Gültekin Bilge - The Compelling Unveiling of Souls

G端ltekin Bilge

The Compelling Unveiling of Souls

International Confederation of Art Critics

1

Front Cover: “Unhappy Years“ by Gültekin Bilge 2008 - Mixed media and wood on board, 128 x 116 cm

G端ltekin Bilge

G端ltekin Bilge

ICAC

International Confederation of Art Critics

4

G端ltekin Bilge The Compelling Unveiling of Souls

5

G端ltekin Bilge

6

Contents The Artist

11

Cyprus Time Bomb Series

16

‘An Ardent imaginative Vigor Generates Mastery’ 19 Christopher Rosewood, International Confederation of Art Critics

Joy of Discovery Series 22

Endless Expression Series 30

‘The Subconscious Mirror of Universal Paradigms’ 33 Karen Lappon, International Confederation of Art Critics

Inner Life Series

Beautiful Seeds of Destruction Series

‘The Irrepressible Strength of the Innermost Unknown’

36

Wood Series

Dissolve Series

‘Flows of Pure Creation in the Harmony of the Whole‘

45

Carved Wood Series

Artwork analysis “Two Faced World”

55

Pebble Series

60

Elena Foschi, Art Historian

Elena Foschi, Art Historian

Karen Lappon, International Confederation of Art Critics

Abstract Carved Wood Series

38 41

48 51

58

64

Transformation Series

‘The Radiant Macrocosm of an Imperishable Optimism‘

71

Exhibitions

76

Awards

79

List of Works

81

Timothy Warrington, International Confederation of Art Critics

73

7

Gültekin Bilge

“The mother thought or central concept of my work is concealment.

My artworks point towards what is hidden and questions why this happens. Nobody can know all that is inside another person.

I see that human beings hide or partially mask their thoughts, feelings and motivations, even in many cases from themselves.

I observe that human relationships are not open and there are many hidden agendas in personal, social and political life.

I came to understand this psychology by watching the decisions, behaviour and actions of individual people around me, and observing the political decisions and actions of nation states”.

Gültekin Bilge 8

9

G端ltekin Bilge

G端ltekin Bilge in his studio

10

The Artist Gültekin Bilge was born in 1945 in the village of Ceyhan, near Paphos during a turbulent period in the history of Cyprus.

In 1967, Bilge gained a place at the Istanbul Academy of Fine Arts where he graduated in 1972 with an MA in Fine Arts. During his time at the Academy he had worked in the ateliers of Devrim Erbil, Ali Çelebi and Dinçer Erimez.

Bilge’s first private exhibition was held in Istanbul in 1972.

During this period he was invited to go to Norway and Germany to exhibit his work. In 1973 he returned to Cyprus and started earning a living as a commercial artist, whilst continuing to paint.

However, two years after graduating, he returned home where he was seriously injured during the Cyprus War and unable to paint for many years.

From 1975 until 2005 he therefore worked as an art teacher also teaching woodwork, photography, pantomime, theatre and folk music. Nevertheless, Bilge never lost the drive to express himself and during the long period of recovery he “composed thousands of paintings” in his head.

Finally in 2005, after a long, painful and difficult recovery he returned to painting full time.

11

Gültekin Bilge

‘Black Hole in Our Mind‘, 2013 Oil / Mixed media on carved wood, 68x67cm

12

Critique

13

G端ltekin Bilge

14

15

2008

Gültekin Bilge

Cyprus Time Bomb

The “Cyprus Time Bomb” is the first series that Gültekin Bilge produced after he began painting full time in 2005. Technically it is characterised by what the artist calls the ‘Turkish Weave’: a blend of Uygur Turkish writing incorporated in his paintings using the sgraffito technique which involves layering different colours one on top of another and subsequently ‘scratching’ the layers off to form the typical sgraffito effect. The contents and recondite meaning of this series is the visual representation of the explosion of a lifetime of extreme suffering caused by the brutal and fratricidal division of his beloved island.

‘Cyprus Puppet Show‘, 2008 Oil / Mixed media on board, 128x116cm Opposite: ‘The Fly is Small But Turns Stomach‘, 2008 Oil / Mixed media on board, 128x116cm 16

Critique

17

G端ltekin Bilge

18

An Ardent Imaginative Vigor Generates Mastery Christopher Rosewood International Confederation of Art Critics

There is a special bond between Gültekin Bilge and Art: he intimately feels the necessity to express his creative consciousness in the same way we need to breathe. Bilge shows an innate and primordial passion for different artistic fields, from his aptitude for drawing and sculpture to his talent for music and drama, up to the peak of his expressiveness, achieved through painting.

