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CLASSICS TURKISH PAINTERS

Biles Öcal

Who was Biles Öcal? (1953 İzmir – January 2020-Istanbul)

Biles Öcal was born in İzmir in 1953. He is considered one of the important painters in Turkish art, distinguished by his symbolist, expressionist, and poetic style. He has carved out a unique place for himself in contemporary Turkish painting with the intense atmosphere he creates in his paintings, his mystical understanding of light, and his approach focused on the human soul.

His father was the renowned sculptor İsmail Hakkı Öcal. Growing up in a family environment immersed in art influenced his early interest in painting. During his childhood, he began to show interest in drawing and figure studies. His drawings, particularly those depicting human faces, body movements, and dramatic scenes, were noteworthy.
In the 1970s, he entered the Higher Painting Department of the Istanbul State Academy of Fine Arts. During his academy education, he combined figurative painting with a colorist approach influenced by the circle of Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu. He graduated from the academy in 1979. During his academy years, he not only received technical training; He also established a close connection with the political, social, and cultural atmosphere of the period. The turbulent social environment of the 1970s was decisive in the formation of his artistic understanding.
Biles Öcal, considered among the artists of the 1978 generation, developed relationships with art circles that had a social sensitivity. However, instead of art that was directly propaganda, he preferred symbolic, poetic, and metaphorical expression.

In the post-1980 period, the artist, who further deepened his personal artistic understanding, began to produce works that combined figurative painting with symbolism and expressionism. He attracted attention especially with his figures that carried a poetic atmosphere, the balance of light and darkness, metaphorical expression, and melancholic surface understanding.

Öcal, who maintained his art life based in Istanbul for many years, held numerous solo exhibitions; participated in many group exhibitions and gained a respected place in contemporary art circles. His exhibition at Karşı Sanat Çalışmaları in 2001 was considered one of the important turning points in his artistic life. The texts for this exhibition were written by Turgay Kantürk and Feyyaz Yaman. Biles Öcal was also an artist within the 1978 generation art circle, known for his works sensitive to concepts of social memory, resistance, humanity, and labor. However, he preferred to express this approach not through slogans, but through symbols, metaphors, and poetic imagery. Over time, his works entered private collections and were considered among the original examples of contemporary Turkish painting.
Biles Öcal, who passed away in January 2020, left behind a poetic and powerful visual world.

His Artistic Approach:

Biles Öcal's art possesses a unique structure that combines symbolism, expressionism, and figurative expression.
The artist treated the human figure not only as a physical element but also as a spiritual, psychological, and metaphysical realm. Therefore, the figures seen in his paintings often transform into symbolic entities opening up to the inner world. The use of light is extremely important in his paintings. Light is not only a technical element that makes forms visible; it also appears as a fundamental structure that creates spiritual depth and a metaphysical atmosphere. Often compared by critics to the Swiss symbolist painter Arnold Böcklin, the artist's works strongly convey mystery, silence, and poetry. Melancholy, loneliness, memory, death, inner tension, and social traces are among the prominent themes in Öcal's paintings. Adopting a free and layered approach to paint, the artist aims to create a dramatic energy on the surface.

Themes and Technical Characteristics;
Poetic and Mystical Atmosphere;
An intense inner silence and metaphysical atmosphere are evident in his paintings.
Figurative and Symbolist Expression;
The human figure often transforms into a symbolic means of expression.
Strong Use of Light;
Light is one of the fundamental elements carrying spiritual and psychological meaning.
Expressive Surface Approach;
Brushstrokes and layers of paint create emotional intensity.
Social Memory;
Some of his works deal with social memory, resistance, and the human condition.
Melancholic Compositions;
A sense of loneliness, silence, and introspection is a defining characteristic of his paintings.
Layered Paint Application;
Intense paint textures create a dramatic effect on the surface.

Exhibitions;
Biles Öcal has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions throughout his artistic career. Solo Exhibitions;
• 1984 — Galata Art Gallery, Istanbul

• 1985 — Gençlik Bookstore, Istanbul

• 1986 — Antikite Art Gallery, Istanbul

• 1989 — Galeri BM, Istanbul

• 1997 — Elhamra Art Gallery, Istanbul

• 1997 — Çakınberk Art Gallery, Balıkesir

• 1998 — “185 Drawings” Exhibition, Elhamra Art Gallery, Istanbul

• 1998 — Artist’98 International Istanbul Art Fair, Elhamra Art Gallery, Istanbul

• 1999 — Galeri Anka, Ankara

• 2000 — Harmony Art Gallery, Istanbul

• 2001 — Karşı Art Works, Istanbul

• 2006 — Karşı Art Works, Istanbul

Important Exhibitions Participated In:
“The Owner of the Morning” Exhibition
Participated in an important collective exhibition bringing together social realist and avant-garde artists of the 1970s. “The Silence of Light” Retrospective
One of the memorial and retrospective exhibitions organized after the artist's death.
Group Exhibitions
• Contemporary Turkish painting exhibitions

• Figurative art events

• Exhibitions focused on social realist art

• Istanbul-based contemporary art gallery events

His Position in Turkish Painting History;
Biles Öcal is considered among the artists who developed the symbolist and expressionist figurative understanding in contemporary Turkish painting after 1970. His position in the history of Turkish painting can be summarized under the following headings:
1. His approach to Symbolist and Poetic Figurative understanding with a contemporary interpretation
2. His use of light as a metaphysical and psychological element

3. His combination of social memory with symbolic expression

4. His interpretation of figurative painting with an expressionist surface understanding

5. His development of an original stance within the 78 Generation art scene

General Assessment:
Biles Öcal's art holds a special place in contemporary Turkish painting with its poetic atmosphere, mystical understanding of light, and symbolic expression directed towards the human soul.
The artist, who does not only address the figurative painting tradition at the level of visual reality, has brought the inner world of man, social memory, and existential tensions to the center of his paintings.
Thanks to his intense emotional atmosphere, layered paint usage, and metaphorical language, Biles Öcal is considered one of the most notable representatives of the expressionist-symbolist line in Turkish painting.

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