Who is Işıl Dural? (1959-Ankara)Born in Ankara in 1959, she graduated from the Painting Department of Gazi University’s Faculty of Vocational Education. She taught art at Maltepe Anatolian Vocational High School. She also worked as a lecturer in the Graphics Department at Yeditepe University Vocational School. She also attended Kasım Koçak’s studio. She has participated in thirteen solo exhibitions and numerous group exhibitions. She has exhibited in the 10th Şefik Bursalı Painting Competition, the Turkish Jockey Club Painting Competition, and the Trakya University Mail Art Competition. She has participated in numerous workshops and symposiums. In 2022, she illustrated the cover of Kıymet Erzincan Kına’s book “From Umay Anadan to Her Al Karısına: Those Who Came on Horseback and Remained on Foot.” She currently continues her work in her studio in Maltepe, Istanbul.Art Perspective:For me, theater and painting are life itself. I focus on urban life and the concept of madness with a figurative approach. Madness, excluded, stigmatized, or romanticized by social norms, transforms into a narrative in my works that questions the boundaries between normal and abnormal. The street, as a living space in my paintings, evolves into a scene bearing the traces of decay, where people, animals, and objects intermingle. This state of decay sometimes spreads in an invisible process, permeating the entire surface and integrating with the city and the individual. Using the suitcase metaphor, I explore themes of childhood and disunity, bringing together longing for the past with the alienation of the present. Train stations, worn shoes, and gray cityscapes form the visual memory of my collection. I convey all these contradictions to the viewer through diverse techniques that oscillate between surface smudges and detail.Solo Exhibitions;
2025 "Madness: Beyond Borders", Evrim Art Gallery, Göztepe, Istanbul
2023 "Asymmetric Dreams", Evrim Art Gallery, Göztepe, Istanbul
2019 Kuytu Artline, Maltepe, Istanbul
2016 Ziraat Tünel Art Gallery, Beyoğlu, Istanbul
2014 Dream Traveler Art Stop, Caddebostan, Istanbul
2013 Dream Traveler Art Stop, Caddebostan, Istanbul
2011 Dream Traveler Art Stop, Caddebostan, Istanbul
2009 National Lottery Art Gallery, Ankara
1997 Dega Art Gallery, Suadiye, Istanbul
1997 İçel Art Club, Mersin
1996 BEKSAV, Kadıköy, Istanbul
1996 A Gallery, Nişantaşı
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