ARTIST BIO

AHMET YEŞİL (1954, Mersin) 

He lives and works in Mersin, Turkey. 

1973-1985       He studied painting with paintersNuri Abaç, İlhan Çevik ve Ernür Tüzün.

 2015-  Anadolu University Department of Sociology

In addition to private art collections in Turkey, he has paintings in important foreign collections mainly Germany, America, Canada, Netherlands, United Kingdom. Ahmet Yeşil, is a member of the Unicef International Association of Plastic Arts. So far he opened 105 personal exhibition, and joined 297 group and contest exhibitions.Received 24 awards in national and international contests.

ARTIST EXHIBITION RECORD  

SELECTED PERSONAL EXHIBITIONS (ABROAD)

2018.  Art Market, international contemporary art fair. Budapest

2018.  27.-15.K September-November,. penisula/galeri..7..CHINA/Peking.

2018. 19-23. September- Contemporary/İstanbul /Turkey

2018.19-22.. April..Art Expo.New York / USA

2017. 6- 28.September..Hayder Aliyev Cultere Center..Bakü/Azerbaycan

2016.. 8-12. Nov. international contemporary art fair kuo mu sheng.s.galeris Taipei/Taiwan

2016…29-15.Ekim.Tac mahalplace sergi salonu..Mumbai/ INDIA

2016   28.ekim.30.kasım.  Berlin / GERMANY

2016   1-17. Eylül gallery/art&soul.. Mumbai/ INDIA

2016    April, Taipei 101 Art Gallery, Taiwan

2016    1-15 February, Melina Culture Center, Athens / Greece

2014    Ludwig Galerie Schloss, Oberhausen / Germany

2013    Georgain National Museum, Tbilisi / Georgia

2012    Survivors Mostra d'arte Contemporanea a Firenze, Florence/Italy

2011    Visual Touches Exhibition, New York / USA

2011    Galerie Tuillier, Paris / France

2011    Earth Gallery, New Jersey / USA

2011    Florence Bienniale, Florence/Italy

2011    Miami Art Fair, Solo Exhibition, Miami / USA

2005    Gallery Hittite, Toronto / Canada

2005    Herrenhof Mussbach Art Gallery, Neustadt / Germany

2004    Lahey Hause of Art Gallery, Holland

2003    Amsterdam Hause of Art Gallery, Holland

2003    Monreal / Canada

ART WORKS IN MUSEUMS AND CORPORATE COLLECTIONS

Presidency of the Republic of Turkey

Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture

Republic of Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Republic of Turkey Ministry of Finance

Central Bank Republic of Turkey

Royal Collection Palace of the United Kingdom

Kushimoto Turkish Memorial and Museum Japan

D.Y.O. Education Foundation Museum

Ankara State Painting and Sculpture Museum

Municipality of Balıkesir Devrim Erbil Museum

Municipality of Körfez Museum

Eczacıbası Collection

Cumhuriyet Newspaper Museum

Uğur Mumcu Foundation

Hacettepe University Museum of Painting and Sculpture

Eskisehir University Museum of Contemporary Art

Tekel Collection

Akbank Collection

Vakıfbank Collection

Ziraat BankCollection

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS (ABROAD)

2015    Carrousel du Louvre Museum Salle le Nötre 99 rue S.N.B.A. Salon Paris / France

2015    29 October Republic Exhibition, Berlin/Germany

2015    24 July- 14 August, E. Arimany Art Gallery, Tarragon / Spain

2015    3 - 28 September, Mar Art Gallery, Barcelona / Spain

2015    8 - 28 October, Salduba Art Gallery, Zaragoza / Spain

2015    11 December 2015 - 7 January 2016, Terraferma Art Gallery, Lleida / Spain

2014    Carrousel du Louvre Museum Salle le Nötre 99 rue S.N.B.A. Salon Paris / France

2014    29 October, 90th Annivarsery… 90 Artists…, Berlin / Germany

2014    Kulture Inside Gallery, Luxembourg

2013    Carrousel du Louvre Museum Salle le Nötre 99 rue S.N.B.A. Salon Paris / France

2012    Rosso Opportunita, Survivors, Firenze/Italy

2012    Carrousel du Louvre Museum Salle le Nötre 99 rue S.N.B.A. Salon Paris / France

2011    Carrousel du Louvre Museum Salle le Nötre 99 rue S.N.B.A. Salon Paris / France

2011    Grand Palais Salon Exhibition, Paris/ France

2010    Gallery Daniel Besseiche, Paris/France

2010    Grand Palais Salon Exhibition, Paris / France

2009    VIth Euro-American Visual Arts Exhibition, Campeche / Meksika

2009    Zagreb / Serbia

2008    San Diego University Swap Exhibition, San Diego/ USA

2008    Carrousel du Louvre Museum Salle le Nötre 99 rue S.N.B.A. Salon Paris / France 2008       1-12 September, Plastic Arts International Festival, Monastir/Tunisia