In 1974 during the military coup d’État enacted by the Greek Junta in order to establish the “Hellenic Republic of Cyprus”, Bilge was shot in his right hand and seriously risked having it amputated. Nevertheless, not even this tragedy put an end to his total dedication to art: he never gave up, neither in principle nor in art, and as soon as his hand reacquired its essential skills he returned to painting ceaselessly.

Far from surrendering to the utmost dissatisfaction and frustration, Gültekin Bilge never stopped thinking of new possibilities to express his art and until 2005 he collected stimuli, ideas and yearnings that he later poured into a fertile production that constantly goes above and beyond itself.

Bilge still continues to seek new ways to create his own unique style combined with his source of inspiration solidly radicated in the roots of Turkish tradition and always present in his impressive artworks, albeit his avant-garde final results. Bilge’s wonderful artistic development can be traced through his heterogeneous series of paintings.

‘Why Are We Crying‘, 2008 Oil / Mixed media on board, 128x116cm 19

G端ltekin Bilge

20

An Ardent Imaginative Vigor Generates Mastery His first creative expressions have matured from a deep investigative journey through different forms and textures, and by experimenting with disparate and peculiar materials, media, sizes and patterns. Only one factor remains constant: his overflowing passion for art, perceived in everything around him and clearly expressed through an explosion of bright, contrasting and dazzling colours.

Gültekin Bilge’s creative pathway sparks from suffering: political, social and personal circumstances become the source of an artistic river in flood. Bilge cannot avoid expressing his anger, resentment and tremendous disappointment with a conflict that has brought him afflictions since his childhood. Painting what he experienced is the only way to transmit these feelings.

This is why his artwork assumes the form of an act of denunciation and a scream of pain. He is a witness that wants to keep the memory of the atrocities experienced by the Turkish community alive. On his diverse media, the artist’s wounded soul turns into an agony of a larger entity, and into a deep interdependence and symmetry between his intimate emotions and the amplified atrocities suffered.

The artist underlines: “When I paint my aim is not to make the wall look beautiful. I paint because I have something to say and I need to express it.” Bilge feels the urgency to leave something for posterity, unveiling tremendous experienced circumstances and exploring the worst consequences of the deterioration of certain human relationships.

Christopher Rosewood International Confederation of Art Critics

‘Danger In The World‘, 2008 Oil / Mixed media on board, 128x116cm

21

Gültekin Bilge

2009

Joy of Discovery

The “Joy of Discovery” series is the expression of Gültekin’s need to break the boundaries of predefined, preconceived and imposed limitations to his thoughts, opinions and subsequently to his creativity. Bilge represents this conquered expansion by painting works with irregular borders. Technically he uses what he calls the ‘Turkish Whirling’ method which is an elaboration of Turkish marbling and that together with the sgraffito technique give a whole new effect to the fluidity, dynamics and textures of his paintings.

‘Glow IV‘, 2009 Oil / Mixed media on board, 75x93cm

22

23

G端ltekin Bilge

24

‘Visible Echoes‘, 2009 Oil / Mixed media on board, 75x93cm

Opposite: ‘Hidden Forces‘, 2009 Oil / Mixed media on board, 75x93cm 25

G端ltekin Bilge

26

27

Gültekin Bilge

‘Dance Of Life‘, 2009 Oil / Mixed media on board, 75x93cm

Opposite: ‘Strong‘, 2009 Oil / Mixed media on board, 75x93cm 28

29

2009

Gültekin Bilge

Endless Expression

The “Endless Expression” series is about people, their feelings, their more or less conscious feelings and the dynamics that intervene when facing different interpersonal circumstances. Bilge continues to refine the ‘Turkish Whirling’ technique in this series while adding a ripple effect that together create a ceramic finish impression.

‘Special Face‘, 2009 Oil / Mixed media on board, 75x93cm

30

31

G端ltekin Bilge

32

The Subconscious Mirror of Universal Paradigms Karen Lappon International Confederation of Art Critics

The strength of Bilge’s message is in the social value of his creative effort in support of a shared awareness of a past that he can not erase but for which he must keep alive, as in the series “Endless Expression”.

The blood, the pain and the loss of someone beloved outweigh any cultural barrier, geographical border and economic interest: we are all human in the face of War and Bilge is able to express the frustration and the anger that burns under the surface of a country wounded by exhausting conflicts.

