Artists
OUR ARTISTS
Talented and dedicated, our artists bring to life the beauty of Traditional Turkish Arts. Through their craftsmanship, they honor Turkish heritage and create exquisite pieces that inspire and captivate.
Ahmet Sacit Açıkgözoğlu
Click here to see artist's artworks
Ahmet Sacit Açıkgözoğlu
Click here to see artist's artworks
He is professor from Mimar Sinan Traditional Turkish Arts Faculty, in Istanbul, Turkey. He is head of Book-Binding Art Department and giving lectures on Book Binding, Epitaphic and Ottoman Architecture.
The artist has studied Theology in my Bachelor. After graduation and dedicated myself to Turkish and Islamic Arts. He completed his MA in 2003 in the field of Turkish-Islamic Art History. His thesis was about sepulchral monuments in Ottoman Era. In Marmara University Turkic Studies Institute Turkish Art program in 2002, under Prof. Dr. Under the supervision of Selçuk Mülayim, he became a doctor with his thesis titled “The Mihrab Front Space in the Ottoman Mosque”. In 2003, he was appointed as a lecturer at Sakarya University, Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Traditional Turkish Handicrafts. In 2009, he started to work at Marmara University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Art History.
He is also providing consultancy to the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency for Ottoman Art Revival Projects.
Besides his academic works, he is also a marbling and calligraphy artist. He received his icazetname (Authorised Marbling Art License, which links to a chain of auhorised Ottoman Masters from Sadretting Ozcimi)
He voluntarily run a workshop where I teach marbling art to students and we produce artworks of marbling, ‘akkase’ and restore torn book-bindings for more than 10 years. The name of our workshop is “Sunbulefendiebrihanesi’. You may find his Instagram
Having studies on book arts, epigraphs and Ottoman architecture and giving lectures in these fields, the Artist participated in many group exhibitions at home and abroad, and opened personal “Classical Turkish Marbling Art” exhibitions in Istanbul, London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Pristina, Sarajevo, Osnabrück and Budapest. He still takes part in TIKA's Ottoman artifacts revival projects.
Click here to see artist's artworks
Sema Yurtseven
Click here to see artist's artworks
Sema Yurtseven
Click here to see artist's artworks
The artist, who moved to İstanbul by the end of 90s, came across with banners of Cafer Ağa Medresesi --a place famous for its works in miniature and illuminated manuscripts where she started her education in the field—and took her first class of illuminated manuscript. Therein; she found the opportunity to have a closer look at the archives and works of Professor Süheyl Unver, who is considered a prominent figure in this specific area of art. The Artist began performing her own artworks at that place, drawing her first characteristic works.
Following that, she received her certificate from the education department within Topkapı Palace which was launched with the initiative of the Culture and Tourism Ministry. After completing her two-year long education there, she took an exam and graduated from the program ranking first in her class. In 2012, she decided to continue her education academically in Traditional Turkish Handicrafts to get a master’s degree in the field of Illuminated Manuscript Main art Branch. She completed her thesis which was about investigating “Qur’an Manuscript written by Sheikh Hamdullah for Bayezıt the Second in terms of ornament, a topic which she chose out of her interest in manuscripts. She successfully completed her master degree in 2014.
While working on her thesis, she simultaneously completed her Turkish Parliament Yıldız Şale Miniature Education ranking again first in her class. She took part in projects both at home and abroad –like in İstanbul, Ankara, Algeria, Dubai—as participant and held three personal exhibitions in İstanbul.
The artist tries to reflect the importance and beauty of manuscripts to our present day. In addition to it, she offers her designs to the art-lovers on different grounds by taking into consideration the Turkish culture and patterns with its deep and varied interactions as well as modern age perspectives. She designs Turkish motifs with modern perspective by using varied techniques on different papers made by her or brought from different countries including Basel, Nepal and India.
The artist is currently exerting efforts to revive the manuscripts and regenerate the artworks in different designs with an up-to-date perception. The artist who tries to convey the viewers her dreams and ideas with free and characteristic motifs based on classical discipline and education, does not make any concessions in terms of colors, using gold and diverse backdrops.