2007    Carrousel du Louvre Museum Salle le Nötre 99 rue S.N.B.A. Salon Paris / France

2006    Marson de I’unescoColoir X-XL Place de Fontenoy, Paris / France

2006    Le centre Culturel Anatolie de Paris / France

BIENNIALS, EXHIBITIONS, SYMPOSIUMS AND WORKSHOPS

2015    Municipalityof Süleymenpaşa Picture Workshop, Tekirdag

2011    Portakal Çiçeği Art Colony, Sapanca/Sakarya

2011    Florence Biennale, Florence/Italy

2011    Miami Solo Expo International Art Center, Miami / USA

2009    VIth Euro-American Visual Arts Exhibition, Campeche / Meksika

2008    1-12 September, Plastic Arts International Festival, Monastir / Tunusia

2007    Contemporary Art and Life Gallery, Istanbul

2006    Ege University Art Fair, Izmir

2006    Bodrum ArtBiennale(Participating in the Crime), Bodrum

2006    Ankara University Art Symposium

2005    Tuyap Art Fair, Gallery Baraz, Istanbul

2005    Peace Society/Istanbul

2004    Arc-en-Ciel ParisArt Gallery, Tuyap Art Fair, Istanbul

2003    Arc-en-Ciel Paris Art Gallery, Tuyap Art Fair, Istanbul

2003    Ankara Art Fair, Nurol Art Gallery

2003    Arc-en-Ciel Paris Art Gallery, Tuyap Art Fair, Istanbul

2003    Istanbul Art Fair, Valör Art Gallery

2001    XIth Istanbul Art Fair, CEY Art Gallery, Istanbul

2001    3rd METU Art Festival, Ankara

1997    7th International Istanbul Art Fair, Istanbul

1996    6th International Istanbul Art Fair, Istanbul

AWARDS

2015    Adana Culture and Art, Painters Association Puduhepa Science and Art Honor Award/Adana

2014    "Choosing the Most for Mersin" Survey Result Best Painter Award/ Istanbul

2013    Vocational Service Award of the Year Ankara Gazi Rotary Club /Ankara

2013    Mersin 1st Cultural Activity of the City Service Award/Mersin

2012    International Association of Lions Club Melvin Jones Award

2011    The Louvre Museum, The Silver Medal in the Salon Exhibition Delegation Award, Carousel/Paris-France

2011    Mersin I.S.K. City Honor Award

2010    Best Picture of the Year - Ankara Arts Council Artist Award/Ankara

2009    The Louvre Museum, The Carousel Salon Exhibition Delegation Award/Paris-France

2004    3rd Mersin International Music Festival Arts Special Prize

1997    2ndMuseum of the Sea Command, 1st prize

1996    1stMuseum of the Sea Command,Third Prize

1995    Governorship of Kayseri Picture Contest Award

1993    26th D.Y.O. Picture Contest Grand Prize

1993    The Ministry of Culture 1st Cappadocia's Picture Contest Honorable Mention

1992    Adana Çimento Sanayi Painting Competition, Mention

1992    Tekel 6th Traditional Painting Competition 1st Prize

1992    Artist's View of Antalya, Painting Competition, Honorable Mention

1991    The Gulf's Picture Contest Honorable Mention

1990    T.P.A.O. Painting Competition 1st Mention

1989    Ordu Provincial Painting Competition 1st Mention

1985    Mersin International Painting-Sculpture-Ceramic Competition Honorable Mention

1983    Turgut Pura Contest Ministry of Culture Award

1982    Turgut Pura Contest,Izmir Painting And Sculpture Museum Award

SELECTED ARTIST BOOKS AND EXHIBITION CATALOGUES

Anonymous, Grand Palais Salon Exhibition Catalogue, Paris 2010

Celal Soycan, Tuvalde Oda Müziği, L. Ajans Yayınları, Ankara, 2015

Celal Soycan, Ahmet Yeşil Anlatmaktan Anlamaya-From Narration to Understanding, Mutlu Son Yayınları, Ankara 2006

Celal Soycan - Orçun Çadırcı, Ahmet Yeşil, Georgain National Museum Publication, 2013

Dilek Şener, Ahmet Yeşil, February 2007.

Mehmet Ergüven, Tarihsiz Günlükler Sergisi Kataloğu, Ekol Sanat Galerisi, Izmir, 2015

Mehmet Ergüven, Ahmet Yeşil, Bilim Sanat Yayınları, Istanbul2000

Mehmet Ergüven, Ahmet Yeşil, Bilim Sanat Yayınları, Istanbul1996

Orçun Çadırcı, Visual Touches, New York, 2011.

Türk Delegasyonu/Delagation De La Turquie, Societe Nationale des Beaux Arts (S.N.B.A), Ahmet Yeşil, Salon 2007 Uluslararası Güzel Sanatlar Sergisi Kataloğu, Merinos Mobilya A.Ş, Izmir 2007

SELECTED FEATURING PUBLICATIONS

Abdulkadir Günyaz, O Günlerden Bu Günlere, Anılar Eleştiriler, Antik Sanat Galerisi Yayınları, Istanbul 2000, p. 22-23

Abdülkadir Günyaz, Sanat Çevresi, Istanbul March 1995, Issue:197, p.10

Ahmet Kamil Gören, Destek Reasürans Koleksiyonu, Destek Reasürans Sanat Galerisi, Istanbul 1998, p.248-250

Ahmet Kamil Gören, 50.Yılında Akbank Resim Koleksiyonu, Akbank Kültür ve Sanat Kitapları, Istanbul 1998, p. 256

Ahmet Köksal, Sanat Çevresi, Istanbul March 1995, Issue: 197

Anonymous, Carrousel du Louvre Museum Salle le Nötre 99 rue S.N.B.A. Salon Sergisi Katalogları, Paris 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2008, 2007.

