Eşref Üren is being commemorated on the 100th anniversary of his birth.

“My Brush Hasn’t Dry Yet”

Eşref Üren, one of the monumental figures of Turkish painting, is being commemorated on the 100th anniversary of his birth with two exhibitions opening simultaneously in Istanbul at the Millî Reasürans Art Gallery and in Ankara at the İş Bankası Art Gallery.

The retrospective exhibition at the Millî Reasürans Art Gallery features works selected from the Ankara State Painting and Sculpture Museum and the Ankara Ziraat Bank collections, some of which are being exhibited for the first time, and will be on display from April 1-24, 1997.

A book titled “My Brush Hasn’t Dry Yet” has been published by Millî Reasürans Art Gallery and İş Bankası. Prepared by Murat Ural, the book includes an evaluation of the artist, a comprehensive biography, selections from Üren’s writings, and an artist’s biography.

Born in Istanbul in 1897, the artist graduated from Galatasaray High School. He received his education at the Academy in 1925. In 1928, after studying for a year at the André Lhote Studio with his own resources, he returned home. He was among the founders of the Independent Painters and Sculptors Association. He was deeply devoted to nature. From 1932 to the 1970s, he wrote art articles for various magazines. He held exhibitions at different intervals until his death in 1984. Although he mainly painted landscapes and prioritized colorism, he did not adhere to the formulas of Impressionism, developing his own intimate understanding of painting. With this orientation, he separated himself from the Impressionist generation of the 1910s and the Cubist generation that later rejected them. With his free and original artistic identity, he held a privileged place in Turkish modern painting. He participated in the “Yurt Gezileri” in 1940 and 1943.