Bilge perfectly understands the sense of defeat that arises from a constrained situation, considering he lost one of the most precious possessions an artist has and which is taken for granted, the tool of creative action itself: the right hand.

Consequently, his communicative action is powerful, unequivocal, destructive. The desolate landscape left behind by hostility fills his early works, soaked in blood, grief and rage. In a few glances, the viewer is overwhelmed by the depth of Bilge’s work thanks to the artist’s mastery in enclosing individual fears and personal issues using a universal metaphor.

In this way, each spectator finds a mirror in which to relive and refeel one’s own conditions.

‘We Are Bleeding‘, 2009 Oil / Mixed media on board, 75x93cm 33

Gültekin Bilge

‘Angry Shouts‘, 2009 Oil / Mixed media on board, 68x85cm

34

The artworks appear as battlegrounds where our souls meet the artist’s voice, purposes and desires. Blood-red waterfalls, faces distorted by suffering and the more comforting green or blue tones meet and collide on the texture of the canvases, blended in a concert of luminous contrasts.

The isolation shown by the expressions of the figures depicted, diverges from the apparent joyfulness conveyed by the multicolor shades. Strictly speaking, the subjects, meanings and colours appear in a stimulating discording “melody” and this approach energetically increases the powerful sentiment transmitted to the spectator. However, the juxtaposition between warm and cold colours clearly alludes to the opposing communities in Cyprus, the Greek and the Turkish ones, that in numerous paintings face themselves through the different hues of the backgrounds or of the figures.

Two populations in so much antithesis that they are represented by primary pigments: they cannot be successfully mixed without producing a completely new colour.

35

Gültekin Bilge

2010

Inner Life

The “Inner Life” series highlights the contrast between the two dimensions of man: the personal hidden world and the outer visible one.

Not always intra-personal communication is clear and fluid and Bilge represents this difficulty, on one hand, through a vortex made of a continuous spiral-like brush stroke that connects us with our core; on the other hand, with a concentric series of blurry circles outlining the confusion we experience when looking for the focal point within ourselves.

As the artist quotes: “I felt the need to make a contrast between forms symbolising subtle inner energies and other forms representing the material appearance of human life, [...] The inner images represent life at a different level of energy like life within a cell. They also symbolise our emotional, creative and psychological energy, which may be less tangible, but not less real.”

‘Mozart: The Source‘, 2010 Oil / Mixed media on board, 68x85cm

36

37

2010

Gültekin Bilge

Beautiful Seeds of Destruction The “Beautiful Seeds of Destruction” series incorporates the representation of disease into the paintings. His ‘Turkish Whirling’ technique that leaves a gloss, ceramic-like finish is counterposed by the matt finish of the area depicted as a disease. Be it an illness that reproduces itself from the inside, or be it a social disease that engulfs us from the outside, the visualisation and presentation of the contrast between sanity and corruption of the tissue is certainly very forceful.

‘Unknown Question‘, 2010 Oil / Mixed media on board, 71x88cm

‘Destruction of Nature‘, 2010 Oil / Mixed media on board, 68x85cm 38

39

G端ltekin Bilge

40

The Irrepressible Strength of the Innermost Unknown Elena Foschi Art Historian

In “Beautiful Seeds of Destruction” and “Inner Life” series, Bilge relies entirely on a wonderful play of contrasts. The artist demonstrates a profound awareness of the impact he generates in the spectators’ minds and in fact the subjects of the artworks is full of imagination, metaphors and inner restlessness.

The focal point of the paintings become an oasis where everything begins, a dense area from which a powerful centripetal force radiates. This original element provides the first impulse to everything that surrounds it.

Be it the simplest human cell, a beating heart, a cancer that destroys from the inside or a developing plague in a modern society, this essence inexorably transforms whatever surrounds it, sometimes devouring and engulfing vitality, and sometimes having the opposite effect, releasing energy and harmonising the surrounding turmoil.

Bilge’s use of colour to enliven his painting is exceptional: colours embedded within colours, in a vortex of pure tones; the brush strokes are not simply pigments, but they come from a state of mind.

‘Flow of Life and Death‘, 2010 Oil / Mixed media on board, 71x88cm 41

G端ltekin Bilge

42

The Irrepressible Strength of the Innermost Unknown We clearly perceive a struggle between life and death, a subconscious, inner and hidden vigour that has overwhelming consequences on the external, visible and thus rational part.

