Zeki Faik İzer Click for Artist Information

Zeki Faik İzer

ZEKİ FAİK İZER (1905-1988)

After completing his secondary education at Vefa High School, Zeki Faik İzer entered the Academy of Fine Arts in 1923 and became a student of İbrahim Çallı and Hikmet Onat. In 1928 he passed the examination for a scholarship to study in Europe and joined the Paris studios of André Lhote and Othon Friesz from 1928 to 1932. He was one of the early founders of Group D (1933) and produced paintings in the Late Cubism style characteristic of this period.

He returned to Paris in 1934 and stayed there for two years. In 1946, he went to Paris with Nurullah Berk, representing Turkey, and worked together in the organization of the International Modern Art Exhibition organized by UNESCO in Paris. The exhibition titled Turkish Painting Today, Yesterday's Turkey, held at the Cernuschi Museum, also took place. As abstract art dominated the Paris art scene from 1945 to 1960, its influence can also be seen in Izer's works; However, it seems that the leading names of non-figurative painting in Paris, which were most influenced by abstract art, were Roger Bissiére and Alfred Manessier. While İzer's paintings in the 1950s were characterized by strong brushstrokes, his works in the Lyrical Abstract style after the 1960s see him interpreting nature with rhythmic and melodic brushstrokes.

He was the director of the Academy of Fine Arts between 1948 and 1952. He received the first prize at the State Painting and Sculpture Exhibition held annually in 1948 and 1957. In 1951, İzer took part in the establishment of the Turkish Art History Institute. 1961 he participated in the Guggenheim International Exhibition, winning the first prize in Turkey. İzer retired in 1970 and settled in France. He passed away in Istanbul in 1988.