Elif Saydam (born in 1985 in Calgary, Canada) lives and works in Berlin. They studied in Montréal, Canada, and Städelschule, Frankfurt am Main. Recent solo exhibitions include "F*rgiveness" at Tanya Leighton in Berlin, "...schläft sich durch" at Kunstverein Harburger Bahnhof in 2021; "Everybody’s Fool" at Galerie Rüdiger Schöttle, Munich, "Gut feeling" at Tanya Leighton, Berlin, and "Selfing" at Melange, Cologne, in 2020; "What me worry" at Stadium, Berlin, and "La belle dame sans merci" at Franz Kaka, Toronto in 2019
Saydam’s works have been shown internationally in group exhibitions including "Lose Enden" at Kunsthalle Bern, Switzerland in 2021, "Luxury and Glamour. The Wilfulness of the Superfluous" at Landes-Stiftung Arp Museum Bahnhof Rolandseck, Bonn in 2020; "Made in Balmoral" at Künstlerhaus Schloss Balmoral, Bad Ems, Germany in 2019.
In their work, Elif Saydam bases their language on specific anecdotes related to places or objects that are intimately linked to our daily lives and our relationship to what they symbolize. Through the aesthetics that permeate their work, Elif Saydam points out certain constructions and social dynamics. Elif Saydam's paintings are decorated in detail with recurring found materials and text excerpts, which the artist collected in public and private spaces.
With the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.
