Twenty-eight years have passed since the death of Füreya Koral, one of the founders of contemporary ceramics in Türkiye and the first female ceramic artist.
The artist was born on June 12, 1910, in the Büyükada district of Istanbul, the daughter of Mehmet Emin Pasha and Hakkiye Hanım. A member of the Şakir Pasha family on her mother's side, Koral's aunts were the painters Fahrünnisa Zeyd and Aliye Berger, and her uncle was the writer Cevat Şakir Kabaağaçlı, known as the "Fisherman of Halicarnassus."
Koral graduated from Notre Dame de Sion in 1927 and then enrolled in the Philosophy Department of the Faculty of Letters at Istanbul University. During this period, she took private violin lessons from the renowned Hungarian violin virtuoso Prof. Charles Berger, who would later marry her aunt, Aliye Berger.
She was in Atatürk's inner circle.
The artist, who married a farm owner from Bursa in 1930, ended the relationship two years later. Koral married a second time in 1935, to MP Kılıç Ali, and moved to Ankara. In the capital, she had the opportunity to meet prominent figures in the political, artistic, and literary worlds of the time.
Füreya Koral and her husband Kılıç Ali remained in Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's inner circle until his death. The couple settled back in Istanbul in 1939.
Koral, who lived a life filled with art, wrote music critiques and also made translations between 1940 and 1944. The artist was diagnosed with tuberculosis in 1945 and admitted to a sanatorium in Leysin, Switzerland, in 1947 for treatment.
She began her artistic career with the encouragement of her aunt.
The materials sent by her aunt, the painter Fahrünnisa Zeyd, who lived in London, to help her spend her time productively during her illness, proved to be a turning point in Koral's artistic career. Among these materials, Koral began working with ceramic tools in Switzerland in 1947.
With the support of French ceramicist Serre, the artist furthered her work in a private workshop in Paris and presented her first solo exhibition of ceramics and lithography to art lovers in Paris in 1951.
The same year, the master artist returned to Türkiye and exhibited her works at the Maya Art Gallery in Istanbul. Deciding to continue her art in her home country, Koral brought the special ceramic kiln she had built in Paris to Istanbul. However, before she could begin her work, her illness recurred, and she returned to Paris, underwent surgery, and after recovering, she returned to Türkiye for good. During this period, Füreya Koral separated from her husband, Kılıç Ali, who wanted her to abandon ceramics.
Her workshop became a hub for young artists.
The artist produced in her private studio, established in the Şakir Paşa Apartments in 1954, for 20 years. This studio became an important meeting point for young ceramic artists, including Ayda Arel, Alev Ebuzziya, Leyla Sayar, Candeğer Furtun, and Jale Yılmabaşar.
Koral, Türkiye's first professional female ceramic artist, also earned a significant place in art history for her pioneering efforts in using ceramics as an architectural element.
Students in numerous exhibitions both domestically and internationally throughout her career, Koral won a silver medal at the Cannes International Exhibition in 1955 and a gold medal at the Prague International Exhibition in 1962. She also received a silver medal in Istanbul in 1967, an award from the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, and an honorary diploma from the Vallarius Biennale in France. Koral was awarded the Ministry of Culture Special Award in 1981 and the Sedat Simavi Foundation Plastic Arts Award in 1986.
Her Works Were Inspired by Anatolian Culture
Füreya Koral adopted a narrative style in her works, ranging from the abstract to the concrete, and drawing heavily from Anatolian culture. In her works, which combined architecture and ceramics, the artist produced large-scale panels for the Ankara Ulus Bazaar and the Istanbul Textile Traders' Bazaar in 1963, for the Ziraat Bank in Istanbul in 1966, and for the Istanbul Divan Hotel in 1969.
In addition to ceramic panels and three-dimensional works, the master artist also designed everyday items such as vases and plates. Her life was novelized by author Ayşe Kulin under the title "Füreya."
Füreya Koral passed away in Istanbul on August 25, 1997, at the age of 87.
Source: https://www.yenicagri.com/turkiyenin-ilk-kadin-seramik-sanatcisi-fureya-koral
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