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We
received a warm welcome in Italy from Franco and his wife. They
had spared no labor in making preparations for our arrival in their
small home situated in a charming village near Trevise. Franco went
to work immediately looking for a gallery that would exhibit my
work in the larger cities of the province. We went gallery hunting
several times in Venice, Verona and
Padua. On the way, I was able to study first hand the works of Giotto,
Donatello and Titian. I feel in love with Italy and Italians.
About two months later, my wife became restless
and decided it was time to move on to Germany were numerous relatives
had emigrated to Gladbeck, not far from Cologne and Essen. She had
become very frail emotionally, she was six-months pregnant, I did
not oppose her desires.
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Italy
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We left by train early one
rainy morning and arrived late in the afternoon and were met by her
family. Three weeks into an uneventful stay, Sevim felt bad and had
to be taken to the emergency room of the Santa Barbara hospital. The
doctors found that she suffered from a heart problem. She urgently
needed a Pacemaker. The cardiac stimulator was absolutely imperative
to her being able to give birth to our child. It cost a fortune and
we had neither the medical insurance to cover the costs nor the visas
to remain in the country for long enough to have the devise implanted.
In the end, all that was left to do was to pray. On
the 31st of March, 1979 at 11:45 p.m. our daughter, Dilek
KORKMAZ , was born healthy and happy.
The mother came through labor just
fine even without the Pacemaker, although both mother and child had
to spend a month in the hospital. I made many acquaintances amongst
the Turkish artists of the region where I drew constantly.
(Gallery II) I attended the Düsseldorf
Fine Arts Academy. Professors I met advised me to go to Vienna
and meet professor Rudolf Hausner.
At the Galerie an der Dussel, I was able
to see a few of this Viennese artist's work. |
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