Between tangible and imperceptible, the artist’s deepest memories become shared reminiscences and, in the viewer’s eye, the indistinct faces, the shadowy profiles and each symbolic colour are internalized as universal paradigms.

The spectator is enchanted by mysterious figures arisen from the juxtaposition of pure blocks of colour, as in a self-creation that directly takes place from the fluid textures and from the streams of the dense paint. Bilge’s characters are immersed in a vibrant magma still in formation, where basic instincts and the most human and innate emotions take lead in the composition.

The contrasting forces materialised from a detailed meditation are shrouded in an electrifying aura that reminds us of the Wassily Kandinsky colour studies and “Squares with all Concentric Circles”.

As the Russian pioneer of abstract modern art said: “Colour is the keyboard, the eyes are the harmonies, the soul is the piano with many strings. The artist is the hand that plays, touching one key or another, to cause vibrations in the soul.”

The further away from realistic renderings these shapes are, the more evocative they become with the use of raw colour, form and line.

Elena Foschi Art Historian

‘Waiting‘, 2010 Oil / Mixed media on board, 68x85cm 43

Gültekin Bilge

Opposite, from the Left: ‘Jealousy‘, 2010 Oil / Mixed media on wood, 47x187cm Above: ‘Energy of Creation‘, 2010 Oil / Mixed media on wood, 65x68cm

44

‘The Aquarium‘, 2010 Oil / Mixed media on wood, 43x175cm ‘Yellow Nude‘, 2010 Oil / Mixed media on wood, 51x188cm

2010

Wood

The “Wood” series takes Bilge’s desire to expand beyond the

boundaries of a canvas and to conjugate it with the physical origin of life itself on the most natural and organic of media. Slices of tree trunks, elaborately treated and prepared are the elements on which Bilge paints his message. The series tells about energy, life and beauty as well as about oppression, ignorance and environmental disruption. The ‘Turkish Whirling’ technique is still predominant throughout the series.

45

Gültekin Bilge

“When I look to nature, all my life, I could see expressive faces hidden in the trees, rocks, stones, pebbles, waterfalls, rivers and clouds. My idea is that faces hidden in nature are a metaphor for the way humans hide their thoughts, feelings and motivations. In my art I join these two observations to show that many things in human society are obscured”.

Gültekin Bilge

‘Anxious Thoughts‘, 2010 Oil / Mixed media on wood, 69x70cm 46

47

2011-12

Gültekin Bilge

Dissolve

Below: ‘Turbid People ‘, 2011 Oil / Mixed media on board, 75x93cm

The “Dissolve” series takes Bilge on a new exploratory path towards the creation of a new technique to give an ulterior texture and effect to his artworks. He paints on board to test his new method which is the result of the blend of various resins extracted from the roots of trees mixed with oil paint. The subject of this series is love: the love of a man and a woman, although the social topics are never abandoned.

Opposite: ‘Thinking Too Much‘, 2011 Oil / Mixed media on board, 75x93cm 48

49

G端ltekin Bilge

50

Flows of Pure Creation in the Harmony of the Whole Elena Foschi Art Historian

In “Dissolve” series, dazzling luminous spots of light seem to take shape among the predominant multi-coloured areas, and they appear to us as thoughts, dreams, psychological connections between different souls. Every presence in Bilge’s painting is a network with the “outside”, in an increasing blaze of conjunctions that inspires an extreme intensity. Here, Bilge has the power to cause a vibration in our souls.

In compositions such as “Love is Like This” the contours vibrate and sparkling touches of light blend together, ready to change form. Ultimately, in Bilge’s creations a metamorphosis is in progress: endless chrysalises are convulsively palpitating to become beautiful butterflies, the bodies inter-penetrate and melt into one resplendent creature.

We perceive a feeling inspired by D’Annunzio’s “panic sentiment”, a very profound perception of the outside world that creates a fusion between the natural and the human element: a tension in identifying oneself with the natural forces and instinctively merging with them. Bilge’s characters slowly become a simple unit, the faces meld in an orchestra of thoughts, worries, fears and human empathy. This empathy is so powerful it radiates compassion. This comprehensive philosophical naturism and completion comes to its climax with the viewer’s presence: now, we also adhere with all our senses and with all our vitality to Bilge’s nature, immersed in his artworks and blended with his vibrating soul.

