Painter Nur Esen: It's Hard to Be a Woman Artist in Turkiye

Matey Todorov, BTA correspondent Nora Cholakova

BTA Photo

Ankara,

29.04.2024 11:20

(BTA)

It's hard to be a woman artist in Turkiye and anywhere in the world. This is what the famous Turkish artist Nur Esen told BTA. According to her, it is much more difficult for women to be successful in their professions and vocations. She believes Bulgaria is a country that values artists.

Recently, a new exhibition of Esen's works combining painting with sculpture opened at the cultural centre of Cumhuriyet Daily in Ankara.

“I love painting and sculpture. Casting sculpture is a bit difficult for me. I have to say that at one point I wanted to do something different. I transferred the sculpture to the canvas, it went into the painting. I also love shadows, in particular I love the shadows of the sculpture falling on the canvas," Esen said.

Asked what inspires her, the artist said she gets inspired instantly. "I am influenced by what I read and what I see. But ideas don't immediately reflect on the canvas, they accumulate and then reflect on the canvas. I have a lot of improvisations. I start creating directly on the canvas. I transfer what is in my mind onto the canvas."

It is difficult to be a woman artist in Turkiye, she commented, adding that the situation in the world is the same. "How many famous women artists are there? Of course, we have children and we have to be with them, we have a bunch of tasks and home duties. It's hard being a woman, art has to be combined with home. It's not like that with men. A man can go out in the morning and work in his studio until the evening. With us women it's different, considering the care of the children, the home, household chores."

She said she would like to have an exhibition in Bulgaria as it values painters.

Born in the Turkish city of Erzincan, the painter is the wife of a descendant of emigrants from Bulgaria.

/DS/