Masterpiece Story: The Tortoise Trainer by Osman Hamdi Bey
Osman Hamdi Bey’s The Tortoise Trainer shows an elderly man patiently working with a group of turtles. Drawing on his time in Paris and his...
Guest Author 13 October 2025
#turkey
Beyond Form: The Visionary Works of Ayşe Erkmen
Berlin-based Turkish visual artist Ayşe Erkmen was awarded the Ernst Franz Vogelmann Prize for Sculpture in 2020. As the first woman artist to...
Merve Parla 30 September 2025
Portraying the Unseen: An Introduction to Maryam Şahinyan
Maryam Şahinyan (1911-1996) was a commercial photographer of Armenian descent who worked for half a century, from 1935 to 1985. Born into a...
Iolanda Munck 15 July 2025
Rococo and Baroque Architecture in Turkey
Representing splendor, opulence, and brilliance, Rococo art prevailed in Europe from the year 1700. It followed the Baroque period in art, which...
Merve Parla 15 July 2025
İbrahim Çallı: Impressionism in Turkish Painting
Impressionist İbrahim Çallı’s paintings portrayed the society in which he lived in a very raw sense. Born in Turkey, educated in France, and...
Merve Parla 15 July 2025
Osman Hamdi: The First and Last Ottoman Orientalist
The first and last Orientalist painter of the Ottoman Empire is Osman Hamdi Bey. Born in modern-day Turkey, educated in Paris, and highly regarded as...
Irina Diana Calu 15 July 2025
A Unique Artist Encounter: When Ara Güler Met Pablo Picasso
Whether photography is purely art or a branch of journalism can be a subject of discussion. For photographer Ara Güler, the artistic quality of his...
Merve Parla 15 July 2025
The Magic and Splendor of Karagöz – Turkish Shadow Puppets
Evoking the imagination of adults and children for centuries, Karagöz (“black eye” in Turkish) is a popular and beloved Turkish shadow puppet...
Marga Patterson 6 January 2025
The Fascinating Ceramic Tile Art of the Anatolian Seljuks
The ceramic tile art of the Anatolian Seljuks dazzled with its mystical turquoise hues, fantastical creatures, and figural depictions. So, who were...
Marga Patterson 23 December 2024
Fashion as Manifesto: Uniforms Designed for Imaginary Space Station
Using art to manifest one’s feelings and ideas has always been common among artists and designers. Fashion designer Dilara Fındıkoğlu (commonly...
Merve Parla 14 March 2024
An Intellectual Talk on Art, Illustration, and Mythology: Interview with Bartu Bölükbaşı
Bartu Bölükbaşı is an illustrator and graphic novel artist from Eskişehir, Turkey. With his great talent and specialization in mythology, the...
Merve Parla 22 November 2021
Exploring the Boundaries of Creativity: Turning Data into Art
Born and raised in Istanbul, Turkey, and now based in Los Angeles, California, media artist Refik Anadol turns data into pieces of art by using data...
Merve Parla 20 September 2020
