Melih Ozuysal

I’ve been painting for nearly fifty years. Perhaps I should say, instead of ‘painting,’ that I’ve been thinking about painting.

I focus on images that can stand as paintings themselves, such as stains, spaces, colors, and lines, rather than images that tell a story. However, some paintings do manage to create their own stories, which can convince me of them. But in the end, the ‘story’ should remain as background; what’s important is the interaction between the stains, spaces, and colors.

I paint with my moods and intuitions, not with thoughts or ideas. I want my paintings to create a spiritual impact and awaken intuitions, rather than provoke thoughts or provide ideas. What matters to me are the emotions, because understanding life comes from staying true to feelings. While doing this, I don’t try to prove anything, but rather aim to move and transform everything, even to the point of destruction. I paint images that are true to themselves, not about me, and do not tell anything other than their own essence.

For this reason, I do not focus on a ‘subject.’ I am excited by the fact that my paintings don’t resemble each other, and their differences renew me. I try to make paintings that do not resemble each other, even moving furt...

Self-taught, developing my craft through years of exploration and learning by doing.

In 1974-75, intrigued by the faces of characters in the short plays I wrote, I began drawing portraits and started painting.

1985 - Aydın State Fine Arts Gallery / Aydın
1989 - İş Bankası / İzmir
1994 - Kalkınma Bankası / Ankara
1997 - Galeri Piano Piano / Ankara
2000 - Garanti Bank Art Gallery / Istanbul
2002 - Akbank Art Gallery / Istanbul
2003 - Art Affairs Galerie für Internationale Kunst / Germany
2005 - "States of Soul" Ortaköy Cultural Center / Istanbul
2008 - Anadolu University / Eskişehir
2012 - "What If Life Is Real?" Galeri Mars / Istanbul
2014 - "Night School" Karşı Sanat / Istanbul
2015 - "States of Soul 2" Ortaköy Cultural Center / Istanbul
2017 - Artist 2017 / Utopia "Tüyap Art Fair" / Istanbul
2020 - "Meeting" Cofecoo Gallery / İzmir
2024 - "Reminders" Galeri Sis / Urla

Some of the Group Exhibitions

1995 - "Krank warum" Ostfildern Cantz / Zurich
2000 - Germany (I will find the location and write it)
2002 - "Water, Color, Stone, Paper" / Istanbul Plastic Arts Association and International Artists Exhibition
2012 - Ward-Nasse Gallery / New York
2014 - Ortaköy Cultural Center, "Occasionally - Together" Painting Exhibition / Istanbul
2024 - "ImagineIt Experimental Exhibition" Sis Gallery / Urla / İzmir
2024 – "Forks in the Road" Aryom Art Gallery / Urla - İzmir