Anonymous, Çağdaş Türk Plastik Sanatlar Koleksiyonu, Bilim Sanat Yayınları, IstanbulOctober 2002, p. 86-87

Anonymous, T.C.Ziraat Bankası Koleksiyonu, T.C. Ziraat Bankası, Ankara 1992, p.1657

Anonymous, T. C Maliye Bakanlığı Sanat Eserleri Koleksiyonu/The Republic of Turkey Ministry of Finance Art Craft Collection, T.C. Maliye Bakanlığı, Ankara 1998 (Metinler: Mehmet Özel, Hasan Mutlu, Nail Tan), p.106-108

Anonymous, Tekel Resim Koleksiyonu, Tütün, Tütün Mamülleri, Tuz ve Alkol İşletmeleri Genel Müdürlüğü, İstanbul 2002, (Metinler: Kaya Özsezgin, Kıymet Giray, Ahmet Özel, Nilgün Yüksel), p.184

Anonymous, Atatürk’ün Doğumunun 125.Yıldönümü Nedeniyle Türkiye Resimleniyor, T.C. Kültür Bakanlığı Güzel Sanatlar Genel Müdürlüğü, Ankara 2006, (Yozgat)

Anonymous, Karma Resim Sergisi, International Art Center, Istanbul February 2010

Ahmet Köksal, Milliyet Sanat, Istanbul 1995, Issue:357, p.49

Atilla Atar, Anadolu Üniversitesi Çağdaş Sanatlar Müzesi Koleksiyonu-Anadolu University Museum of Contemporary Arts Collection, Anadolu Üniversitesi Yayınları, 2008, p.374-375, 461

Ayla Ersoy,500 Türk Sanatçısı, Altın Kitaplar Yayınevi, Istanbul 2004, p.490

Ayla Ersoy, 1950'den 2000'e Günümüz Türk Resim Sanatı Ansiklopedisi, Bilim Sanat Yayınları, Istanbul 1998, p.148

Ayla Ersoy, Sanat Çevresi, Istanbul March 1995, Issue:197, p.8-9

Ayşe Yetmen, Portreler Dergisi, Istanbul July 2006, p.66-70

Bülent Özer, Sanat Çevresi, Istanbul March 1995, Issue:197, p.19

Canan Ekici, Ahmet Yeşil'in Yaşamı ve Eserleri,Yüksek Lisans Tezi, Gazi Üniversitesi Resim İş Bölümü, Ankara 1997

Celal Soycan, Rh+Sanat, IstanbulJune 2006, p.42-44

Ekrem Kahraman, Sanat Çevresi, Istanbul March 1995, Issue:197, p.19

Engin Turgut, Anons Sanat, Istanbul 1995, Issue: 48, p.28

Erdogan Tanaltay, Tak Gözlerimi Gönlüne Nazar Boncuğun Olsun,Tekin Yayınları, Istanbul1999, p.55

Erdogan Tanaltay, Sanat Ustalarıyla Bir Yaşam, Tekin Yayınevi, Istanbul 1994, p.214-219

Erdogan Tanaltay, Isırgan Tarlasında Gelincik,Tekin Yayınevi, Istanbul1993, p.30-31

Erdogan Tanaltay, Sanat Çevresi, Istanbul March 1995, Issue:197, p.16-18

Güröl Sözen, Sanat Çevresi, Istanbul March 1995, Issue:197, p.12-13

Hafize Uncuoğlu, Yüzde 100 Resim Sergisi, International Art Center, 28 May-28 July 2010 Istanbul, p.28

Hüseyin Gezer, Sanat Çevresi, Istanbul March 1995, Issue:197, p.19

Kaya Özsezgin, Türk Plastik Sanatçıları Ansiklopedisi, Yapı Kredi Yayınları, 1st edition, Istanbul 1994, p.333

Kaya Özsezgin, Türk Plastik Sanatçıları Ansiklopedik Sözlük, (Genişletilmiş 2.bs.), Yapı Kredi Yayınları, Istanbul 1999, p. 490-491

Kaya Özsezgin, Türk Plastik Sanatçıları Ansiklopedisi, Yapı Kredi Yayınları, 3rd edition, Istanbul 1999, p.333

Kaya Özsezgin, Dyo Resim Yarışmalarının Katkısı ile Türk Resim Sanatında 30 Yıl, Dyo-Yaşar Eğitim ve Kültür Vakfı Yayını, Ankara 1997, p.162

Kaya Özsezgin, Cumhuriyet Gazetesi, 22 August 2006

Kaya Özsezgin, Sanat Çevresi, Istanbul March 1995, Issue:197, p.19

Kaya Özsezgin, Türkiye'de Sanat, Istanbul 1996, Issue:22, p.66

Kaya Özsezgin, Milliyet Sanat, Istanbul 15.12.1998, p.45

Kaya Özsezgin, Milliyet Sanat, Istanbul, 01.01.1998, p.41

Kaya Özsezgin, Milliyet Sanat, Istanbul 1990, Issue:235, p.52

Kaya Özsezgin, Milliyet Sanat, Istanbul 01.12.1997, p.49

Kıymet Giray, Ziraat Bankası Koleksiyonu, Cilt: 1-4, T.C. Ziraat Bankası A.Ş., Istanbul 2009, C.2, p.422-429

Mehmet Ergüven, Görmece, Metis Yayınları, Istanbul, 1st Publication: October 1998, 2nd Publication: October 2007

Mehmet Ergüven, Sırdaş Görüntüler, Agora Kitaplığı, Istanbul 2007

Mehmet Ergüven, Genç Sanat, Istanbul September 1996, p.20-22

Mehmet Ergüven, Genç Sanat, Istanbul January 1998, p.34-35

Mümtaz Sağlam, Türkiye Cumhuriyet Merkez Bankası Sanat Koleksiyonu 1-Batılı Anlamda Türk Resim Sanatının Gelişme Aşamaları ve Koleksiyondan Örnekler, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Merkez Bankası, (1.bs.), Ankara November 2004, p.282

