NİLAY SORGÜVEN
2DNilay Sorgüven was born in Istanbul in 1984. She began her education at Pera Fine Arts High School in the Painting department, and after studying at several different universities and departments in Istanbul, she went to Florence to complete her bachelor's degree in Fashion at Accademia Italiana. After returning to Istanbul, she founded her own textile brand. However, painting has always been a part of her life, and since 2015, it has become the main focus of her artistic practice.
There are two main themes that shape my work: Loneliness and Existence.
Loneliness reflects the inner alienation of the modern individual and their confrontation with solitude. I aim to depict a liminal state where people, often unconsciously, experience a kind of spiritual death, yet continue to strive to exist in some form. I use the image of the ‘soul’ rather than the human body to convey this idea. Central to this exploration are plants, objects, and ghostly figures as symbols of the soul and life. These figures invite the viewer to reflect on the feeling of loneliness, the passage of time, and the spirits that seem to linger around us. Existence examines the human desire to understand and affirm one’s own being. The hand stencils left by early humans in cave paintings symbolize the desire to prove existence and the quest for immortality. Each hand represents a life, an entity. I express the cyclical nature of life and death through iconic symbols, ironic expressions, and exaggerated emphasis. This is because life itself is often contradictory, absurd, and ironic.
Cer Modern Art Center / Venue Atelier, 2018, Ankara
Ren Art Gallery & Art Consultancy / Uzak Geçmiş Zaman, 2019, Istanbul
Galeri Mod / Üstü Kalsın, In Memory of Cemal Süreya, 2020, Istanbul
A Hidden Bee Shop / Gallery, 2018 & ongoing, Istanbul
DasDas Performance/Art Hall, 2017 & ongoing, Istanbul
Frank Art Gallery, 2023, Istanbul
Cowork for Amazon Prime AIR Movie Premiere, 2023
Tasarım Parkı / ‘Mavi’ Group Exhibition, 16.09.2023
Nilay Sorgüven was born in Istanbul in 1984. She began her education at Pera Fine Arts High School in the Painting department, and after studying at several different universities and departments in Istanbul, she went to Florence to complete her bachelor's degree in Fashion at Accademia Italiana. After returning to Istanbul, she founded her own textile brand. However, painting has always been a part of her life, and since 2015, it has become the main focus of her artistic practice.
There are two main themes that shape my work: Loneliness and Existence.
Loneliness reflects the inner alienation of the modern individual and their confrontation with solitude. I aim to depict a liminal state where people, often unconsciously, experience a kind of spiritual death, yet continue to strive to exist in some form. I use the image of the ‘soul’ rather than the human body to convey this idea. Central to this exploration are plants, objects, and ghostly figures as symbols of the soul and life. These figures invite the viewer to reflect on the feeling of loneliness, the passage of time, and the spirits that seem to linger around us. Existence examines the human desire to understand and affirm one’s own being. The hand stencils left by early humans in cave paintings symbolize the desire to prove existence and the quest for immortality. Each hand represents a life, an entity. I express the cyclical nature of life and death through iconic symbols, ironic expressions, and exaggerated emphasis. This is because life itself is often contradictory, absurd, and ironic.
Cer Modern Art Center / Venue Atelier, 2018, Ankara
Ren Art Gallery & Art Consultancy / Uzak Geçmiş Zaman, 2019, Istanbul
Galeri Mod / Üstü Kalsın, In Memory of Cemal Süreya, 2020, Istanbul
A Hidden Bee Shop / Gallery, 2018 & ongoing, Istanbul
DasDas Performance/Art Hall, 2017 & ongoing, Istanbul
Frank Art Gallery, 2023, Istanbul
Cowork for Amazon Prime AIR Movie Premiere, 2023
Tasarım Parkı / ‘Mavi’ Group Exhibition, 16.09.2023