‘Love Is Like This‘, 2011 Oil / Mixed media on board, 75x93cm 51

Gültekin Bilge

“Most people don’t recognise that much goes on in a secret dialogue, behind closed doors or beneath the veil. In my artworks I explore the reasons for this hiding from deeper reality. [...] I want my paintings to help people wake up from the effects of social conditioning and brainwashing so that they can see what’s really going on in the world.”

Gültekin Bilge

‘Desire‘, 2012 Oil / Mixed media on board, 75x93cm 52

53

Gültekin Bilge

‘Nobody Listens‘, 2011 Oil / Mixed media on carved wood, 176x162cm 54

2011

Carved Wood In the “Carved Wood” series Bilge has consolidated the choice of medium on which to narrate his stories and by carving the actual outlines of the slices of wood, has incorporated the shapes of the substructure into the meaning of his paintings that are often composed of two or three parts. In these works, Bilge puts his ‘Dissolve’ technique into practise on his carved wood ‘sculptures’ rendering a qualitatively more mature and profound expressive denouement.

‘Deep Thoughts‘, 2011 Oil / Mixed media on carved wood, 180x80cm

55

G端ltekin Bilge

56

‘Living With Contrast‘, 2011 Oil / Mixed media on carved wood, 70x66cm

57

Gültekin Bilge

Artwork Analysis All is divided in two in Bilge’s world. Be it divisions and factions or hypocrisy and deceit. Be it personal or social, individual or political. Whatever the case, Bilge hunts duplicity to its most hidden lair, brings it to light and denounces it as the pathology of the world. This clear, forceful message can be read throughout all his series. It is ever present and the cause of much turmoil for the artist.

“Two Faced World” is maybe the emblem of Bilge’s statement. It is part of the Carved Wood series. The slice of tree trunk has been intentionally carved into the shape of a woman, a black silhouette embodying Mother Earth that conceals the various causes and effects of division, represented by the two faced figures in the outline.

A green spread of colour speckled with red, like flowers on a field, painted with the sgraffito effect of Bilge’s ‘Turkish Weave’ technique, indicates the perceived and generally accepted symbol of the fecundity of Mother Earth, behind which a vertical and a horizontal line delineate the hidden underlying truths. Two red lines, like the blood spilt in conflicts, separate a blue area - the head of the figure - in which the faces of politicians and deus ex machina decision makers are depicted, from

‘Twisted Neck Woman‘, 2011 Oil / Mixed media on wood, 59x170cm 58

Two Faced World a green area - the soft, vital part of the body - portraying representatives of the people alongside distressed and suffering men. These two very distinct, separated and non-communicating partitions are painted in Bilge’s typical ‘Turkish Whirling’ technique that is a personal elaboration of ‘Ebru’, in which colours are dropped and manipulated on a shallow watery surface only to be subsequently transferred onto paper or cloth, giving the typical effect of marble striations.

This artwork is a perfect balance between visual beauty and depth of meaning. It is rich with texture, colour, dynamism and perspective and at the same time with profound symbolism and significance.

A

multilevel

visual

experience

that

engages all our senses thoroughly and leads us towards an intrinsic message of hope. The two profiles that face in opposite directions can also represent the most ancient two faced Roman God Janus Bifrons, who turns one face towards the past and one towards the future: a past divided by fratricidal conflicts and an auspicious and possible future made of fraternal harmony.

Karen Lappon International Confederation of Art Critics

‘Two Faced World‘, 2011 Oil / Mixed media on wood, 69x183cm 59

2012-13

Gültekin Bilge

Pebble Series

The “Pebble” series is a return to the ‘Turkish Whirling’ technique enriched by the application of pebbles gathered on the sea shore near the artist’s home in

Turkey. This series is also characterised by the fact that Gültekin paints on old wooden doors. The pebbles are expressions of energy, positive or negative, withheld or free, according to the context and the subject. An outstandingly expressive series representing the artist’s thoughts and feelings inspired and strongly related to his material roots.

Below: ‘Greedy‘, 2013 Oil / Mixed media / Pebbles on wood, 78x25cm

60

Above: ‘Energy of the Earth‘, 2012 Oil / Mixed media / Pebbles on wood, 62x50cm

61

G端ltekin Bilge

62

63

2013-14

Gültekin Bilge

Abstract Carved Wood Series

The “Abstract Carved Wood” series is an ulterior step ahead in Gültekin’s continuous search for new techniques and forms of expression. In this series the artist cuts the outlines of his slices of wood in a mostly abstract form, enabling him to attribute a more symbolic significance to his compositions. This series represents the artist’s more mature, insightful and recondite, metaphoric symbolism painted using a collective of the styles he created and mastered over the years.

