Featured Artist: Gültekin Bilge

                                    “DANGER IN THE WORLD” 

                    Oil / mixed media on board 103.5 x 94.5 cm

                Cyprus Time Bomb t-weave  technique (sgrafitto)

Gültekin Bilge - Biography

Gültekin Bilge is a Turkish Cypriot Artist who was born near Paphos, Cyprus in 1945. His formative years as a member of the minority Turkish community were overshadowed by ethnic prejudice and the constant threat of violence from extremist groups.   At the age of 21 he was accepted into the Istanbul Academy of Fine Arts where he studied in the ateliers of Devrim Erbil and Ali Çelebi at, before graduating from the atelier of Dinçer Erimez in 1972.

During the 1974 Cyprus War his family became refugees and lost their home, lands and community identity.    Unfortunately Gültekin was shot in the right hand by a dumdum bullet. His  hand was very badly damaged and he was not able to draw or paint. He tried to work with his left hand but could not so it took many years before he was able to paint again. He made his living as an art teacher. For many years he made thousands of paintings in his head but destroyed his work as he was completely dissatisfied with it. However gradually he began to develop techniques where he could work with his damaged hand.  Gültekin returned to painting full time in 2006. Since then he has been building his portfolio.

Gültekin has been interested to develop a modern style of painting that has international reach but can be recognized as being influenced by his Turkish roots. In earlier works he researched the forms of old Uygur Turkish writing and experimented with ways to adapt them into oil painting using the sgrafitto technique ( painting at top of this post  "Danger in the World" ). He calls these forms T-weave (Turkish weave).

He has also been interested to find a way to adapt the forms of traditional Turkish marbling into a modern abstract oil painting technique. He experimented a great deal to develop what  he calls a “whirling” technique.  This is a marbling effect in which Gültekin creates many hidden portraits to express his emotions and ideas. This effect can be seen in paintings from 2008 onwards (  painting at bottom of post "Crowed Mind").

Gültekin wanted to break free from working within a rectangular frame, so in 2009 he purchased a Cedar Tree Trunk. He had it sliced horizontally and vertically before drying, sanding and treating it in preparation for painting. In 2010 he made paintings on natural wooden shapes. By 2011 he began carving the shapes, resulting in the carved wood series. (  painting in middle of this post "Independence" )

Many of these artworks are composed of two or three pieces of carved wood in a planned arrangement. At the same time Gültekin developed the dissolve technique by experimenting with various combinations of cedar resin, oil paint, and alkyds.

In 2011 Gültekin moved to Scotland. He now spends his time working between studios in Turkey and Glasgow. He recently exhibited in Amsterdam, London and Scotland. This month he will exhibit at the New York Art Expo http://artexponewyork.com/show-information/about/ and at the Little Treasures Exhibition in Bologna.

More information about Gultekin’s work can be found on:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Gultekin.Bilge.Artist

Website: https://www.gultekinbilge.com/

Blog:  https://www.gultekinbilge.com/weblog

                                            “INDEPENDENCE” 

        Oil / mixed media on 3 pieces of carved cedar wood 245 x 82 cm

        Carved Wood Series (2011)

        Example of multiple composition on 3 pieces of carved wood

Gültekin Bilge - Artist's Statement

“Identity, power and powerlessness are major themes in my artwork.These 

issues resonate deeply within me due to my early life experiences as a child 

growing up in the minority Turkish community in Cyprus.  My paintings

begin with a personal feeling or idea that I want to express.  The deeper 

meaning emerges gradually; as I paint I work through my thoughts and

feelings about culture, society, politics and the impact that different 

ideologies have on people’s lives.  I paint in terms of expressive energy. Like 

a miner, I dig deep into my intuition, emotions and personal history.”

                       

                        “CROWDED MIND” 

        Oil / mixed media on board 52 x 70 cm

         (2011)

Featured comment:

Gültekin Bilge said...

Gary, thank you for featuring my work on your blog. I really like your Hornby Island photos of the stone textures I saw them on your FB page - they are very much like the kind of photographs I like to take.

You have a very good eye.

Best wishes Gültekin