Ahmet Oran, who completed his painting education in Vienna and has been continuing his artistic career in the city for over twenty years, holds a distinctive place among contemporary European artists. His latest works are being exhibited at the Millî Reasürans Art Gallery from October 2 to 26.

Ahmet Oran, who began his studies at the Academy in Istanbul in 1980, took the entrance exams for the Vienna University of Applied Arts and passed. He studied with Prof. Carl Unger (1980-1985) and later with Prof. A. Frohner (1985-1987). He made his debut in the European art scene with two exhibitions in Salzburg and Graz. Over the years, Oran has held solo exhibitions in Vienna, Berlin, Linz, and Innsbruck, and participated in group exhibitions. His works are featured in the Linz Museum of Modern Art, and in 1999, he had a major solo exhibition there curated by Peter Baum. Additionally, one of his works is included in the book "Art in Austria" published by the German State, which covers the years 1896-1996 (Kunst aus Österreich 1896-1996, Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle, Federal Republic of Germany, 1996).

Ahmet Oran had his first exhibition in Vienna in 1999 at the Millî Reasürans Art Gallery.

Oran describes his works as follows: “My paintings were not as simple in the beginning. The foreground was much more pronounced than the background. There were specific forms, and these helped to create the space that I still cannot abandon today. They were also important in terms of establishing the composition. However, as I started to simplify, I realized that I no longer needed elements outside of paint, and I could achieve results without any forms. In this sense, too much color was creating a crowd in my paintings, and I always tried to reach a conclusion with just one color."

The artist emphasizes that his works are not accidental or spontaneous but are designed from the very beginning: "All stages are carried out step by step within a specific program until the end. The effect of each color is, of course, different. What matters is that effect, the identity and character of the painting. This is something already planned from the start." Ahmet Oran defines his paintings as "works that, when looked at, are perceived as paintings and will always remain as paintings."

He states that his collaboration with architects on spatial projects has had a significant impact on his art, going so far as to describe his paintings, which he has turned into objects, as "paintings that interact with a space or atmosphere, live with it, and make the space come alive."

In the catalog published for the exhibition, Levent Çalıkoğlu writes about the artist: “Ahmet Oran’s paintings, which preserve a certain lyricism within the scope of his own possibilities and objectives, maintain the clarity of the surface of the painting and the integrity of color, while eliminating the presence of line in space, leading to a mystical desire for perception through volume illusion. With marks that appear in the right places, like rust or patina, a superficial deepening is achieved. His works, which do not rely on any reference to reality or even symbols that could replace it, offer a powerful atmospheric suggestion that points to the issue of 'essence.' What predominates in these works is the stylistic-content relationship, which is clearly expressed through color, size, technique, and material, and in some cases, the desire to cover the entire surface with a pure color. The general rigid belief that only existing things can be painted is being challenged and tried to be resolved by being pushed into emptiness. Nothing needs to be spatial. Neither patterns nor perspective can be used as tools to make the painting possible."