Fatma Çiftçi

(1984, Adana)

 

Fatma Çiftçi obtained her Bachelor's degree in Glass Arts from Marmara University's Faculty of Fine Arts in 2007, and completed a double major in Graphic Arts in 2009. She later earned a Master's degree with a focus on thesis-based research in Glass Arts from Anadolu University's Faculty of Fine Arts Institute.

 

Continuing her artistic development, Çiftçi underwent intensive training at the Glass Furnace, enhancing her skills. In 2016, she received a scholarship for specialized Neon training at Urban Glass in New York, broadening her artistic horizons. Recognized for her creative excellence, Çiftçi won the Achievement Award at the 2017 Contemporary Art Project Competition sponsored by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Turkey. She has since received many prestigious scholarships, including the Glass Art Society's Takako Sano Scholarship in 2018, the AGG James Whitney Scholarship in 2022, and the Corning Museum of Glass Scholarship.

 

In 2017, she held her first solo exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Glass Arts. Since then, she showcased her works at numerous international group exhibitions and contemporary art galleries with her glass works. Throughout her career, she has taken on roles such as  workshop manager, designer, educator, and translator. Her writings were featured in the cultural and art pages of Zeck Life Culture magazine from 2004 to 2019, where she also served as the art director.

 

Currently, the artist is pursuing a Proficiency in Art program at Dokuz Eylül University, Institute of Fine Arts. Both of her authored theses have been supported under Scientific Research Projects. She teaches as an academic in the Department of Ceramic and Glass Design at Bilecik Şeyh Edebali University.

 

 

Merey Şenocak

(1993, İzmir)

 

Merey Şenocak returned to Turkey to continue her artistic practice in İzmir and Istanbul after graduating from the University of Arts London. Her practice spans various mediums, including writing, sound, visuals, and sensory experiences, which she skillfully integrates into her current artistic pursuits. Şenocak explores ways to transcend human-centered ontology by examining insights into the nature of materials and historical references. Furthermore, she delves deeply into the relationship between matter and humanity.

 

Having participated in numerous domestic and international exhibitions, workshops, and artist residency programs, the artist has recently shifted her focus to the use of materials such as hemp, lime, oxides, clay, and organic pigments in art. Şenocak combines hemp and lime mortar to construct structures, which she then coats with lime-based plaster known as 'tadelakt'. By merging the ancient tadelakt tradition, born in Marrakech 2000 years ago, with the contemporary material of hempcrete, she has developed a unique approach

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Tuğçe Gizem Ertürk

(1981, Bursa)

 

Abstract expressionist painter Tuğçe Gizem Ertürk graduated from the Zekai Ormancı Atelier of the Mimar Sinan Department of Painting in 2005. While pursuing her master's degree at the Yeditepe Department of Plastic Arts, she had the opportunity to work with Özdemir Altan, Turan Aksoy, and Zahit Büyükişleyen. Throughout her career, she has been involved in various fields of visual arts, including graphic design, ceramics, mosaic, interior architecture, and teaching.

 

Ertürk draws entirely from her inner world, emotions, and personal reckonings when defining the artistic content. She begins her work with a feeling or thought that she experiences, and then transfers this starting point onto the canvas, allowing it to evolve and transform along the journey. Lines that function like energetic networks, intertwining all emotions, thoughts, and events, gradually layer upon one another, creating depth, flow, and balance within the overall structure.

 

In 2020, the artist settled in Urla, her fatherland, where she continues her work in her studio there.