Mümtaz Sağlam, Hürriyet Gösteri, Istanbul 1996, Issue:191, p.74-75

Necdet Şen, Sanat Çevresi, Istanbul March 1995, Issue:197, p.19

Nermin Ergenekon Müldür, Mersin Dedikleri, Mersin2002

Nevit Kodallı Gılgameş,M.D.O.B. Programı, p.48

Nuran Turan, Atatürk ve Serdar Yalova'da, Mavi Bulut Yayınevi, Istanbul1997

Ömer Faruk Şerifoğlu, Cumhurbaşkanlığı Sanat Koleksiyonu (Resim, Modern Sanat, Hat) 1-3. Cilt, Cumhurbaşkanlığı Yayınları, Istanbul 2014, p.200-203

Önder Şanyapılı, Halkbank Koleksiyonu Kitabı, Halk Bankası Kültür Sanat Yayınları, Ankara 2000, p.428-429

Önder Şenyapılı, Benim Sanatçılarım 2, Sanat Yapım Yayıncılık, Ankara 1998, p.288-294

Önder Şenyapılı, Görsel Sanatlar ve İletişim, Sanat Yapım Yayınevi, Ankara 1996, p.30-32

Önder Şenyapılı, Sanat Çevresi, Istanbul December 1995, p.30-33

Sezer Tansuğ, Sanat Çevresi, Istanbul March 1995, Issue: 197, p.6-7

Suna Tanaltay, İskambil Evler, Tekin Yayınevi, Istanbul 1998, p.189-190

Suna Tanaltay, Sonsuzu Paylaşanlar, Tekin Yayınevi, Istanbul 1998, p.119

Suna Tanaltay, Ben Sevgiyim, Tekin Yayınevi, Istanbul 1997, p.146

Suna Tanaltay, Yaşam Nehri, Tekin Yayınevi, Istanbul 1995, p.123-125

Suna Tanaltay, Sanat Çevresi, Istanbul March 1995, Issue:197, p.14-15

Şefik Kahramankaptan, Resmi Geçit,İşbank Yayınları, Ankara 2001, p.241-244

Ümmühan Kazanç;Ahmet Yeşil Interview: Aklın ve Gözün Sonsuz İfade Gücüne Göndermeler, Antik Dekor, June-August Edition, Antik A.Ş. Kültür Yayınları, Istanbul 2009

Zeynep Yasa Yaman, Vakıfbank Sanat Defteri, Ankara 1997, p.194-1987

UNDERSTANDING AHMET YEŞİL

If we take the opening of his first painting exhibition in 1979 as a start, painter Ahmet Yeşil has been in the art scene for 37 years. His art is his life, and his life is his art. His workshop is his shrine. When outside his workshop, he visits important art events, museums and galleries, or attends the openings of group exhibitions at home and abroad. He’s opened 105 solo exhibitions, participated in 297 mixed and contest exhibitions, and received 24 awards. You may think “How did he manage to fit all these exhibitions in 37 years?”. The answers is pretty obvious to those who know him better. He doesn’t compromise on his principles, he’s disciplined and hard-working, and is constantly doing research when he’s off-project. He keeps the beat of culture, arts and political scene in Turkey as well as in the world. He draws patterns as well but his biggest pleasure is to read books in his extensive library of five or six thousand books. And, unlike many people, maximum three hours of sleep a day is enough for him.

Ahmet Yeşil doesn’t regard -isms or contemporary art movements as binding elements that limit his art to a certain category. Reflecting on and utilizing values that will enrich his art, he tries to form an individual way of expression. His brush strokes are one of a kind. Though he follows closely the fashion movements in the world and in Turkey, he clings to his own reality, developing his art as his brush portrays his longing, passions, excitement, emotions, ideas, pain and joy on the canvas. What needs to be emphasized is that he created an idiosyncratic visual language which can only be defined as “Ahmet Yeşil’s style”.

Let’s take a periodical look into Mr. Yeşil’s works. Not unlike many artists, his early period stands out with landscape paintings. During this period, the artist mostly produced paintings that could be defined as impressionistic. His second period, i.e. between 1980 and 1989, can be defined as the figure period, during which he approached women and children in a social and societal context.

It’d be right to define his third period (1990-1997) as the time when he really began to flourish like an artist. The image of rope - maybe because his mother was a tailor and he has a passion for the sea - began to attain an important place in his paintings. Laps and ropes started uniquely and freely appearing among ancient era statues, objects and archaeological images.

Strings and ropes became an essential part of his compositions during this period. In his fourth period as an artist, ropes and strings started taking up all the surface and content on the canvas. It starts changing, evolving. The period he uses ropes and strings can be divided into nine separate periods. In the first period, he included thematic symbols and figures. In the second period, he started creating installations on canvas using images of ropes and strings in a narrative. My Flowers, one of his most important series, is from the third period. In the fourth period, he created unique compositions with trees and forests. His fifth period witnessed some unforgettable pieces, dominated by sea and wave images. In the sixth period, which he named Lights and Shadows, we see the influences of minimalism, dominated by the language of image and plastic he created with only ropes and strings, instead of themes and symbols. These were compositions created by the illusion of light. The seventh period is known for the series Bul(uç)ma, the eighth period with Undated Diaries, in which he created a relief-like effect in further minimalized compositions.

His recent works are detached from any thematic narrative; fully minimalistic works created by plastic and artistic power become semiotic and open pieces. For those who still see ropes and strings in on his canvas, we can say this: In a dictionary, strings and ropes are objects that are associated with bindingness. However, on Ahmet Yeşil’s canvas, these objects are stripped off of their “binding” qualities and turn into tools that offer brand new interpretations in paintings, are images of the artist’s plastic language, and of expression. It’s not the ropes or strings that pull the onlookers into the world of art; it’s the poetic and individualistic compositions of blue, green, purple or red on canvas. Sometimes under the sea or above the waves, sometimes in a desolate forest or in a blue pregnant with shades of green. And this is what the artist wants - to create a deep dialogue between the onlooker and the pictorial image.

