Rooting (Köklenme) at Galeri 77, Istanbul: A Gallery Hangs Its Own History in Karaköy

Most galleries open a new building with a blockbuster: one star name, one statement. Galeri 77 has chosen the opposite. Rooting (Köklenme) at Galeri 77 Karaköy, Istanbul, on view from 14 November 2026 to 9 January 2027, inaugurates the gallery’s new space with a recent work by every one of its 38 artists — and turns the exhibition into a self-portrait of the institution itself.

Rooting at Galeri 77: a timeline you can walk through

The organising idea is disarmingly simple. Instead of grouping works by theme, medium or style, the gallery has hung them in the order in which each artist joined its programme. Walking through the rooms becomes a way of reading Galeri 77’s history, chapter by chapter, from its earliest relationships to its newest. The exhibition runs from the top floor down to the ground floor, and artist portraits greet visitors at the entrance — a gesture that puts people, not just objects, at the threshold.

Connecting everything is a wooden, root-like line that travels through the building, tying works to one another and to the architecture. It is the literal form of the title: a root system, branching and continuous, holding the parts together underground. In the basement, a video and sound installation lets the artists speak and appear in another register. As the gallery puts it, “Rooting is therefore more than a group exhibition.”

Who is on the walls

The roster spans painting, sculpture and other media. Names highlighted on the exhibition page include Gurgen Babayan, Daron Mouradian, Armen Gevorkian, Roman Babakhanian, Karen Arakel, Sergey Narazyan, Sedat Girgin, Erhan Coral, Hakan Gürbüzer and Bahadır Baruter. Babayan’s Vaftiz / Baptism (2022), a sizeable oil on canvas, sits in the same narrative as Baruter’s Şişkolar III / Fatties III (2026), a reminder that the gallery’s range stretches from painterly gravity to sharp, satirical humour. The complete list of participating artists is available under “Related artists” on the gallery’s page, together with an online catalogue.

Why a group show can say more than a solo

Group exhibitions are often dismissed as inventories. This one resists that, because the chronology does real curatorial work. Hanging by date of arrival reveals how a gallery’s taste evolves: which sensibilities it started with, which it added, where it took risks. It also quietly levels hierarchies — the most established painter and the newest addition each get one work, one place in the sequence. For visitors, it is an efficient way to discover dozens of practices in one visit; for the artists, it is a statement of belonging.

Karaköy and the shifting map of Istanbul galleries

The move to Karaköy places Galeri 77 in one of Istanbul’s most dynamic art districts, close to the waterfront, museums and a dense network of galleries between Karaköy, Tophane and Dolapdere. A multi-storey building also changes what the gallery can do: vertical circulation, a basement for moving image and sound, room for sculpture. Opening with the whole family of artists, rather than a single name, is a clear signal of how the gallery intends to use its new home — as a platform for a community, not only a showroom.

For collectors and painters: a panorama in one visit

Collectors gain something unusual here: a side-by-side view of an entire programme, with recent work by each artist, ideal for comparing hands, scales and price points before committing. Painters, meanwhile, can study a wide spectrum of figurative approaches in close proximity — oil technique, colour, the handling of the figure — within a single coherent hang. The catalogue makes the visit easy to extend afterwards.

And there is a broader lesson for the Istanbul scene. At a time when many galleries compete for attention with ever-larger events, Galeri 77 has chosen to make its opening about continuity and roots. In a city that has seen so much change, that choice feels both modest and confident.

Visiting information

Galeri 77, Hacımimi Mah. Necatibey Cad. Sakızcılar Sok. No: 1/E, Karaköy, 34425 Beyoğlu, İstanbul. 14 November 2026 – 9 January 2027. Opening hours have not been published on the exhibition page — please check with the gallery. Tel. +90 212 251 27 54, [email protected]. See the gallery’s exhibition page, our Rooting Istanbul listing, and more openings on Upcoming Art Exhibitions in Leading Galleries.