ISTANBUL.- The Buchmann Galerie announced the installation of Bettina Pousttchi's sculpture "Vertical Highways V02" in front of Istanbul Modern. The sculpture, made from transformed guardrails, has now entered the museum collection. Using overlooked elements of urban infrastructure such as highway guardrails, barricades, street poles, and bollards in her practice, the artist has created a 5,9-meter-tall sculpture whose dynamic form evokes the energy of Istanbul.

The work takes its title from a series initiated with Pousttchi’s 2019 exhibition at the Berlinische Galerie. It was later created specifically for the "Unlimited" platform at Art Basel in 2024, curated by Giovanni Carmine, which brought together monumental installations, large-scale sculptures, and expansive video-photography works. A similar sculpture of the same color and scale has been on view since 2023 in front of Berlin Central Station (Hauptbahnhof), for which it was specially commissioned.

In "Vertical Highways V02," Pousttchi bends and reshapes highway guardrails, transforming them into a vivid red, fluid form. Through techniques such as bending and pressing, she detaches everyday objects from their utilitarian functions, loading them with new meanings while dissolving boundaries between speed and stillness, movement and space, the public and the private.

Istanbul as a historical center of cultural dialogue

Expressing her excitement about having “Vertical Highways V02” included in the Istanbul Museum of Modern Art Collection and displayed on the museum’s façade, Pousttchi stated: “The new building of Istanbul Modern and its location on the Bosphorus offer a striking context that amplifies the fluid form of my sculpture. Istanbul is a historical center of cultural dialogue and at the same time an extremely dynamic city. This is also a theme at the core of my artistic approach.”

Art in public space means forging new connections with the city

Çelenk Bafra, Artistic Director of Istanbul Modern, emphasized that exhibiting art in public space means forging new connections with the city and its surroundings: “For a woman artist from countries such as Iran and Germany—both of which share cultural ties with Türkiye—to present a sculpture in Istanbul that directly engages with the concept of the metropolis reinforces the museum’s relationship with the city. While creating a visual and conceptual dialogue with Istanbul Modern’s new building, the work also reflects the city’s complex, fluid, and dynamic structure through intertwined vertical spirals.”