Zilberman is pleased to announce Azade Köker's Deconstruction (Venus), 2021's inclusion in the permanent collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), as a gift of the 2022 Collectors Committee with additional funds provided by Arun Bohra & Ashita Shah-Bohra and Afshan A. Lakha.

Azade Köker's Deconstruction (Venus) was among the works she produced as part of her latest exhibition at Zilberman İstanbul in 2021, A Murder of a Mannequin. The exhibition was a reflection on the artist's inquiries about gender, identity, and body and acted as a documentation of scenes of harassment and violence against women that we frequently encounter. Art historian Burcu Pelvanoğlu shares her thoughts on this piece as follows:

“Deconstruction (Venus), in the exhibition, initially questions the concept of femicide with the contradiction of the double name it carries. Venus, the ancient Roman goddess of beauty (her name is Aphrodite in Ancient Greece), is associated with concepts of violence and fragmentation. While emphasizing the ideas of solidarity and unity with multiple figures put forward by all feminist theorists, the artist strengthens the sense of violence by nailing the hands to the sides of the figure. Köker’s use of paper also helps understand the fragility, transparency, and the subject's openness.

Azade Köker
Deconstruction (Venus), 2021
Paper, epoxy, copper wire, steel moulding
150 x 130 cm