Sixty years are hard to put into words. Sixty works are easier.
Since 1966, Edition Block has stood for a practice in which editions were never mere reproductions, but rather autonomous artistic creations. What emerges here is not a “second-rate” work of art, but a different one, at times more defiant.
The early years coincide with a moment when the very notion of the artwork begins to shift. Fluxus, Conceptual Art, and politically motivated works seek forms that can be disseminated, that circulate, provoke, and have an impact beyond the art world. In this context, the edition becomes the ideal medium, not as a compromise, but as a strategy to make art accessible to a wider audience.
This approach continues to shape the work and commitment of Edition Block to this day. The edition is not a closed chapter, but an active player. Accordingly, the anniversary exhibition brings together alongside now-historic works by Joseph Beuys, KP Brehmer, K.H. Hödicke, Sigmar Polke, Gerhard Richter, Wolf Vostell (among others), also recent productions by Ayşe Erkmen, Mona Hatoum, Ceal Floyer, Alicja Kwade, Rosa Barba, Mariana Vassileva, and Mehtap Baydu (among others).
Over the decades, a wide range of formal and material expressions has emerged: prints, objects, artist’s books, records, and everything in between.
Sixty works, then, less a gesture of celebration than a state of work. After all, the question of what constitutes a work of art, how it circulates, and whom it reaches remains unresolved.
Fortunately.

Since 2021, Nasan Tur has dedicated his ongoing series Locked Up to people who have been imprisoned because of their political and civic engagement. Their portraits appear behind windows in public spaces, bringing visibility to those who are excluded from social life due to their incarceration. In this way, remembrance becomes a form of resistance, keeping the subjects present even where their voices are silenced and they are being pushed out of the public sphere.

For KIF, Nasan Tur is creating a new work from the Locked Up series that focuses on Ekrem İmamoğlu, the mayor of Istanbul who was re-elected in 2024 and one of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s most significant political opponents. İmamoğlu was arrested in March 2025 along with numerous other individuals from his political circle and has been in custody ever since. His arrest took place just a few days before his nomination as the presidential candidate of the opposition party CHP and sparked nationwide protests. The case against him has been criticized internationally as a politically motivated action against the Turkish opposition.

In his artistic practice, Nasan Tur explores political and social power dynamics and how they shape individual action. A recurring central theme is the question of what possibilities for personal agency and self-determination exist under these conditions.

Nasan Tur (born 1974 in Offenbach am Main) lives and works in Berlin and is a professor at the Braunschweig University of Art. His work has been shown internationally, including at documenta 14, the Istanbul Biennial and the Taipei Biennial, as well as at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin and MAXXI in Rome. In 2023, the Berlinische Galerie presented his solo exhibition Hunted. His work Elevation is currently on view as part of Manifesta 16 Ruhr at St. Gertrud Church in Essen through October 4, 2026.