Mehmet Güleryüz Click for Artist Information

Mehmet Güleryüz

MEHMET GÜLERYÜZ (1938 -   )

Güleryüz was born in Istanbul in 1938. He studied at the Painting Department of the Istanbul Academy of Fine Arts under Zeki Faik İzer and Cemal Tollu, graduating in 1966 as the first in class. Güleryüz went to Paris with a fine arts state scholarship to complete his master’s degree in painting and lithography He did his first sculptures in Paris in 1971 and organized a special performance on the Pont des Arts. He worked at the Academy as a lecturer until 1980 before moving to New York and then to Belgium where he lived for two years, Güleryüz returned to Turkey in 1985. Until the mid 1980’s the artist adopted a style that exaggerates the shape of animal figures. Later, he adopted more colorful approach even though he retained his former expressionist style. In his works, Güleryüz reflects a concept based on forms created by brush stokes following each other in a chaotic environment depicting figures with psychological dimensions. He is concerned by the fact that colors and forms must have a reminiscent content. His first solo show in Istanbul in 1963 was followed by numerous exhibitions in Turkey, France, Belgium, Poland and the U.S. Güleryüz’s works were also displayed at the 5th Young Artists Biennale, Paris (1965), the 5th Teheran Biennale (1966), Salon des Réalités Nouvelles, Paris (1974), International Biennale of Alexandria, Egypt (1987), the first and second İstanbul Biennales (1987, 1989), Besides being a painter, Güleryüz is also a sculptor, actor, writer as well as a lecturer. In january 2015, Istanbul Modern had the Güleryüz Retrospective Exhibition that encompassed the artist’s lifetime works for 6 months. The artist lives in Istanbul and Paris.