‘Wrongs and Rights in Our Life‘, 2014 Oil / Mixed media on carved wood, 142x183cm

64

65

Gültekin Bilge

66

‘Three Graces‘, 2014 Oil / Mixed media on carved wood 107x188cm

‘Surprise‘, 2014 Oil / Mixed media on carved wood 107x188cm

67

G端ltekin Bilge

68

‘Broken Hope‘, 2014 Oil / Mixed media on carved wood 68x61cm 69

‘Peace Flower‘, 2014 Oil / Mixed media on wood 113x113cm

70

2

2014 -15

Transformation Series The “Transformation” series is Bilge’s ultimate leap into the abstract.

A new approach in which meaning and metaphor are the focal points.

Bilge’s techniques are visible and recognisable, as is the application and use of found materials. A series that symbolises all forms of transformation and metamorphosis: an analysis of the past, an acknowledgement of the present, a wish for the future.

‘Son of The Sun‘, 2014 Oil / Mixed media on carved wood 113x153cm

71

G端ltekin Bilge

72

The Radiant Macrocosm of an Imperishable Optimism Timothy Warrington International Confederation of Art Critics

Through his intense artistic pathway, Bilge has developed astonishingly forceful approaches based on the ancient Turkish cultural heritage, such as the Turkish Weave, Turkish Whirling and Dissolve techniques, born by mixing the oil paint with alkyds and resins.

Subsequently he is enchanted by wood and started to convey his creative instinct on a Cedar trunk, sliced, dried, sanded and carved.

The outcome is an intensely vivid surface of paint, whether on canvas or wood, in front of which the viewer is dazzled by the brightness of the pure tints. These vibrant hues have always followed Bilge’s evolution in styles and creative efforts, in a production that is increasingly stunning and extensive.

The authentic mastery of an artist is to inspire unique emotions in the inner subconscious of the spectators and Bilge’s artworks fully meet this canon.

At first sight, we are completely enchanted by a waterfall of bright, pure colours that immediately capture our primary senses. Thus our primordial emotions are shaken by the vibrant contrasts of tints used by Bilge and therefore his works are able to catch the eye, as magnets for our senses.

‘Endless Revolution‘, 2014 Oil / Mixed media on board, 130x173cm 73

G端ltekin Bilge

74

The Radiant Macrocosm of an Imperishable Optimism Shapes, contours and forms slowly start to appear, amidst the eccentric mix of colours. The surfaces of the artworks come to life, reflecting Bilge’s extensive experience. Feelings, memories, joyful events or moments of sorrow appear from the past.

The fluid forms crystallise in a dense texture of many portraits, some more evident, others hidden deep within the composition.

From a more profound analysis, the viewer distinguishes the intricacy of the composition and perceives different “interpretation levels” that overlap on the pictorial background.

Faces that become the surface itself and masks that include other small characters, in a labyrinth of emotions, perspectives and parallel realities that embody a continuous struggle between memory and soul that want to escape from the artwork.

The artist claims: “The transformation series is a metaphor for life. [...] For me all life is like a painting and in this series, I use colour as the material of life energy. I mix the colours into fluid and dynamic patterns to symbolise the transformations that occur during any life journey.”

Timothy Warrington International Confederation of Art Critics

‘Transformation‘, 2014 Oil / Mixed media on board, 130x173cm 75

Gültekin Bilge

Exhibitions 2005 Bilge had a permanent display of work at his atelier in the Büyük Han, Lefkoşa (Nicosia). Since moving to the UK in 2011 he has exhibited in • Australia, Canada, USA, Japan and throughout Europe and has received 2011 several awards.