Ahmet Yeşil’s essay Yaratı Eşiğinde Halat Üzerine Notlar (Notes on a Rope on the Verge of Creation) is a manifesto of ropes and strings. He expresses himself as follows: Turning into an artistic object through the rope’s identity as an object, the string’s rhythm creates a cosmos together with the rhythm of lice. As this cosmos turns into a plastic language, it adds a unique identity to my art as well. Each moment and emotion in life is an homage to the relationship between the rope’s rhythm and the rhythm of life, shaped by the artist’s intuition and vision. The colors and lights on rhythmic curls of the rope are the reflection of our values. I try to use the objective identity of the rope to express every aspect of life - social, societal, political, economic, ecological and personal -by turning it into the ultimate work of art with plastic and aesthetic values.

The rope and string, through which I adopted the language of the plastic, have stripped off of their objective definition and took over their own narrative. Each phenomenon in my paintings have a signified in my life. After all, a language for which you cannot form a base is not your language at all. After creating your own plastic language in time, you start a search for technique through which you’ll express yourself. The moment you stop, you invade your own footprints. I haven’t had the luxury to put the time on hold to watch or observe the language of painting. The accumulation of your experiences is just an experiment to start anew. I don’t deny any of my experimentations and am open to the renewal forced upon me by plastic. The will for searching, awareness and reckoning form its own plastic renewal. In my recent works, the rope created its own transformation and power in plastic and image, without having to worry about anything but the painting itself. It’s plainer, more minimalistic. This is also an effort the solve the tension I have between me and life, painting and myself.

The reflection of the relationship, tension and effort to solve problems between painting and life on canvas, as Ahmet Yeşil mentions in his manifesto, doesn’t create a distance between the society and his art. His art is close to and relatable for everyone. This relationship is far more obvious in his essay, Görsel Dokunuşlar (Visual Touches):

The human condition to constantly face life’s realities is reflected as a confrontation between image and its values of meaning. This is a meeting between images/reflections in every aspect of life and what belongs to us.

Finding, meeting, union and exploration is to face one’s own reality. It is to meet the pure and unique reality of emotions and phenomenon. The aesthetic/plastic values created by art also forms an atmosphere that reflects on the world. It’s inevitable not to pass through these reflections, even for people who are focused on daily life and not interested in those, because way of seeing is the visual touch of the mind that perceives life, rather than merely looking at things. Regardless of your wish to do so, it catches them, absorbs them and pushes you towards a common perception with someone unexpected.

The visual provokes, covers and finds itself a place in the sensitivity of the aesthetic perception.

The perfect harmony of rhythm, balance, lyricism, lighting, shadow and bright colors (as if they’re meeting for the first time) in Ahmet Yeşil’s paintings enable onlookers from various cultures to immediately interact with the image. That’s why his pieces have been included in many personal and public collections in many countries, such as Turkey, Germany, the US, Canada, the Netherlands and the UK. The essay Tuvalde Oda Müziği (Chamber Music on Canvas, 2015) written by Celal Soycan for Ahmet Yeşil’s catalogue emphasizes the fact that the artist has adopted a plastic language that has been approved nationally and internationally. [...] Though one may think it hard to find a figural equivalent in the outside world, no onlooker who looks at these paintings feels any kind of anxiety. He feels open to people of all ages/culture/nationality because these paintings are artistic objections to the concept of mankind detached from nature in a socio-cultural way, i.e., Cartesian binary of Nature/Culture. these paintings promise mankind nature, one’s human nature. It discovers the power hidden in man’s true nature and revives it back to life. The familiarity with the cosmogonical atmosphere on canvas and large-scale paintings is a reflex of this naturality.

For this, the painting is purified of figures and voice-over; it’s plain and sterile. It’s a silent cry that belongs to humanity’s withdrawn joy for existence, nature, inside and outside, dark and light, and birth and death. [...] It’s enough to spend some time in front of his paintings that lure you in with their ordinary naturalness in order to understand, sense and feel Ahmet Yeşil’s art, extra-ordinary plastic language and visual feat. You’ll understand the paintings, and they’ll understand you in return.

ÜMMÜHAN KAZANÇ

Art Editor

Max Fujishima is fascinated by motion — a breeze skimming the top of a field or waves surging through an ocean. Clouds forming and dispersing overhead as shadows afoot change hour by hour, affected by both sun and moon. Time is motion — it cannot be stopped — and we are all a part of it. We must endure moments in time that are difficult and challenging, knowing that another moment will follow and it will bring relief and encouragement.

These are the moments that Max searches for in his work. His connection with time is his entry point to the universe. Max's creative workplace is anywhere in the world that he finds himself. He feels the moment. By capturing its beauty and motion with the release of his shutter, he is able to share the moment with others. The spectrum of his photographs will evoke all of one's emotions. Max graduated Tokyo National University of Fine Arts in 1970. After his graduation, he worked in the advertising division of a fashion company. In 1973, he came to New York and worked at Dentsu America, focusing on Canon Camera, as Creative Director. At same time he started working on photography. Now he actively concentrates on his photography throughout the world. 

ARTIST STATEMENT:

ALCHEMY

BODY POSITIVE IMAGING FOR THE SOCIAL MEDIA AGE

PROJECT SUMMARY

The Alchemy series is an ongoing collaboration between photographer Michel Leroy and a wide range of professional athletes with varying body types that explores the tension between physicality and identity. The images are simple in form, but rich in ideas and emotions. Each moment captured is a celebration of athletic confidence and vitality at its most pure. Moments of sculptural balance, anticipation and strength define the graceful lines and organic gestures of these vivid Black and White images.

