Gokhan Altunkaya

Gökhan Altunkaya is an intuitive painter based in Istanbul, Turkey, with academic backgrounds in Archaeology and Art History. His work moves between abstraction and distorted figuration, creating expressive visual worlds inhabited by grotesque faces, masks, strange characters, and psychological forms.

Working primarily with acrylic and mixed media on canvas and paper, Altunkaya’s paintings often begin with spontaneous marks, stains, and accidental gestures that gradually evolve into identities and figures. In this process, he balances discovery and control, allowing instinct and intervention to coexist on the surface.

Influenced by Neo-Expressionism, Art Brut, Outsider Art, and contemporary figurative painting, his works combine dark humor with emotional tension, presenting images that feel both unsettling and strangely familiar.
Altunkaya’s practice explores the fragile boundary between identity, imagination, and inner emotional landscapes, constructing a personal visual mythology through improvisation, transformation, and instinctive image-making.

Archaeology & Art History / Hacettepe University