"Yalıboyu No:18" Fine Art Print

Conceptual Essence Narrative Expressionism (CENE) Pioneer Artist and Founder
Co-Chairperson, Busan International Environmental Art Festival (BIEAF), 2026–2027
Contemporary Turkish Master Artist
Award-Winning Artist • Grand Artist Award Winner • First Turkish Female Naval Artist
Master’s Degree in Painting – Marmara University
Internationally Exhibited • Works in Global Private Collections

Göknil Gümüş Sungurtekin (b. 1977, Istanbul, Turkey) is an internationally recognized contemporary Turkish artist and the founder of Conceptual Essence Narrative Expressionism (CENE), a research-driven artistic orientation integrating intuitive painting, conceptual inquiry, and narrative structures.

Her work has been selected for three Saatchi Art curated collections: “New This Week” (Chief Curator Rebecca Wilson), “Art for the Sanctuary Maker” (Assistant Curator Will Hardy), and “International Spotlight: Turkey” (Curatorial Director Erin Remington).

Her practice explores consciousness, memory, feminine energy, transformation, and the subconscious. Within CENE, painting serves as both an expressive and investigative medium, connecting personal experience with psychological, philosophical, and collective dimensions.

Her visual language is characterized by vivid color, dynamic brushwork, and symbolic layering, moving between abstraction and figuration. Emotion, intuition, and memory unfold as layered visual narratives. In her approach, color functions as a frequency and carrier of energy, while gesture conveys movement, emotion, and meaning.

Sungurtekin has exhibited internationally in Istanbul, Berlin, Madrid, and Busan. She was included in BIEAF’s Top 10 World Artists selection in 2023 and Top 60 World Artists selection in 2024. She currently serves as Co-Chairperson of BIEAF for 2026–2027.

In 2004, Sungurtekin was selected by the Turkish Naval Forces as Turkey’s first female naval artist. Serving as an artist aboard the TCG Salih Reis frigate with the honorary rank of Major, this experience became the foundation for her Wardroom and Rope series, inspired by naval life and maritime experience.

Alongside her artistic practice, she is the founder of Fogart Artist Studio, active since 2000, where she has mentored more than 100 students in art education and portfolio development. She is also a co-founder of the Art For Good Project, a philanthropic initiative connecting art with education, environmental awareness, and community development.