leaflet

Gülten İmamoğlu
2005 Became an Associate Professor.
2005 She was invited to 53rd Sausalito Art Festival in CA, San Francisco, America
as a first Turkish painter. She was invited also to 54th Sausalito Art Festival
(2006).
1999 Assigned as an Assistant Professor at Ondokuz Mayis State University.
1994-98 Received "Proficiency in Art-PhD." Degree at Ondokuz Mayis University
presented her thesis, the topic of which is "The Drawing education as a practice
that can be developed from the objective determination techniques to the
subjective expression in visual expression". Appointed as a member of faculty at
the same department.
1991-94 Received M.F.A. degree at Ondokuz Mayis University, completed the
thesis "The View of Samsun Public to the Painting Art"
1992 Appointed as a research assistant to the Department of Painting, Ondokuz
Mayis University.
1991 Graduated from Ondokuz Mayis University, Department of Art, Faculty of
Education.
1970 Born in Tokat, Turkey.
She is a member of the International Association of Art. She is still working in the
painting department of Ondokuz Mayis State University as an instructor.
PERSONAL EXHIBITIONS
2009 “Exile” Garage of Art , İstanbul
2008 ArtExpo,Jacop Javits Center,NewYork,USA
2007 “Catharsis” ,Art&Life Sanat Galerisi , İstanbul
2007 LasVegas ArtExpo Art Fair,Mandalay Bay
Conv.Cent,NV,USA
2007 “Anatolian Goddess”, ARTEXPO Art Fair, Jacop Javits
Center, NEW YORK
2006 “Suda Giz”, Art Forum Sanat Fuarı, Art&Life Sanat
Galerisi, ANKARA
2006 “Anatolian Colors” 54th Sausalito Art Festival, San
Fransisco CA, USA
2006 “Bir Kırmızı, Bin Düş”, Altanay Sanat Gal., ANKARA
2005 53 Sausalito Art Festival, San Fransisco CA, USA
2005 “Metafizik Fantezi”, Galeri Artist, Fulya İSTANBUL
2004 ANKART Sanat Fuarı (Galeri Artist), ANKARA
2003 “Metaformik Duyumlar” Galeri Artist, İSTANBUL
2002 Hazeranlar Konağı D.G.S.G., AMASYA
1993 Akbank Sanat Galerisi, SAMSUN
1991 Latifoğlu Konağı , Tokat
1991 I. Kişisel Sergi, SAMSUN
INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITIONS-BİENALLS/ART
FAIRS/COMPETITIONS
2009 LİCC London International Creative Competition,
Soho Theatre, London
2009 Abra Art Gallery, Los Angeles, USA
2009 ArtExpo,Jacop Javits Center, New York, USA
2008 “Comtemporary İstanbul”,Galeri Binyıl, Lütfi Kırdar
KKM, İstanbul
2008 Mandalay Bay Convention Center, Las Vegas,
USA
2008 International Conference on Art and Art Exhibition,
Pakistan
2008 Shaw Gallery, Florida, USA
2007 "Contemporary İstanbul",Galeri Binyıl, Lütfi Kırdar
KKM. Sarayı, İstanbul
2007 NeoCon Chicago 2007, Chicago
2007 Art Bosphorus 2007 Çağdaş Sanat Fuarı,Galeri
Artist, İstanbul
2005 ART-iST, Lütfi Kırdar KKM, Galeri Artist., İstanbul
2005 Uluslararası Görsel Sanatlar Buluşması, Buca Eğt.
MIX EXHIBITIONS
2009 Karma Sergi,Garage of Art, İstanbul
2009 "Öteki" OMÜ, Samsun
2009 "Doğa-Aşk-Su"Galeri Binyıl, İstanbul
2009 Yeni Yıl Karması,Galeri Binyıl, İstanbul
2008 The Marmara Pera, Art&Life Sanat Galerisi,
İstanbul
2008 Ziraat Bankası Sanat Galerisi, Samsun
2007 Galeri Artist, İstanbul
2007 DGSG, Samsun
2007 Pera Sanat Galerisi, İstanbul
2007 İstanbul Modern Sanatlar Galerisi, ( IMSG),
Istanbul
2006 Art&Life Sanat Galerisi, İstanbul
2006 OMU, Dekanlık Fuayesi, Samsun
2006 Galeri Artist, 20. Yıl Karma Sergisi,İstanbul
2006 İstanbul Modern Sanatlar Galerisi (İMSG), İstanbul
2005 Çekirdek Sanat Galerisi, İstanbul
2005 Galeri Artist (Fulya), İstanbul
2004 Garage of Art, İstanbul
2004 Ulusal Kadın Etkinleri Festivali, Samsun
2004 O.M.Ü. Öğretim Üyeleri R. S., (Leons Kulüp),
Samsun
2003 Antik Sanat Galerisi, (Rotary Kulüp), İstanbul
2003 Yılbaşı Karma Sergisi, Osmanbey Sanat Galerisi,
İstanbul
2003 Cumhuriyet 80. Yılı Sergisi, AKM, Samsun
2002 O.M.Ü. Öğretim Üyeleri "Desen" Sergisi, Samsun
2002 O.M.Ü. Öğr. Üyeleri Resim Srg., Samsun
2001 Çarşamba Kültür Sanat Festivali, Samsun
2001 O.M.Ü. Öğr. Üyeleri Resim Srg. (Kültür Müd.)
Samsun
2000 O.M.Ü. Öğretim Üyeleri Resim Srg., (Opel)
Samsun
2000 Müzeler Haftası, Öğretim Üyeleri Karma Srg.,
Samsun
2000 O.M.Ü. Eğt. Fak. Güzel Sanatlar Eğt. Bölümü,
Samsun
1997 Samsun Görsel Sanatlar Derneği, Sinop
1997 Samsun Görsel Sanatlar Derneği, Samsun
1992 Master Grubu Karma Resim Srg. (DGSG), Samsun
1991 Mezuniyet Tez Sergisi, Samsun
Fak., İzmir
2003 13. İstanbul Sanat Fuarı (Artist 2003),Galeri Artist,
İstanbul
2003 XII International Print Bienal, Varna, Bulgaria, 2003
1991 "İlkadım Karadeniz II", Zafer Çarşısı, Ankara
1990 16. Karma Srg., Eğitim Fakültesi Dekanlığı,
Samsun
1989 "İlkadım Karadeniz I", Zafer Çarşısı, Ankara
THE PAINTING UNIVERSE OF GÜLTEN IMAMOĞLU
Çerkes Karadağ
Ambiguity functions as a curtain hiding negativity which is created at the environs of art, in the world where the human is faced
with dearth and massacre and has become unimportant. In an environment where artistic concepts and designs devoid of
content and based on assumption are dictated to us as pieces of art, these propensities are trying to exclude real artistic
