TULIPOMANIA exhibition in Istanbul: Floral journey from east to west

In the 1630s, visitors to the prosperous trading cities of the Netherlands were captivated by the delicate and exotic eastern import of tulip mania. Rare flower bulbs exchanged hands for incredible and ever-increasing sums until a single tulip bulb was sold for prices higher than the cost of a house. Historians dubbed this period “Tulipomania.”

In line with the influence of this period’s name, the TULIPOMANIA exhibition narrates the journey of the tulip from its origins in the windy steppes of Central Asia to the lush imperial gardens of Istanbul, depicting the extraordinary passions it stirred as Europe’s most admired and beautiful flower, influencing contemporary art. Coordinated by the Istanbul Tulip Foundation (ILAV) and curated by Ali Bakova, the exhibition blends modern approaches such as AI Art, CodeArt, video installations and space-specific VR (Virtual Reality) with traditional art approaches.

The TULIPOMANIA exhibition, featuring selections from the Tulip Museum, showcases two hundred works by fifty-five artists and designers, including Muammer Yanmaz, Genco Gülan, Tijen Samuray, Can Akerson, Chiara de Rocchi, Sıla Şehrazat Yücel, Leyla Taranto, Gürkan Yücel and others. The exhibition will run from April 1 to April 14 at the Istanbul Tulip Foundation.

Ali Bakova, a graduate of the Middle East Technical University’s Department of Industrial Product Design, aims to draw attention to our country’s enduring original contributions to increasing global trends in hyper-minimalist, functional, and versatile design. His designs incorporate the traditions and functionality of our geography, along with their origins, into contemporary life.

Bakova, who has curated the Istanbul Design Week and served on the “True-Treu” team for the Venice Design Biennale’s “Synesthesia” exhibition, as well as curated the ‘Maker Culture’ at Maslak and ‘RED:100’ exhibition at 42 Maslak, has showcased his designs in various local and international group exhibitions. His works have been exhibited and sold in New York and Tokyo at the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art), Marta Herford Museum in Berlin, the Museum der Dinge and Bröhan Museum, among others. He was the sole designer invited from Turkey to the Jameel Prize in London and featured in the Asia Design Encyclopedia with his work titled “Crazy Moustapha.”