Murat Atabek’s “Uygulamalar / Practices” at UNITE, Ankara: An Exhibition That Refuses a Theme

Most exhibition titles promise a theme. This one promises work. Murat Atabek’s “Uygulamalar / Practices” at UNITE Ortak Mekan in Ankara takes its name from the Turkish word for applications or exercises, and according to the venue the choice is deliberate: the artist did not want a title that would cover over what he had actually made. The solo exhibition runs from 23 October to 14 November 2026 at UNITE’s space on Cinnah Caddesi in Çankaya, with free entry six days a week.

A title as a refusal

The exhibition text published by UNITE, written largely in the artist’s voice, is unusually candid. Instead of naming a subject, “Uygulamalar” points to the investigations Atabek carried out over a set period in order to build form. He describes trying to bring his mental and bodily tendencies, his observations and his own past into his command of material and form. In other words, the show presents a process rather than a conclusion — a record of practising.

That is a quietly radical position in an art world that often packages exhibitions around a ready-made concept. It asks the visitor to arrive without a key and to read the works on their own terms.

Bodies, space and the “anti-smooth”

What do the works do? According to the text, they stage encounters between bodies and space. Each is put together anew from material, as single or fragmented units, and functions as an impression drawn from watching situations and positions — the way people stand, lean, meet or avoid one another. The venue does not specify the medium or the number of works, and no material list is published, so it is best to approach the show as an encounter with objects and arrangements rather than with a particular technique; ask the venue for details.

The most memorable idea in the text is its declared “anti-smooth” stance, set against what it calls the ontology of smooth diplomas. Rather than polish and finish, the work looks for expression in the places where surfaces break: slips of the tongue, and pimples that erupt painfully. It is a vivid, slightly uncomfortable image — and an honest one. Smoothness, the text implies, is the look of institutional approval; roughness is where something actually happens.

The exhibition text also borrows a line from the French novelist Louis-Ferdinand Céline: “Bir üslubu hak etmek için önce bedel ödemek gerekir” — to deserve a style, you must first pay a price. Read alongside the title, it suggests that Uygulamalar is about the paying: the repeated, effortful exercises that come before anything that could be called a signature style.

Who is Murat Atabek?

Here we have to be straightforward with readers: UNITE’s official pages do not publish a biography, education or exhibition history for Murat Atabek, and we have not found independent press coverage that would let us verify one. Rather than guess, we recommend visitors ask the venue directly — and treat the exhibition as an introduction to an artist whose work is presented first, and whose story can follow.

UNITE Ortak Mekan and Ankara’s independent scene

UNITE is not a conventional commercial gallery. It describes itself as an “ortak mekan” — a shared space — combining an exhibition programme with darkroom and ceramics workshops, co-working, a magazine and a radio station, and it also runs a second venue, UNITECEP, in Güvenevler. That hybrid model is increasingly important in Ankara, where independent spaces sit alongside the established galleries of Kavaklıdere and the institutional programme of CerModern. For young artists, they offer room for exactly the kind of process-led exhibition that Uygulamalar represents.

Why it is worth a visit

For artists and art students, the show is a frank case study in how to present work in progress without apology — how a practice can be exhibited before it is “finished”. For collectors who follow emerging Turkish art, independent spaces like UNITE are where new names often appear first; sales information is not published, so contact the venue. And for anyone in central Ankara, free entry and long opening hours make it an easy addition to an afternoon in Çankaya.

Visiting information

UNITE Ortak Mekan, Cinnah Caddesi 7A, Çankaya, Ankara. 23 October – 14 November 2026 (opened Friday 23 October at 18:30). Open Tuesday–Sunday, 09:30–19:30; closed Mondays. Free entry, no appointment needed. Contact: +90 505 808 73 67 (also WhatsApp), [email protected].

See the official exhibition page, our exhibition listing, and more Ankara and Istanbul openings on Upcoming Art Exhibitions in Leading Galleries.