A realistic approach coupled with a tremendous endeavor to convey all problems, emotions and thoughts, the artist could achieve reaching the viewers in the most efficient manner she could. And above all of these, the artist, who has three children, never forgets to be thankful to her brush which helped her reveal her inner world she could hardly conceal.
She is currently writing her PhD thesis at Fine Arts Faculty of Mimar Sinan University as well as participating in national and international exhibits.She participated in many fairs, festivals and exhibitions at home and abroad. She represented Turkey at the International Miniature and Illumination Festival held in Algeria in 2013. She opened three solo exhibitions with the titles 'Three Views in Purgatory' at Dolmabahçe Art Gallery in 2014, 'His' at Niş Art Gallery in 2015, and 'Koma' in 2019. She exhibited her works at the ArtAnkara Fair in 2016. In 2018, she delivered paintings to the mosque construction project, which was built with the support of original works of art in Cambridge Mosque. In August 2018, she participated in the Safavi Miniature Workshop at The Prince's School of Traditional Arts in London. She also decorated the cover of the book 'Travellers in Ottoman Lands: The Botanical Legacy Royal Botanic Garden' published in Edinburgh.
Click here to see artist's artworks
Elif Yurdakul
Click here to see artist's artworks
Elif Yurdakul
Click here to see artist's artworks
Yurdakul has taken part in numerous exhibitions on marbling and katı’ over the years, both in Türkiye and abroad, including the "Güle Dönmek" and "Vesile" exhibitions at the Yunus Emre Institute in Bosnia. She has also participated in several workshops, including the 'Human Sufi Culture and Arts' Ebru Workshop in Germany in 2020. Yurdakul continues to give lectures in non-governmental organisations and municipalities
Click here to see artist's artworks
Songul ERGUN
Click here to see artist's artworks
Songul ERGUN
Click here to see artist's artworks
In addition, she continues her doctoral studies at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University's Traditional Turkish Arts Binding Department. During her 20-year career, she has participated in numerous international and national exhibitions, workshops, and projects. Some of these include a solo exhibition titled 'Water,' a group exhibition titled 'Roses in Turkish Art,' and a group exhibition titled 'Returning to the Rose,' which was organised by the Yunus Emre Institute in 2021.
Click here to see artist's artworks
Emsele Bal
Click here to see artist's artworks
Emsele Bal
Click here to see artist's artworks
In 2017, she received her master's degree from Sakarya University's Department of Traditional Turkish Arts. Shes practices Turkish çini arts using traditional methods, but also creates unique designs by using a single colour on a coloured background. Bal has taught Crafts, Visual Arts, and Tile Design at a number of Sakarya's private and public institutions over the years.
In addition, she has taken part in several personal and group exhibitions both at home and abroad, including the group exhibition 'Güle Dönmek', organised by Yunus Emre Institute in 2021, the private exhibition 'Ateş', and an exhibition in 2019 organised by the Congress of International Eastern European Studies Concepts, Sources, Methodology, and Art.
She is currently pursuing a doctorate in Art and Design at Yıldız Technical University's Social Sciences Institute. She also continues to work as a research assistant in the Faculty of Arts, Design and Architecture under the Traditional Turkish Arts Department at Sakarya University.
Click here to see artist's artworks
Nimet Koç
Click here to see artist's artworks
Nimet Koç
Click here to see artist's artworks
She studied marbling art with Prof. Dr. Sacit Acikgozoglu from 2009 to 2014, earning her 'icazet' (diploma) and later being issued an artist identification card by the Ministry of Culture in 2021. Since then, she has continued to create her own marbling artworks. She teaches traditional and decorative arts to local and international students in a variety of public and private institutions, and uses watercolour, acrylics, and oil paints to create marbling and batik designs. Koç runs her own workshops in Sakarya, where she teaches students traditional marbling and batik techniques. She also conducts workshops for national and international students at the Sakarya Credit and Dormitories Institution.
Click here to see artist's artworks
Gülcan Acar
Click here to see artist's artworks
Gülcan Acar
Click here to see artist's artworks
She has been practising this form of art professionally for over seven years, both independently and with her class at Bayrampaşa municipality. "Do something, and it will be nice. May it bring peace, inspire compassion, give hope, and point to the truth" are the words of a poet who inspired her to embark on her illumination art journey. She defines illumination as a branch of art that teaches people patience, cleanliness, order, effort, and hard work, and she uses it to strengthen her religious spirituality.
