The Surprise Painting

My name is Yusuf Tolga Ünker. I was born in Istanbul, Turkey in 1984. I began painting at a young age. I made my first solo exhibition when I graduated from secondary school in 1999. While I was in secondary school, I decided to continue my painting education and entered Istanbul Fine Arts High School. I gained acceptance into the painting department of Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University in 2003 and started my Master's Degree in painting and graduated in 2009. During this time period, I went to Cuenca, Spain with the Erasmus Program in 2010. During that trip, I spent 20 days traveling through cities such as Paris, Munich, Prague, Budapest, Dresden, Berlin, Amsterdam and Brussels. While on this tour, I was able to reflect on my own work and had the opportunity to closely examine the paintings of the masters as well. In 2013, I received my pedagogical formation certificate training for teaching at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University. I worked as a visual arts teacher at a private school during the 2013-2014 academic term for 9 months. After the school term ended, I did my military service. When I came back, I completed my master's degree in 2015. In 2017, I began to work as a research assistant at Maltepe University, Faculty of Fine Arts, Graphic Design Department. In 2016 my interest in the holocaust and Jewish Culture led me to cover culture and arts. I did some writing for the Jewish Community's media organ, Shalom Magazine as well.