Turkish painter’s work a knockout at UK auction
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Tolga Tanış - Hürriyet
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mart 13, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - Taner Ceylan’s famous painting of a boxer is sold for 175,000 Turkish liras at a Turkish auction in London last week. Always marginalized in Turkey for his erotic artwork, he could not even find galleries willing to display his work
Taner Ceylan is the most valuable living Turkish painter, if a recent Sotheby’s Turkish auction is anything to go by. A secret buyer paid 175,000 Turkish liras for his painting "Ruhani" (Spiritual), the highest price reached behind 20th century painters Mübin Orhon and Fahrünisa Zeyd at last week’s auction.
Ceylan went to New York one day after the auction to work on his new exhibition of five pieces in Chelsea. Even though his painting "Spiritual" has become famous enough to be used as the poster of the auction, Ceylan is mainly known for his erotic and marginal paintings.
Ceylan was born into a working class family and lived in Germany until he was 16. He came to Turkey to attend high school. After high school, he studied painting at Mimar Sinan University’s Faculty of Fine Arts, where he became a role-model to his friends with his discipline he acquired in Germany.
Because of his sexuality, he always had problems in his high school years in Turkey. Even though his family supported him, he received adverse reactions from those close to him. His choice in art was also a reason for others to exclude him. For example, his teachers at the university let him graduate with a first degree but later on none of them recognized him because of the erotic nature of his art that began in his senior year.
His catalogue not published
He had the same problem with gallery owners in Istanbul. Nobody wanted to work with Ceylan. They did not want to have his prints in their catalogues. Even Yeditepe University, where he was teaching, fired him for his erotic works. Such things are actually inspiration for an artist. But it is somewhat ironic that his work is now worth them most in the country that once shunned him. This is an example of a perpetual repetition in Turkey: whenever Turks try to exclude someone, this person, sooner or later, becomes successful.
Like any man, one of his greatest fears is getting old. Perhaps this is why he is in to bodybuilding and has a keen interest in Eastern mysticism. "I have gurus, they inspire me," he said. He said he also meditated for 30 minutes everyday and was a person of faith.
Ceylan, at 42, still lives with his mother and father. When he is asked why he did not just leave Turkey and avoid being ostracized, he says: "I have a perfect relationship with my family. I have never thought of leaving them."
He also doesn’t like to talk about his personal life. He admitted only that he is monogamous and falls in love through his eyes and his heart.
Like a renaissance painter
Ceylan is good case-study in any discussion of art and performance. It is true that an artist’s life and personality is a performance. Ceylan portrays himself and his own body in his paintings. Even though this may sometimes seem too marginal, it comes from his ordinary life, like a renaissance artist who obeys all rules of paintings.
Ceylan went to New York one day after the auction to work on his new exhibition of five pieces in Chelsea. Even though his painting "Spiritual" has become famous enough to be used as the poster of the auction, Ceylan is mainly known for his erotic and marginal paintings.
Ceylan was born into a working class family and lived in Germany until he was 16. He came to Turkey to attend high school. After high school, he studied painting at Mimar Sinan University’s Faculty of Fine Arts, where he became a role-model to his friends with his discipline he acquired in Germany.
Because of his sexuality, he always had problems in his high school years in Turkey. Even though his family supported him, he received adverse reactions from those close to him. His choice in art was also a reason for others to exclude him. For example, his teachers at the university let him graduate with a first degree but later on none of them recognized him because of the erotic nature of his art that began in his senior year.
His catalogue not published
He had the same problem with gallery owners in Istanbul. Nobody wanted to work with Ceylan. They did not want to have his prints in their catalogues. Even Yeditepe University, where he was teaching, fired him for his erotic works. Such things are actually inspiration for an artist. But it is somewhat ironic that his work is now worth them most in the country that once shunned him. This is an example of a perpetual repetition in Turkey: whenever Turks try to exclude someone, this person, sooner or later, becomes successful.
Like any man, one of his greatest fears is getting old. Perhaps this is why he is in to bodybuilding and has a keen interest in Eastern mysticism. "I have gurus, they inspire me," he said. He said he also meditated for 30 minutes everyday and was a person of faith.
Ceylan, at 42, still lives with his mother and father. When he is asked why he did not just leave Turkey and avoid being ostracized, he says: "I have a perfect relationship with my family. I have never thought of leaving them."
He also doesn’t like to talk about his personal life. He admitted only that he is monogamous and falls in love through his eyes and his heart.
Like a renaissance painter
Ceylan is good case-study in any discussion of art and performance. It is true that an artist’s life and personality is a performance. Ceylan portrays himself and his own body in his paintings. Even though this may sometimes seem too marginal, it comes from his ordinary life, like a renaissance artist who obeys all rules of paintings.