Seyfi Yıldırım

Science and creativity are indispensable for progress. Art cannot be considered separately from science and creativity. When we examine art throughout history, we see innovations in art in the light of scientific and social developments. For example, with the emergence of the Renaissance, masterpieces of world painting appeared, and with the beginning of the industrial age, modern painting developed. In this respect, Seyfi Yıldırım says that artists should not be stuck in the past and should not repeat what has been done. However, he also emphasizes the need for knowledge and self-renewal. Knowledge is universal. It encompasses world art from the past to the future. Therefore, according to Yıldırım, an artist should be prepared and equipped when creating a work, choosing materials appropriate to their style and understanding, and reflecting their artistic knowledge and emotional intelligence in their work. As an artist conscious of these things, he transforms his works into abstract interpretations of nature and life with the emotions given by lived experiences.

He often uses atmospheric colors and stains. He needs intense light filtering through these colors. The lights sometimes symbolize the problems of nature, sometimes the reversal of nature, and sometimes its hidden heroes. The creation process of his paintings is an adventure for him. Which elements will appear most prominent is often determined by chance. Because, even though they are planned from the beginning, the fact that the subject in each painting differs from what was planned is a result of his trance-like state. He doesn't just feel the impact of his images with the colors and stains formed on the empty spaces; he also wants to make the art lovers in front of him feel it.

Yıldırım's artistic approach can be summarized as creating unique works by highlighting creative values ​​with an original understanding that avoids imitation. Because when he paints, he works by asking himself, "Am I sincere? Am I happy?" Seyfi Yıldırım is a unique artist who reflects the unnamed sadness of nature in his works, wanting to reach future generations.

Personal Exhibitions;

1983 Kırşehir Tourism Directorate Exhibition Hall
1994 Eşme Kilim Culture and Art Festival ‘The Loneliness of the Simple’

1996 Exhibition within the scope of Eşme Kilim Culture and Art Festival
1998 Exhibition within the scope of Eşme Kilim Culture and Art Festival
1998 75th Anniversary of the Republic Exhibition ‘Uşak Teachers’ House’
2008 İzmir Konak Municipality Alsancak Culture Center Art Gallery
2013 İzmir Çetin Emeç Art Gallery
2017 Ankara Ziraat Bank Kuğulu Art Gallery
2018 Kuşadası İbramaki Art Gallery
2026 BRHD Tuğrul Velidedeoğlu Art Gallery

Competitive Exhibitions;

2009 69th State Painting and Sculpture Exhibition
2010 10th Şefik Bursalı Painting Competition Exhibition
2011 Erzurum Winter Universiade - Painting Competition Exhibition
2013 Şefik Bursalı Painting Competition Exhibition
2019 Osman Zeki Oral Painting Competition “Honorable Mention”

Selected Group Exhibitions;

1999 Uşak Teachers' House 'Teachers' Day Exhibition'
2001 Uşak Culture and Arts Center "Painting Teachers' Exhibition"
2005-2006-2007-2008-2009-2010 Eşme Mixed Painting and Sculpture Exhibition
2009 Uşak Atatürk Culture Center Teachers' Day Mixed Painting Exhibition
2010 Çankaya Municipality Contemporary Arts Center Egem Platform Exhibition
2013 Uşak AKM Art Gallery "Uşak Artists Exhibition"
2014 Çankaya Municipality Contemporary Arts Center United Painters and Sculptors Association 44th Year Exhibition
2017 United Painters and Sculptors Association 47th Year Grand Exhibition
2021 Ankara Zafer Bazaar Republic's Victory Exhibition
2021 United Painters and Sculptors Association 47th Year Grand Exhibition
2021 United Painters and Sculptors “Karadeniz Ereğlisi Exhibition in Memory of Osman Zeki Oral Association”
2022 USB Bursa Gallery N Exhibition
2022 International Artists Union Tire Liberation Week Caramel Painting Exhibition
2023 International Artists Union İzmir Metro Art Gallery “Faces of the Face” Exhibition
2023 İzmir Eskiz Art Gallery USB İzmir Exhibition
2023 BRHD Ankara Contemporary Arts Center Grand Exhibition
2024 BRHD Ankara Contemporary Arts Center Grand Exhibition
2024 ARTCONTACT ISTANBUL 4th International Contemporary Fair
2024 International Artists Union Uşak Liberation Week Caramel Painting Exhibition
2025 BRHD Ankara Cumhuriyet Art Gallery

Art Workshops;

2022 Karadeniz Ereğlisi 22nd International Love, Peace, Friendship, Culture and Art Festival Art Workshop
2022 İzmir Tınaztepe University 3rd Painting Workshop

Seyfi Yıldırım and His Art;

After passing Çaltılı from Taşağıl, Aydınlı Village appears before Kabaağaç Mountain, which sits like an ancient god. Every time I see the village, I am filled with joy and surprise, just as I am surprised when I look at Seyfi Yıldırım's paintings…

Art is one of the best ways for humankind to express itself, to understand itself, and to change and reshape the world. This characteristic of art is essential for everyone, because it contains life within it. No matter what profession a person pursues—whether engineer, doctor, grocer, police officer, or teacher, etc.—they should partake in art. Because art civilizes people. And in my opinion, the quickest way to achieve this is through a healthy art education and the creation of correct and purposeful art policies. Individuals who make up society must be actively involved in art education.

Unfortunately, the programs and content of institutions that train art educators today are far from producing well-equipped art educators. The approach of existing programs to art and art education is like asking someone who doesn't know dance to teach or direct dance. What should be, what should be credible and aimed for, is the type of artist-teacher who is capable, productive, proficient in their field, experiences and shares the joy of their creations, and is respected and loved by their students for their competence. The above-mentioned definition perfectly matches Seyfi Yıldırım, with whom I was born and raised in the same land where our personalities and identities first formed, and with whom I attended the same schools. Every time we meet, it's as if he carries the wind of Kabaağaç Mountain and the scent of the heather flowers of Çınarlıdere.

Making art is a labor of love and a troublesome endeavor. It's an action that money cannot control or overpower. It's an adventure without beginning or end. Those who truly embark on this path must accept great pain and suffering from the outset, and be aware that they are embarking on a long and arduous journey. The path we are talking about is fraught with countless obstacles that can only be traversed alone. As the Romanian sculptor Constantin Brancusi said, this path involves working like a slave, ruling like a king, and creating like a god. The arts have no ready-made map or compass. The compass we have, at best, is the work of masters who have previously walked these paths and secured their place in art history. But even with their compasses, one can only go so far. Those who embark on this path must master the language of their art, make new discoveries, explore new paths, and find their own methods of shaping; in other words, they must gather honey from every flower and make their own honey... This requires working like a slave or like bees, an inexhaustible love, and conscious work adequately nourished by the language of the field.

In our country, and perhaps in the world as well, this is the case. Art and artists, art galleries, and art consumers are clustered in large cities. It is natural that artistic interactions are inevitably richer in large cities... But when our art history is examined, it is known that many artists worked and produced in different regions of Anatolia and occupy an important and meaningful place in Turkish art. When I entered Seyfi Yıldırım's studio in Uşak and saw in the paintings on the wall how nature could be reshaped and transformed, in the drawings and sketches; in the large-scale canvases within its framework, I firmly believe that he too will one day find the place he deserves with his work.

Written by; Cengiz SAVAŞ
Ankara, February 2017