By Nilay Kar Onum
ISTANBUL (AA) - A selection of photos taken by legendary Turkish-Armenian photographer Ara Guler, who passed away last October, will be on display in the Iranian capital of Tehran.
The exhibition “Memoir of Lost History” featuring over 160 photographs that Guler took during his 60 years of lifetime work, will open on Friday at the Nabshi Center, one of the leading art hubs in the city, according to a statement by the event organizer.
Curated by Patrice Vallette, the exhibit will be held as part of an international exhibition project “Ara Guler Universal” launched at Guler’s wish on February 2016.
In the event, Guler’s videos shot at his cafe “Ara” on Istanbul’s teeming Istiklal Street as well as his exclusive interviews and videos narrating his life will be showcased, Visioncy, a Malaysia-based cultural agency, said in the statement.
Letters sent to Guler and a copy of picture drawn by Picasso for him as well as his special artifacts such as cameras and medals will also be exhibited.
Visitors can also have an opportunity to watch a documentary film, directed by the Turkish photographer and producer Coskun Aral, on the exclusive biopic of Guler.
The exhibition will run through March 15.
Guler associated with Visioncy in February, 2016, giving the agency access to his personal archive.
Dubbed "Eye of Istanbul", Guler rose to fame with his black-and-white portraits of the city.
He did photo interviews with many well-known figures such as British politician Winston Churchill, British philosopher Bertrand Russell, ex-Indian premier Indira Gandhi, Spanish painters Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso, and U.K.-born film director Alfred Hitchcock.
Turkey’s Photographer of the Century in 1999, France’s Légion d’Honneur, the Lifetime Achievement Lucie Award in 2009, and the Nuremberg Honorary Award in 2017 were among the awards and prizes that he received.
Guler was 90 when he died of kidney failure in Istanbul last October.