Group Exhibitions 2015 Neukultur, Marzia Frozen, Berlin, Germany Miami Meets Milano, Miami, USA X Florence Biennale, Fortezza da Basso, Florence, Italy LifeArt Worldwide, Brisbane, Australia Chianciano Biennale, Museum of Chianciano, Italy SCOPE Basel, Basel, Switzerland The Vibrancy of Being Human, Onichi Gallery, NY, USA Grottesco, Settimana dell’arte, University of Parma, Italy Terra (Preview), Casa Del Pane, Milan, Italy Life, Isso Art Gallery, Tokyo, Japan art3F Salon Intnl d’Art Contemporain, Lyon, France Lumière, Rosso Tiziana Gallery, Piacenza, Italy London Art Biennale, Chelsea Old Town Hall, London, UK 2014 Annual Exhibition of Societé Nationale De Beaux Arts, Carrousel Du Louvre, Paris, France 1st European Biennale, Banke Hotel, Paris, France 6th Intl Festival of Art Exhibition Award, Italian Institute of Culture, Stuttgart, Germany “LIFE” Mostra Internazionale di Arte Contemporanea, Musee Soave, Codogno, Italy Palmares International D’Art Contemporain GEMLUCART 6th Edn, Monte Carlo, Monaco Synchronies, Ateneo de Madrid, Sala Prado, Madrid, Spain A Comparison of Artistic Currents, Art Gallery “Anacapri”, Isle of Capri , Italy EGOS VIII, ROA Gallery, Pall Mall, London, UK Exhibition of European Art, Gallery GAL, Denmark Memories “Alive and Kicking”, Signal Arts Centre, Bray, Co Wicklow Ireland Limitless Expressions, Studio Vogue Gallery, Toronto, Canada

76

Exhibitions 2014 Summer Art, Hernandez Art Gallery, Milan, Italy 6th International Festival of the Art of Rome, L’Agostiniana Gallery, Rome Artistic Trophy Knights of Malta, Club Casino Maltese, Valletta, Malta Terra, Aria, Fuoco, Acqua, Centre d’Art “San Vidal”, Venice, Italy EGOS VII, Royal Opera Arcade Gallery, Pall Mall, London, UK Dreams, Rosso Tiziano Gallery, Piacenza, Italy Terra, Aria, Fuoco, Acqua, Pinacoteca D’Arte Moderna “Le Porte”, Naples, Italy (Self) Portraits, La Casa delle Culture del Mondo, Milan, Italy Bridging A Gap, Isso Art Gallery, Tokyo, Japan Art Monaco, Mona Youssef Art Gallery, Grimaldi Forum, Monte Carlo, Monaco Royal Arts Prize Competition, Royal Opera Arcade Gallery, London, UK Leonardo Meets Canova, L’Agostiniana Gallery, Rome, Italy EGOS VI, Royal Opera Arcade Gallery, Pall Mall, London, UK 1st Italian Biennale of Creativity, PalaExpo, Verona, Italy 2013 LifeART WorldWide Int Expo / Art Competition, TAFE Institute, Brisbane, Australia Little Treasures, Galleria de Marchi, Bologna, Italy New York Art Expo, Pier 92, New York, NY, USA London Art Biennale, Gagliardi Gallery, Chelsea Old Town Hall, London, UK 2012 Amsterdam Showcase, Global Art Agency Gallery, De Oude Kerk, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Solo Exhibitions 2015: The Art Of Concealment, (Private Viewing) Aug, Orangebox Gallery, The Lighthouse, Glasgow, Scotland UK 2013: The Human Spirit, CTA Galleries Ltd, Inverness, Scotland, UK 2011: Beautiful Seeds of Destruction, Buyuk Han, Lefkosia, TRNC 2010: Endless Expression, Buyuk Han, Lefkosia, TRNC 2009: Cyprus Time Bomb, Buyuk Han, Lefkosia, TRNC 2008: Antalya Paintings, Buyuk Han, Lefkosia, TRNC 2007: Antalya Paintings, Buyuk Han, Lefkosia, TRNC

77

G端ltekin Bilge

The artist G端ltekin Bilge won the Raffaello Sanzio Award in Italy, 2014

78

Awards 2015

1st Prize Leonardo Award for Applied Arts, Chianciano Biennale, Chianciano Art Museum, Italy Peter Paul Rubens Award, Brindisi, Italy 1st Prize Applied Arts, London Art Biennale, UK

2014

Raffaello Sanzio Award, Brindisi, Italy Europa Award, 1st European Biennale, Paris Art Tour International Magazine’s Timeless Award, Studio Vogue Gallery, Toronto Palma D’Ora for ART, Monaco Art Critic’s Prize 6th International Festival of Rome, Italy Artistic Trophy Knights of Malta, Valletta, Malta Salvo D’Acquisto Award, Brindisi, Italy 1st Prize; Royal Arts Prize Competition, London

2013

2nd Prize; LifeArt WorldWide, Brisbane Award for Artistic Merit; London Art Biennale

