Q&A
::: Why did you become an artist? How have you found your style?
Growing up in Istanbul has informed everything that I do in life, including how I paint. I was raised in Kuzguncuk, a small Bosphorus village which was home to painters, sculptors and poets. Even walking to and from school, I’d glance at sculptors at work or galleries curating new shows. My childhood dream was to be a carpenter or sculptor. A ceramicist used to live in a house with a courtyard which to this day is my dream of a studio.
I paint in a figurative style, infused with decorative elements of the Middle East. Motifs of table cloths, lemon trees, or books appear and reappear in my canvases, along with women. I find inspiration in Iznik tiles, Turkish carpets, the 2-dimensional depiction of figures in old miniature books from the Ottoman era, and the beautiful light & the lemon trees of the Mediterranean.
My method has evolved over time. In the past, I used to paint in layers and used to create a third dimension on canvas using objects found around me. Texture was important to me. As I grew into my own voice as a painter, I now spend more time on the palette and less time on the surface of the canvas, and create texture using only the techniques of color and light.
::: Do you remember your first encounter with the arts?
Unfortunately I don’t. As I said earlier in the previous question, I grew up in Istanbul where you don’t need to go to a museum to see arts and architecture; it’s already all around you. In Kuzguncuk painters and sculptors had studios. We used to go to school on the weekends to be taught by famous painters. Mavitan was a teacher. For them, it was about community service. For us kids, it was fun. I remember how we had the art competition in the town- we were told to depict a location in our lovely town, and we hung our paintings on the various mom and pop shops- the pharmacy, the post office, the bakery, and everyone in the town voted. I painted a woman looking out to the sea, waiting the ferry. She had very short legs, and I did not win. I remember the winner very well: It was a painting of the barbershop in the corner. (I hope that person has also become an artist). Later when I discovered the identities of the painters who instructed us on those weekends, and realized that they were indeed quite accomplished artists, I appreciate my childhood all that more. But I can’t remember when I first encountered the arts.
::: How were your first years as a painter?
I started painting at 21. Before then, I did drawing. For some reason, I thought drawing came first. Now I realize that it doesn’t have to be the case. I also did ceramics and small sculptures, which I think gave me some idea about form.
The beginning of painting was a bit timid, but I liked to distort the shapes. I used a lot of colors. At least I wasn’t scared to use color.
I also liked to repaint my canvases. I had a lot of fun, because I could see things differently. If I decided to cover up a canvas that had tea glasses, I would turn the canvas upside down and if I saw a big nose, the tea glass in the previous painting would become a nose for the next painting. I absolutely loved this aspect of painting, and I still do. I guess what I can say about my painting is that I experiment a lot with shapes and colors.
::: What artists have influenced you, and how?
I really like Cezanne, and I like Matisse, because they feel very warm to me, as if I know them. Of course Matisse’s decorative elements feel very close.
::: Your day job is quite far from painting: You are an economist and teach at a business school. How do you live in both worlds?
I always loved economics starting from the first class I took. Economics is a social science where you’d look for a policy solution to world’s problems. Of course, it’s more mathematical and art is absolutely boundless. But both involve the same mixture of creativity and hard work. I am also lucky enough to always teach at top schools, with good students. I am able to specialize in the intersection of art and economics so that Art Markets became one of my specialties, where we explore a range of subjects: How museums can sustainably raise funds; how economic systems influence artists; the labor market in the arts, the market for forgeries, copyright and other legal issues in the art world, and lately the nfts- what’s a bubble and what’s not.
::: Could you talk about your latest series of paintings and what you are trying to achieve with them?
I have an evolving collection of the camaraderie of women. I typically depict a few women sitting together or reading, under a lemon tree. They live in a colorful world but yearn for simplicity in their being.
::: How do you keep going when things get tough in the studio?
I don’t have time for painter’s block because I have three children. I’m usually a bit envious of those who talk about blocks or having looked out the window all day (how lucky to have the time!). So I don’t really wait for the muse.
The biggest difficulty for me, and I guess this would be true for other artists as well, is that my talent is so much behind my vision. I try to get close to the images in my mind, and more often than not, the two are not even close.
::: What advice would you give to an artist just starting out?
I read somewhere that the only thing you need to be an artist is courage. It’s not talent, or even hard work. Just the courage to be doing something. I completely agree with it. Some of the work that I’ve painted or even exhibited in the last almost 20 years would embarrass me today. But without their audacity, there is no evolution. So I’d advise artists to (as my art teacher used to say) “Just put the paint on the canvas.” The rest takes care of itself. If something goes wrong, you’ll scrape the paint off with the palette knife, or you’ll cover it once it’s dry.
Do not edit yourself, or be timid or cautious about the way you use color or shapes. Do not think about theories, or what you are trying to achieve. No one has to like it, no one has to even see it.
Shows in galleries &public spaces (national, international) & fairs (local)
2023
Studio Exhibit, Bryn Mawr, PA
2019
Wayne Art Center, PA
2018
La Visione Art Gallery, Istanbul
New York Art Expo, SOLO Pavilion
2013
Boston University Thurman Center, MA.
Berkshires Art Festival. Berkshires, MA.
2012
Wellesley Free Library, Wakelin Room, Wellesley, MA
2011
Paradise City Arts Festival, Marlborough, MA.
Paradise City Arts Festival, Northampton, MA.
Besiktas City Hall, Istanbul.
2010
Cape Cod Arts Festival. Hyannis, MA.
New York International Art Expo. New York City.
2009
Paradise City Arts Festival, Northampton, MA
2008
Lewiston Art Festival, Lewiston, NY
Art for Autism, Pittsburgh, PA
New York Art Expo, SOLO Pavilion, New York City, NY
2007
New York Art Expo, SOLO Pavilion, New York City, NY
2006
Bella Arte Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA
Lance Armstrong Foundation Fundraising Gala, Austin, Texas (group exhibit)
2005
Palmer House Hilton, Chicago, IL
Gallery Gora, Montreal, Canada
1998
Gallery Bahariye, Istanbul, Turkey (group exhibit)
Also exhibited at:
Benjamin Arts Gallery, Hagerstown, Maryland
Artpic, Los Angeles, California
Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Chez-Zee Gallery, Austin, Texas
Vermont Book Shop, Middlebury, VT
Lance Armstrong Foundation (Livestrong) fundraising gala, Austin, TX.
Prints Gallery: Urban Station, Istanbul