In this figurative series the artist creates body-positive images that are exaggerated and explicit without sexual objectification. By emphasizing form over identity, Leroy seduces the viewer to reveal empathy for body acceptance that transcends the self-image obsession of social media.

There is clear evidence linking social media use to body image concerns, excessive dieting, body shaming and a desire for a "thin ideal" that impacts personal body confidence. While tens of millions of followers recognize that all online imaging is touched-up and slimmed-down to maximize the prettier and thinner aesthetic no one can escape feeling worried their body doesn't measure up against the sheer volume of perfectly curated media posts.

In the view of the artist it is vital to preserve what makes each of us unique and push back against imaging that reinforces the cycle of negative self-objectification where people view themselves as products for consumption. Therefore, Leroy is optimistic that by sharing photographs, videos and publishing stories from the Alchemy series viewers will be uplifted regarding their own self-image, challenge preconceptions about size and embrace a fresh perspective on the singular beauty of the human form.

CREATIVE PROCESS

The creative process is of great relevance and bears witness to the labor-intensive technique reminiscent of a Daguerreotype in the pixel age. The photographic style was developed over a year of experimentation with a mixture of analog and digital elements including camera, lens, lighting and post-production workflow to achieve the unrelenting clarity and unique dark metallic look. The images are also notable for the tactile permanence of flesh revealed through the in-camera technique that enhances textures and brings out details unseen by the casual glance.

The choice of dark bodies against a dark background focuses the viewer's attention on form and shape over the sexuality and eroticism of typical nude photography. The physical process of transmuting the skin metallic unites the constellation of skin tones to illuminate physical radiance and emphasize the physical similarity of bodies over ethnic diversity.

Intentional shadowing and the ambiguous mixture of masculine and feminine posing further blurs the lines between gender and identity challenging viewers to question their assumptions. The result of these creative decisions are images that are familiar at a glance but invite critical inspection and are open to more than one interpretation.

Bio:

Michel Leroy was born in America in 1971 and grew up in Montana. He lived in London and Florence before finding his way to New York City in 2000, where he established a reputation as an award winning entertainment and advertising photographer with a clear style that captures an authentic connection to real personalities from olympic athletes to celebrity chefs.

Leroy’s early self-directed portrait series “Rally Bikers”, a celebration of the diversity of biker culture in the American West, set the tone for a series of high profile photographic projects that define a style of unrelenting black and white portraits which reveal texture and detail beyond the casual glance.   

Alchemy, Leroy’s most defining project, began in 2016. This striking body-positive figurative series explores the tension between physicality and identity. The photographic style developed by the artist over a year of experimentation with a mixture of analog and digital elements produces arresting clarity and a unique dark metallic look.

In addition to his ongoing dedication to personal projects, Leroy continues to shoot advertising campaigns for leading agencies and brands, including: Adidas, Intel, L'Oréal, Travel Channel and The Food Network.

Leroy’s extensive awards and honors include The Eddied Adams Award for a Portrait Series, Graphis, Communication Arts, PDN, PX3, American Photography and the Sony World Photography Awards.

Leroy received a BFA in Photography with a minor in Communications from The University of Dayton in 1995 with a year abroad through Syracuse University S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.

ARTIST EXHIBITION RECORD

2018 Jamaica Center for the Arts, Group Exhibition, Curator Catherine Peila, Queens, NY

2018 The Creative Center Charity Auction, Curator Sasha Mallon, New York, NY

2018 Volition Gallery, Art of Subculture, Group Exhibition, Curator Sona Viola, Orangeurg, NY

2018  FotoSolo Pier 94: Alchemy - Balance and Anticipation, Solo Exhibition, New York, NY

2018 Southern Poverty Law Center Charity Auction, Curator Julie Grahame, New York, NY

2018 The Wall at BP, Alchemy, Solo Exhibition, Curator Michelle Stanek, New York, NY

2018 Santa Monica Art Studios, APA LA, Off the Clock Exhibition, Group Exhibition, Juror Laurie Kratochvil, Los Angeles, CA

2018 Saatchi & Saatchi LA, MOPLA (Month of Photography Los Angeles), Traveling Exhibition, Los Angeles, CA

2018 Old Print Gallery, APA NY, Proof Sheet Exhibition, Group Exhibition, Juror Bruce Byers, New York, NY

2015 Saxon Heart, Rally Bikers, Group Exhibition and Fundraiser Auction, Brooklyn, NY

2013 Nelson Fine Art, Rally Bikers, Group Exhibition, Saugerties NY

2011 Superfine, Rally Bikers, Spirit and Legacy, Solo Exhibition, Brooklyn, NY

ARTIST STATEMENT:

I am a fine art photographer specializing in light painting technique, with a primary focus on cars and portraits. I am based out of the Greater Boston Area. Though my focus is fine art photography, I love to draw and paint human faces whenever I find time.

As a photographer, I strongly believe that the crucial ingredient of a superior piece of art is a tasteful use of light. I take utmost care to meticulously use light in the best possible way to bring out the beauty of any subject, be it a person or a still life. My focus is to create a fine piece of art that is worth hanging in the living room, staring at it for hours and never get tired. If I portray my subject in the most elegant and a never-seen-before way, then I consider that as a success.

One unique method that gives me a greater control and artistic results is “light painting photography”. In this technique, the subject can be illuminated by moving the light source around each part of the subject that needs emphasis.  By repeating this process on various parts of the subject, I get all the puzzle pieces that would be composited using a post-processing software.  Once the puzzle is solved, the final piece of art shapes up. While the process could be quite laborious and time-consuming, the results are rewarding and artistically superior.

