she studied with Prof. Rosemarie Trockel and Prof. Gerhard Merz at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf and completed the Whitney Independent Research Program at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 2000. Based in Berlin, the artist has been producing site-specific monumental installations for building facades, particularly since the 2010s, as well as large-scale sculptures that respond to the architectural, social, and cultural influences of these spaces.