thought, style and creative workmanship from life. Indeed, seeing real pieces of art as reactionism is a natural result of this
process where presentation of an idea in a manner which is not permanent, is hastily and carelessly turned into fashion. The
non-necessity of the creative ability which is stripped from its natural soul should not be seen as abnormality. In this new
process, traditional art based on creativity in a sense is trying to be excluded by a supreme manifest which is sanctifying
ordinary objects with simple arrangements.
Gülten İmamoğlu, who settles her artistic designs on the slippery ground of abstract figures, is an artist who manages to
deconstruct “incomprehensiveness” and to explain the meaning of features of abstract art which are commonly accepted. She
helps us to understand the abstraction by catching us from another “lane” in an environment where the art is metamorphosed.
She makes us comprehend that colours are the artist’s maneuvering area. Without falling into the trap of today’s propensity
which is turned into fashion, she manages to turn her paintings into a concept. She adopts the universal phenomenons like
birth, death, life and motion with the countercurrents of painting’s abstract expression and makes death usual, life dynamic and
movements clear. In a sense, she prefers to imprison us into her paintings which makes us meet our inner selves.
Gülten İmamoğlu is an introverted artist. It is obvious that she likes to bring the light of an invisible universe up to the surface.
She introduces herself as a colour worker to us. She makes the colours livable and touchable by saving them from a fake
coloured visual world. By bringing together her intuitions and utopias with a spectators’ reality, she associates them with the
meanings of colourful and dynamic paintings. Images of the artist, which make life and death related, moreover connected,
which are seen at the same platform on life and death planes equal and identical.
She manages to bring together dynamism of beauty with stability of death, infinity of thought with concreteness of art and the
mercilessness of reality with livability of dreams. Colours are not seen as colours in her paintings, but as a vortex reminding us
of a natural disaster. Opening our eyes to far horizons, they actually deal with meaningful and unexpected blows to our inner
world. Its caressing is like a heavy slap on the face, its fluidity is like an escape sometimes borrowed but intractable. To tell the
truth, the painter is skilled enough to escape from us and to take shelter in her colourful universe. She likes colour
countercurrents and she does not hesitate to shoot us with that gun. Defining Gülten İmamoğlu as an artist who attacks us with
colours and defends herself with colours would not be wrong, as she makes her colours a hurtful, exuberant, and a livable
paradise.
Gülten İmamoğlu’s paintings exalt an abstract language where figures are mixed by dancing, in a sense. She paints chromatic
motions with a figure of fastidiousness and carries us to a perception, which is familiar to us. She concretizes the
indefiniteness of figures with meaningful integrity of colours. Thus, she makes a personal, original and clear contribution to a
figurative translation which we took from classism. While the paintings act as examples of the contemporariness which she
had internalized, they do not estrange to the traditional art forms. Hence, on one hand they are academic, on the other hand,
they wink to prodigality of a spendthrift bohemian. While they are displaying the reflections of an adventureous soul, they do
not relinquish from a domestic sacred.
We really have to understand Gülten İmamoğlu’s directing her emotional and creative impasses to us as a heavy criticism.
When we consider the artistic environment as one of the most important facts for art to develop, worries of the artist; who is
working in Samsun as an academic, we can understand the artist better. While Gülten İmamoğlu is converting the colour to
expression, motion to action and form to life, she also makes contribution in converting the lonely struggle in a barren art
environment and anger to art.
When we turn back to contemporary Turkish painting, we cannot turn our head away from Gülten İmamoğlu’s ability of specific
workmanship which is unprejudiced and away from imitation, who is running in a different lane with her simplicity and the forms
she creates. In an environment, where many painters are submitted to the reality of a photograph and see the impasse of
ambiguity as an abstraction, paintings of Gülten İmamoğlu not only make us look at them, but also bring movement deeply to
our perception by imprisoning our conscious into its motion. They cry the great meaning of creativity and effort against artistic
games.
İstanbul, 30.03.2005
www.hayhillgallery.com
[email protected]
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