My light painting photography of cars and portraits has received recognition from around the globe in various international contests, salons and exhibitions conducted by esteemed organizations. My work has been published in magazines of larger audiences circulated across several countries.

Awards and Honors

Organization

Award, Location, Date

Art Expo New York 2018- Foto- Solo Award, New York City, in April 19-22, 2018

Tokyo Foto Awards- First Place- Tokyo, Japan 2018 -

Tokyo Foto Awards Gold, Tokyo, Japan, 2018

Moscow International Foto Awards (MIFA) -Gold Moscow, Russia, 2018

Sydney International Exhibition of Photography-Gold Sydney, Australia, 2017

Bristol Photographic Society- Gold Bristol, UK, 2018

Sydney International Exhibition of Photography-Silver Sydney, Australia, 2017

Paris Photography Prize PX3.FR- Bronze France, 2014

Paris Photography Prize PX3.FR-Bronze France, 2014

International Photography Awards (IPA Awards) Honorable Mention USA, 2017

Paris Photography Prize PX3.FR-Honorable Mention, France, 2017

Neutral Density Awards (ND Awards)-Honorable Mention, USA, 2017

Mono Awards Honorable Mention USA, 2017

Mono Awards Honorable Mention USA, 2017

Bristol Photographic Society Honorable Mention Bristol, UK, 2018

 Public Exhibition of Mr. Alamanda’s Photography :

Organization, Exhibited Counts, Location, Date

Art Expo New York 2018 under “Foto Solo” section 7, New York City, USA, April 19-22, 2018

Pennsylvania Center for Photography 2 Doylestown, PA, USA, Mar 16, 2018

Tokyo International Foto Awards TIFA (ICA Space Gallery)1 Tokyo, Japan, May 12-16, 2018

Sydney International Exhibition of Photography 4, Sydney, Australia, 2017

Bristol Photographic Society 5 Bristol, UK, 2018

Photographic Society of Madras International Salon 4 Chennai, India, 2014

Vancouver International Photography Festival 2 Vancouver,

Canada, 2017

11th Penang International Photo Salon 3 Penang, Malaysia, 2017

Northern Counties Photographic Federation UK 1 Tynemouth, Tyne & Wear, UK

North American International Exhibition 4 Sacramento, CA, 2017

Photographic circuit in western Liguria 3, Italy, 2017

124th Toronto International Salon of Photography 5 Vancouver, Canada, 2017

Publications (Written by Rajasekar Alamanda);

Journal article in May 2018 PSA titled “Light Painting: High Quality Car Photos on a Budget”

Article on automobile photography in Lens Magazine – Jan 01, 2018 Issue

Article in the book “Painting with Light” 2nd Edition – By Eric Curry

Article on photography in Fuji Love Magazine – April 14, 2016

Media Reports on Rajasekar Alamanda’s Photography;

Video interview on “light painting on cars” for WallStreetTV on light painting cars

Video interview for winning award in the Foto Solo category at the Art Expo New York 2018

Article in a newspaper, “Dinamalar” Dec 23, 2013(Online daily from India with over 100,000 viewers)

Article in a newspaper, “Dinamalar” Jun 26, 2015 (Online daily from India with over 100,000 viewers)

Article in a newspaper, “Dinamalar” Jan 24, 2018 (Online daily from India with over 100,000 viewers)

Photogrist online magazine - March 6, 2016

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

My strongest motivation for creating art is a desire to communicate with people. I need to visually express my ideas, feelings and emotions. It is exciting and dearly satisfying for me to transform my deep insight and feelings into an. object. For doing that I use variety of clay technique like hand-building, wheel-throwing and so on. I am interested in Conceptual Art and I prefer to install my ceramics art works with using different materials which are water, sand, wood, glass, stone, etc. and create my own atmosphere in the space to express my feelings. I am concerned with the visible rich and intense details of nature and the specific nuances, which are often overlooked or unnoticed when observing things in nature. Specifically, I rely on the seductiveness of the earth, sky, and water and form itself. Thin, frailness, curves, waves and soft movements are all important for my work because it shows my personality. Therefore, I mold clay into softly curving organic forms. Also people can find them on my work between interior and exterior, negative and positive relationships which you can see everywhere in the world. Negative and positive plane and volume seem to me to be the laws of life and beauty.

The imagery and the palette are derived from the natural world. Subtle, satin hues that mimic colors of the forest and the sea recreated with delicate glazes on the shaped stoneware and porcelain. Natural looking glaze is also very important on my work because it works to be a supplement of clay through my ideas as an expression of nature and human being. Much of my inspiration for my ideas comes from the clay itself, particularly porcelain. It is a pure translucent material, which is difficult to work with but sensuous and powerful. My work moves between both sensual and lyrical feelings for nature on the one hand, and a tragic awareness of the decline and fall of cultures on the other. People have moved so far away from nature. In my own way, I want to protest against the destruction of the environment and nuclear menace and call attention to the fact that people belong to nature.

