Ayse Kapusuz

I am a graduate of the Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Department of Painting. I live and work within the chaotic, distorted rhythm of Istanbul, a city that serves as a constant, high-decibel backdrop to my practice. Alongside my studio paintings, I maintain my identity as a street artist, using markers to preserve a visceral connection with the city’s frantic, yet still breathing texture.

The core of my work is a contemplative practice on the construction of identity. From birth, we are wrapped in external labels: name, religion, nationality, and gender. I seek to peel away these secondary and tertiary layers to capture the "purest self." These are moments of drifting, where concentration breaks, and the individual retreats from the external world to reach their own essence. In my portraits, I strive to capture a meditative silence where social expectations fall quiet. My figures often have their eyes closed, turning inward to distance themselves from the noise of the outside world.

In my paintings, space functions as an echo chamber for this internal journey. Rather than a mere background, it acts as a symbolic "womb" that envelops the figure without judgment. Much like how I view a crack in a wall or peeling plaster as the b...

2010: Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Painting Major, Bachelor’s Degree, Istanbul
2005: Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Engraving Atelier, Istanbul
2001:Istanbul A. Akyol Anatolian Fine Arts High School, Painting / Drawing Major
1998: Gokdil College, Istanbul.

Selected Exhibitons
2023 – ‘’Figür’’, curated by Sırma Zaimoğlu, Binevi Sanat Gallery- İstanbul
2022 – ‘’Pareidolia’’ group exhibiton, Labirent Art Gallery- İstanbul
2022 – ‘’Faces and Traces’’, Kadikoy mag curated exhibition, Luna Art Gallery- Kadıköy/ İstanbul
2020 – ‘’1 Duvar Sergileri’’, curated by Alp Esin, Empire Project @ Artweeks Akaretler- İstanbul
2019 – ‘’Cihannüma’’ group exhibiton, İstanbuldogz Art Center -İstanbul
2019 – Evin Art Gallery Group Exhibition, Bodrum – Muğla
2019 – ‘’Rastlantısal Beraberlik’’, Altı+1 Art Gallery, Ankara
2019 – Doruk Art Project, ArtAnkara art fair- Ankara
2019 – Solo Exhibition, Don Kişot Art Café- İstanbul
2018–2020 – ‘’100 Artists 100 Portraits’’, traveling exhibition around 20+ cities (galleries & museums)
2018 – ‘’Chrysalis’’, Zeynep Art Gallery, Bodrum
2017 – ‘’Küçük Resmi Görmek’’, Akademililer Art Center- İstanbul
2016 – ‘’Wearable Art Became Fashion’’, Summart Art Center- İstanbul
2013 – ‘’Öyleyse Varım’’, Contemporary Arts Center- Ankara
2011 – Young Artists Exhibition, Harmony Art Gallery, Kuzguncuk – İstanbul
2011 – Group Exhibition, Tetova Gallery- Macedonia
2010–2020 – Tüyap Art Fair group exhibitions- İstanbul