Şeref Ruhi Aydın

Who is Şeref Ruhi Aydın? (1947-Ankara-Kızılcahamam)

He graduated from Ankara Boys’ Primary Teacher Training School in 1968 and from the Gazi Education Institute’s Department of Painting in 1973. After working as a teacher for many years in various parts of the country, the artist sought a transfer to Bursa and retired from Çınar High School. He is a member of the United Painters and Sculptors Association. He has been working in his own studio in Bursa since 1980.

The artist, who has produced works in all branches of plastic arts, especially painting, has chosen to express himself primarily in painting and sculpture. In his paintings, he presents human figures, which he deforms in a unique way, through compositions created in rich color combinations and geometric forms. In his sculptures, he has primarily utilized natural forms. Sometimes, he has succeeded in creating unique new forms and meanings by making small adjustments to old, everyday objects.

Burhan Alkar, one of the most prominent figures in Turkish sculpture and a teacher of the artist at the Gazi Education Institute, commented on an exhibition of the artist’s works in Istanbul: “Many years have passed. One day, I came across you and your paintings on display at the gallery through the Gallery Lebriz website. I especially wanted you to see my joy at that moment. That long period of almost forty years vanished in an instant. You appeared before my eyes, your usual smiling and loving self. And I, thinking of the past and of you, have enjoyed viewing your paintings many times. Each of these paintings, small in size but imbued with meaning and content, striking with their richness of color and compositional power, will undoubtedly find their rightful place in the homes and collections of art lovers, just as they have until today. What is the guarantee? The guarantee is you yourself, Şeref. The proof is your struggle for forty years and this unwaveringly respectable result… That you still stand tall.” You did it in sculpture, in fact, your interest in sculpture was even greater than painting. Your exhibition, organized from the roots, still stands before my eyes with all its vitality. It was an original and successful exhibition.” October 24, 2011 / Burhan Akar