Sultan Ali made this etching, Her Dream, during her last year of art school; it was selected for the National Exhibition of Art at the National Academy of Fine Art (Lalit Kala Akademi) in Delhi, where Abby Grey evidently acquired it. Employing motifs associated with Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction, the artist follows in […]
At the time Turani made Motif for Turkish Rug and Abstract Composition (G1975310), he was developing his belief that abstraction allows for a more direct connection to archaic modes of artmaking. During the 1960s, when Mrs. Grey was collecting his work, Turani was a promising abstract painter who had exhibited in Germany, Israel, and Japan; […]
Kalmik graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts, Istanbul, in 1937. After selling his house, he personally financed a trip to Paris to study with André Lhote and take art-history classes at the Sorbonne, but his studies were interrupted by the German occupation. Returning to Turkey, Kalmik worked as a newspaper illustrator and book designer. […]
In Merhaba, Mrs. Grey, a painter sitting by his easel looks over his shoulder. The text reads, “Hello, Mrs Grey . . . We are just ‘fine,’” but the skull that replaces the painter’s head suggests the opposite. In both this work and Exile (G1975.301) a paradox evokes conflicting psychological states.
An early viscosity print by Gölönü, Resmigeçit (Pageantry) depicts a military parade on what is likely a Turkish national holiday. A crowd has gathered to watch the marching soldiers; the figures are abstracted almost to the point of being indistinguishable as individuals. At the upper right, soldiers entering the scene are depicted vertically, lending a […]
Although Eren’s early works are figurative, from the mid-1950s to the late 1960s his imagery grew increasingly abstract. The color white dominates much of his non-figurative work, including Train Accident and Vision (G1975.290). After the 1970s, the “stains” in his compositions evolved into figures. Eren took painting courses with Semsi Arel during his years at Kuleli […]