SELECETED EXHIBITIONS

International Group Exhibition at the National Arts Club, NYC, USA in 2006  

International Group Exhibition at the Academy Mansion, NYC, USA in 2003

Participated group exhibition at the Nihonbashi Art Gallery ,Tokyo, Japan, in 1997               

Participated in the multi-media group exhibition at the Cetin Emec Gallery, Izmir, Turkey 1995

Participated in “Limits and Beyond” mix media group exhibition held by UNESCO International Association of Art, National Turkish Art Committee at the Tuyap Exhibition Center Istanbul, Turkey in 1995

Curated & Participated in group exhibition, mixed media Installation created by me about “PEACE & WAR, protesting Journalist Ugur Mumcu’s murdered 24 January 1993” Cetin Emec Gallery, Izmir, Turkey in 1995                         

Participated in group ceramics exhibition “From 70’s till today’s Turkish Ceramic Artists” held by National Ceramics Art Association at the Istanbul Destek Reasurans Gallery in Istanbul, Turkey in 1995

Participated in International “Fax Art” group exhibition at Heidelberg Castle in Heidelberg, Germany in 1994

Solo exhibition of Ceramic Sculpture Installation named “Nature” at the Santiye MD Gallery, Izmir, Turkey in 1994      

Participated group exhibition at the Painting and Sculpture Museum, Izmir, Turkey in 1993

Participated in the “Modern Turkish Ceramics” exhibition held by NCECA, International Academy of Ceramics Committee in the Painting and Sculpture Museum, Istanbul, Turkey in 1992

Participated group exhibition held for “Yunus Emre, Love Year” at the Painting and Sculpture Museum, Ankara, Turkey in 1991

Presented solo exhibition at 80 Washington Square East Galleries, NYU, West Village, NYC, in 1990                                                       

Participated group exhibition at Azuma Gallery in SoHo, NYC, USA in 1989                        

Participated group exhibition in New York University Gallery in SoHo, NYC, USA in 1988

ARTIST STATEMENT

For over 25 years, I have been shaping sheet metal, using it as the backbone for my previous work. Changing my set up in the studio to gain more space, I put the metal in a different area. As I entered the studio the next day, the metal forms were bathed in sunlight surrounded by light and shadows. My enthusiasm mounted ad I studied what had been put down haphazardly. It grabbed my attention so I left it there to see where it would take me. Much to my wonder and excitement the metal reliefs reveal further insights into working with the reversal of infinity. Exploring another process has resulted in a return to a limited palette of black, silver and white. Using dimensional drawings and dimensional photographs, I reshape line, space, texture and color. New work has always been inspired by my previous body of work. Inspiration for these metal works have their roots in photographs taken in my studio in 1982. This working process propels me to a different level of clarity that I find very exciting.

ARTIST BIO

Mann is a sculptor living and working in New York City. The metal reliefs are an exten-sion of her previous body of work in photo based reliefs.

She attended the Hartford Art School at the University of Hartford, Ct. Both solo and group exhibitions throughout the United States and abroad are part of her back-ground.

Her work has been written about by numerous art writers and critics from Arts Magazine, Newsday and The NewYork Times. She is represented in many public and private collections including the Westlicht Museum,. Vienna, Austria, The Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY, Heckscher Museum of Art, Huntington,NY, Islip Art Museum, Islip, NY, Hillwood Art Museum, Greenvale, NY, Polaroid Int’l Corp., Cambridge, Ma., Russ Togs Corporation, NY, etc.

Mann has been recognized by numerous grants and residencies. Having completed a residency at the Marie Walsh Sharpe Art Foundation in Brooklyn, N. Y., presently she is in the studio program at the Elizabeth Foundation of the Arts, in New York City.

ARTIST STATEMENT

The Artist’s work is introspective. When creating her roses, Koharu looks within to visualize the garden of flowers that exists in her heart. She becomes one with rose. Capturing the essence and fragrant aroma of her rose, she is able to translate both onto paper. Using monotype printmaking techniques, she creates unique, one of-a-kind, artwork. Her prints are associated with the Japanese “Sho” or calligraphy, a powerful art form inspired by spirit. The sense of “Ma” or room and Kukan” or space, which are unique to Japan, are integral to her work. In universe of Zen, she utilizes space to enhance a rose and it blossoms beautifully in the sensibility of the artist Koharu.

In 1970, Koharu graduated from Tokyo University of Art, and the graduate school. She then married and spent the next 25 years of her life as a mother. Just before she reached her 50’s, she came to New York and discovered New York was the place she could work as an artist. Now she reside in both New York and Tokyo, actively working on her art in both cities.

ARTIST EXHIBITION RECORD

 Koharu & Norit ”ROSE & FAKE”  Gallery Max New York, NYC 2018 

 Koharu "Koharu's Rose"  Gallery 21 Curators Associates, Grand Pacific Le Daiba Tokyo, Japan 2016

Koharu "Koharu's Rose"  Gallery 21 Curators Associates, Grand Pacific Le Daiba Tokyo, Japan 2014

Koharu  "Sanghai Panties" New Century Artists, Chelsea, NYC 2013 

Expo Koharu "Moving Paintings"- 2010 Shanghai International Science & Art Exhibition Recruitment Invitation,  Shanghai, China

Koharu  "Beyond South America"   Gallery mu-an, Nagaoka, Japan 2009 

Koharu  "Rose Artist in New York"  ISETAN, Shinjuku, Tokyo 2009

Koharu  "Rose Artist in New York"  ISETAN, Shinjuku, Tokyo 2007

Koharu & Max  "A moment in time becomes eternal" Nippon Club,  NewYork 2007

Koharu "Movement Type of a Traveling Exhibition" Peru, Machu Picchu, Rio de Janeiroand Bolivia, South America 2005

Koharu "Rose Garden "   Otani  Museum, Tokyo,  Japan  2004

Koharu &Terumi  "Blue+Blue Roses)"   Kyoto Honen-in Temple (Built in 1680) ,  Kyoto,  Japan 2002

Koharu "100 Roses Prints, A Hundred Million Roses Song" Keiko Jazz Show, Latvia 2001

Koharu "Roses" Solo Show, National Academy Design School of FineArts, New York 1999