79

G端ltekin Bilge

G端ltekin Bilge

80

List of Works Transformation IV, 2014, Oil/mixed media on wood, 26 x 79 cm

5

Masters of the world, 2011, Oil/mixed media on carved wood, 68 x 193 cm

6

The Lovers, 2009, Oil/mixed media on board, 68 x 85 cm

8-9

Black Hole in Our Mind, 2013, Oil/mixed media on carved wood, 68 x 67 cm

12-13

Our River of Blood, 2008, Oil/mixed media on board, 128 x 116 cm

14-15

Cyprus Puppet Show, 2008, Oil/mixed media on board, 128 x 116 cm

16

The Fly is Small But Turns Stomach, 2008, Oil/mixed media on board, 128 x 116 cm

17

Why Are We Crying, 2008, Oil/mixed media on board, 128x116 cm

18

Danger In The World, 2008, Oil/mixed media on board, 128x116 cm

20

Glow IV, 2009, Oil/mixed media on board, 75x93 cm

22-23

Hidden Forces, 2009, Oil/mixed media on board, 75x93 cm

24

Visible Echoes, 2009, Oil/mixed media on board, 75x93 cm

25

Life Force I, 2009, Oil/mixed media on board, 75x93 cm

26-27

Dance Of Life, 2009, Oil/mixed media on board, 75x93 cm

28

Strong, 2009, Oil/mixed media on board, 75x93 cm

29

Special Face, 2009, Oil/mixed media on board, 75x93 cm

30-31

We Are Bleeding, 2009, Oil/mixed media on board, 75x93 cm

32

Angry Shouts, 2009, Oil/mixed media on board, 68x85 cm

34-35

Mozart: The Source, 2010, Oil/mixed media on board, 68x85 cm

37

Unknown Question, 2010, Oil/mixed media on board, 71x88 cm

38

Destruction of Nature, 2010, Oil/mixed media on board, 68x85 cm

39

Flow of Life and Death, 2010, Oil/mixed media on board, 71x88 cm

40

Waiting, 2010, Oil/mixed media on board, 68x85 cm

42

Energy of Creation, 2010, Oil/mixed media on wood, 65x68 cm

44

81

G端ltekin Bilge

List of Works Jealousy, 2010, Oil/mixed media on wood, 47x187 cm

45

The Aquarium, 2010, Oil/mixed media on wood, 43x175 cm

45

Yellow Nude, 2010, Oil/mixed media on wood, 51x188 cm

45

Anxious Thoughts, 2010, Oil/mixed media on wood, 69x70 cm

46-47

Turbid People, 2011, Oil/mixed media on board, 75x93 cm

48

Thinking Too Much, 2011, Oil/mixed media on board, 75x93 cm

49

Love Is Like This, 2011, Oil/mixed media on board, 75x93 cm

50

Desire, 2012, Oil/mixed media on board, 75x93 cm

53

Nobody Listens, 2011, Oil/mixed media on carved wood, 176x162 cm

54

Deep Thoughts, 2011, Oil/mixed media on carved wood, 180x80 cm

55

Living With Contrast, 2011, Oil/mixed media on carved wood, 70x66 cm

56-57

Twisted Neck Woman, 2011, Oil/mixed media on carved wood, 59x170 cm

58

Two Faced World, 2011, Oil/mixed media on carved wood, 69x183 cm

59

Greedy, 2013, Oil/mixed media/pebbles on wood, 78x25 cm

60-61

Energy of the Earth, 2012, Oil/mixed media/pebbles on wood, 62x50 cm

61

Tomorrow Will Be Better Than Today, 2012, Oil/mixed media/pebbles on wood, 62x50 cm 62-63

82

Wrongs and Rights in Our Life, 2014, Oil/mixed media on carved wood, 142x183 cm

64-65

Three Graces, 2014, Oil/mixed media on carved wood, 107x188 cm

66

Surprise, 2014, Oil/mixed media on carved wood, 107x188 cm

67

Broken Hope, 2014, Oil/mixed media on carved wood, 68x61 cm

68-69

Peace Flower, 2014, Oil/mixed media on wood, 113x113 cm

70

Son of the Sun, 2014, Oil/mixed media on wood, 113x 153 cm

71

Endless Revolution, 2014, Oil/mixed media on board, 130x173 cm

72

Transformation, 2014, Oil/mixed media on board, 130x173 cm

74

Edited and published by International Confederation of Art Critics London, 2016 Copyright © 2016 International Confederation of Art Critics Layout by Elena Foschi www.international-confederation-art-critics.org

509 King’s Road, London, U.K.

83

G端ltekin Bilge

84 International Confederation of Art Critics