The Armory Show 2026
Dirimart is pleased to present Santosha, Çiğdem Aky’s first solo presentation in the United States, at The Armory Show 2026. Bringing together paintings from her latest series alongside a curated selection of earlier works, the presentation marks a significant new chapter in the artist’s practice, tracing her evolution from formally structured compositions towards a more intuitive and expansive approach to painting.
Aky’s distinctive visual language is rooted in an intuitive engagement with colour and its
transformation on the canvas. Working directly onto the surface without preparatory drawing, she builds luminous chromatic fields through successive layers of rhythmic brushstrokes. Balancing geometric precision with gestural immediacy, her paintings unfold through the interplay of structure, depth and tone, allowing colour to operate not simply as a descriptive element but as an autonomous force that shapes space, atmosphere and perception.
The works in Santosha represent a decisive shift within this practice. While earlier paintings were often organised around clearly defined architectural frameworks and the fixed geometry of the rectangular canvas, the new series embraces a greater sense of openness and fluidity. Forms loosen, compositions become increasingly responsive to the act of painting itself, and the works begin to determine their own internal logic. Rather than pursuing a predetermined image, Aky allows each painting to emerge through an intuitive dialogue between intention and instinct, resulting in compositions distinguished by stillness, luminosity and an extraordinary sense of equilibrium.
The title, Santosha, refers to the Sanskrit concept of contentment, and one of the niyamas in yogic philosophy, which describes the cultivation of inner balance through acceptance of the present moment. Developed in parallel with the artist’s own process of personal transformation, the series embodies this philosophy. Painting becomes a practice of attentiveness, where colour is liberated from fixed aesthetic expectations and allowed to exist with greater independence, clarity and presence.
Presented alongside a selection of earlier works, Santosha reveals both continuity and
transformation. The layered brushwork, luminous chromatic relationships and carefully calibrated spatial structures that have become hallmarks of Aky’s practice remain unmistakably present, while the new paintings introduce a heightened sense of openness, confidence and emotional resonance. Together, the works demonstrate an artist refining an already distinctive visual language into one of increasing freedom, establishing Çiğdem Aky as a singular voice in contemporary abstract painting.
Çiğdem Aky’s solo presentation will be on view at Dirimart’s booth, 439, at the Armory Show 2026.
