Ayşegül Yapar
I, Ayşegül (b. 1996, Istanbul), am a multi-disciplinary artist and emerging curator living and working in Istanbul and Bologna. Working primarily through installation, print, and photography, I investigate power dynamics within gender relations and the art industry. My practice critically examines the intersection of identity and artistic methodology, while engaging deeply with institutional critique. Through my concept of “homemade art pieces,” I challenge traditional modes of art production and exhibition making. By recontextualizing domestic objects and practices alongside other materials, I propose alternative frameworks for understanding how society constructs and maintains power structures. My work deliberately blurs the lines between home and gallery, personal and institutional, questioning the conventional boundaries between domestic craft and fine art. My investigation extends to examining how traditional art institutions perpetuate hierarchies and exclusions, especially regarding gender and cultural identity. Through this exploration of power dynamics, I ultimately challenge who gets to determine what constitutes art and how cultural narratives are shaped and valued.
PUBlICATIONS
What If You Didn't Know?: On Thinking and Creating Together
[2023] - interview
What If You Didn't Know?
[2023] - publication
New Exhibition at (Barın Han): Occupation
[2023] - publication
Broken Octave
[2022] - publication
With the productions of Ayşegül Yapar, Ece Yalçın, and Sofia Abraham in 5533
[2022] - publication
Concept: Balcony
[2022] - publication
Talks / Podcasts
Exhibiting Methods: Ornament with Figen Yılmaz
Atatürk Cultural Center, Vitali Hakko Library
[2024] - talk
What If You Didn't Know?
On Criticism and the Anxiety of Understanding with Ayşegül Yapar and Eda Sütünç
[2023] - podcast in Turkish
EDUCATION
MA - Arts, Museology & Curatorship
Bologna University, Italy
[2023 - ongoing]
MA - Visual Arts
Sabancı University, Turkey
[2020 - 2022]
BA - Visual Arts § Visual Communication Design
Sabancı University, Turkey
[2015 - 2020]
◊ Art Theory § Criticism Minor Degree
◊ Psychology Minor Degree
Art projects / Exhibitions
funded by CultureCivic, European Union Project
[January 2024 - ongoing]
Closing The Circle
MATCA Art Space, Cluj - Napoca, Romania
[19 Oct. - 04 Nov. 2023]
What If You Didn't Know?
Kasa Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey
[1 Sep. - 09 Nov. 2023]
Capriola Art Festival
Pia Studio & 5533, Lecce, Italy
[15 - 17 Sep. 2023]
border_less ARTBOOK DAYS
ARTER, Istanbul, Turkey
[4 - 7 May 2023]
8th Colour: Woman and Trace
Ataturk Culture Center, Istanbul, Turkey
[7 March - 2 April 2023]
Occupation
Barın Han, Istanbul, Turkey
[22 Dec. 2022 - 21 Jan. 2023]
Broken Octave
5533, Istanbul, Turkey
[26 Nov. - 29 Dec. 2022]
Open Studio
Sabancı University, Istanbul, Turkey
[January 2022]
Balcony?
AKBANK 39th Contemporary Artist Prize Exhibition, Istanbul, Turkey
[21 Sep. - 20 Nov. 2021]
Resonance
BASE Ist. , Istanbul, Turkey
[29 Sep. - 3 Oct. 2021]
Yek-1
Sabancı University, Istanbul, Turkey
[14 June 2021]
Far - Near
BASE Ist. , Istanbul, Turkey
[20 - 25 Nov. 2020]
Spark
FASS Art Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey
[2019]
Photography Matters
FASS Art Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey
[2018]