Acar has participated in local group exhibitions over the years and aspires to be an expert in this field, to continue creating new artworks, and to train students.
Click here to see artist's artworks
Mürvet Bilgin
Click here to see artist's artworks
Mürvet Bilgin
Click here to see artist's artworks
Bilgin is particularly drawn to mythical animal motifs and mythological beings, which she brings to life in her work through the use of her own imagination and creativity. She has been creating miniature art drawings for over a decade and continues to do so with zeal, in addition to her ongoing work with paintings, particularly of various types of flowers. Among the exhibitions she has participated in over the years are the ‘Uluslararası Kadın Hattatlar Sergisi’ (2010) and 'Noktadan Renklere Yolculuk' (2014).
Click here to see artist's artworks
Berna Vahapoglu
Click here to see artist's artworks
Berna Vahapoglu
Click here to see artist's artworks
In addition to her artistic pursuits, she actively contributes to various projects related to the Latinization of Ottoman Turkish. She is currently a volunteer for the digitalization project of James William Redhouse’s renowned dictionary, “Hazinetü’ l-Aziziyye fil-Lügati’l-Osmâniye”. Her interest in miniature art began during her academic studies and was further fuelled by her desire to delve into the theoretical aspects of traditional arts. This led her to pursue formal training in miniature art in 2017. Under the guidance of Gülşen Eryüksel, she has began her foundational studies in 2019. Since 2021, she has been continuing her miniature art education at the Classical Turkish Arts Foundation under the tutelage of Johangir Ashurov.
The artist’s fascination with the historical structures of cities and the thrill of intricate details led her to focus on the architectural style in her miniatures during the early years of her training. Her immersion in Turkish and Persian literature, coupled with her belief in the power of fairy tales, stories, dragons, and the healing properties of colours, steered her towards symbolic forms of expression. Her theoretical studies of 15th and 16th-century miniature styles are evident in the expressive forms found in her recent works.
Berna has participated in exhibitions of:
‘Miras’, Eyüp Sultan Municipalities (2019), ‘CETO’, Magazine (2020), ‘The Noble’, Yunus Emre Institute London (2022), ‘Handmade Paper Exhibition’, Tophane-i Amire Culture and Art Center (2023), ‘Muhabbet’, Dolmabahçe Palace Collections Museum (2023), ‘Vuslat’: Classical Turkish Arts Exhibition, Konya, Istanbul, and Bursa (2023/2024)
Click here to see artist's artworks
Dilara Karaagac
Click here to see artist's artworks
Dilara Karaagac
Click here to see artist's artworks
(https://www.instagram.com/sunbulefendiebrihanesi/) in Istanbul. She is currently living in London and providing Ebru courses and workshops both in her own studio and in various institutions.
Click here to see artist's artworks
Muberra Sandikci
Click here to see artist's artworks
Muberra Sandikci
Click here to see artist's artworks
Selcen Belgin
Click here to see artist's artworks
Selcen Belgin
Click here to see artist's artworks
Selcen Balıkçı is a registered artist to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, indicating that she is authorized to teach. She has been actively participating exhibitions and competitions both in Turkey and outside of Turkey. Her artworks are quite demanded by art collectors, who are mostly requesting tailor-made illumination. She currently lives in Istanbul.
She has been awarded in:
2011 El-Burde International Illumination Competition, United Arab Emirates, Third Place
2014 El-Burde International Illumination Competition, United Arab Emirates, First Place
2015 El-Burde International Illumination Competition, United Arab Emirates, First Place
Click here to see artist's artworks
Elif Hale Gokcen
Click here to see artist's artworks
Elif Hale Gokcen
Click here to see artist's artworks
Elif has participated in various exhibitions in Turkey and Singapore with her calligraphy pieces and has been recognized as a bearer of intangible cultural heritage by the Ministry of Culture. She began anew her Thuluth and Naskh studies and continues to work on these scripts with Ahmed Fares Rezq. Elif is proficient in English and has intermediate Arabic skills.
Click here to see artist's artworks