Today we’d like to introduce you to Nur Gurel.
Hi Nur, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My story began in 1980 in Istanbul, and my path was clear early on; I graduated from Istanbul Anatolian Fine Arts High School in 1998. Following that, I was admitted in first place to the Painting Department at Mimar Sinan University of Fine Arts—one of Turkiye’s most historic and deeply rooted art institutions. While receiving a rigorous academic art education there, I graduated in third place and won several national art awards. However, my focus was already shifting toward ready-made objects and popular images rather than traditional canvas painting.
The real turning point where I began building my own signature series came during my master’s studies at the same university between 2004 and 2007. During a workshop in 2005, I decided to incorporate the famous 80’s landscape wallpapers—a widespread decorative material from my childhood—directly onto my canvases using a collage approach. By infiltrating this commercial, ready-made material into my art, I set the first rule of a long-term game where I defamiliarize the familiar. In my first solo exhibitions, “Mass” (Ankara, 2009) and “The Siege” (Istanbul, 2012), I explored the urban transformation processes in Istanbul through the lens of these landscape wallpapers. By inserting elements like the San Francisco skyline into the Istanbul skyline, I created a deceptive, global illusion between metropolises. My works from this period found their way into notable institutional collections like the Ziraat Bank Izmir Art Museum and met with audiences on prestigious platforms such as Contemporary Istanbul, CerModern, and the Mamut Art Project.
Throughout this journey, I actively participated in various artistic initiatives and independent groups. Most notably, I have been deeply involved as an active member of the KRE Collective since 2012, making collective production a permanent pillar of my practice. Concurrently, I realized that any ready-made visual image could be my instrument. This realization shifted my focus toward fashion and lifestyle print media, leading me to collect vintage magazines from secondhand booksellers. Driven by a playful childhood impulse, I began manipulating the “ideal” figures imposed on us by mass media, which laid the foundation for my internationally recognized “Toy with Proportions” series.
Moving to the United States with my husband, fine art photographer Aydın Büyüktaş—following his relocation through an extraordinary talent recognition—opened up an ocean-crossing new playground for both my artistic practice and my vision of community.
In Dallas, my path crossed with wonderful people who share a passion for art and culture, and together we founded TAVPA (Turkish American Visual and Performing Arts). Serving as the Visual Arts Director allowed me to translate my creative energy into cultural leadership—founding the city’s first-ever Dallas Turkish Film Festival (DTFF) and curating multidisciplinary community exhibitions.
Most recently, I curated the ‘Her Voices’ project, a milestone initiative presented in collaboration with Dallas College at SPACE at Adolphus Tower in downtown Dallas. Honoring Women’s History Month, this multidisciplinary exhibition brought the identity and belonging stories of 14 local women into the public memory, whispering the healing and unifying power of art.
While living in the US, I maintain a dynamic dialogue with the art scene in Turkiye. Through the KRE Collective, we recently realized a collaborative monument-installation called “Hecate” in Bodrum, exploring female wisdom in partnership with the Bodrum Municipality and the Bodrum Women’s Solidarity Association. Today, across this vast geography extending from Dallas to Turkiye, I continue to produce in a global language, reshaping the world through my own rules of manipulation.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has certainly not been a smooth road, but contemporary art rarely grows in comfortable places. My journey here has been defined by a sudden cultural and physical displacement—a process of rebuilding my identity and career from zero. Leaving Turkiye meant walking away from an established career and a recognized artistic voice, while stepping into Texas meant entering a completely new art ecosystem. This geographic relocation naturally brought the practical challenges of adapting to a new language and culture.
For an artist who lives and creates through nuance, navigating a new environment can feel isolating at first. However, this transition quickly forced me to strip away all verbal noise and realize that when speech is limited, the visual image is my most powerful and universal currency.
The reality of my relocation became even more complex when, shortly after moving, I had to navigate an unexpected battle with cancer. Facing a major health crisis while adapting to a completely unfamiliar country was an intense challenge that instantly stripped away any illusion of control. It forced me to confront the fragile reality of my own physical boundaries with absolute honesty.
Rebuilding a career in a new ecosystem while simultaneously healing my body required immense patience. Instead of letting this dual displacement isolate me, I chose to treat it as a necessity for collective action. It was precisely this friction that drove us to establish TAVPA. Building this cultural nonprofit and curating projects like ‘Her Voices’ became my way of anchoring myself to this new soil. Ultimately, these challenges didn’t just test my adaptability; they proved to me that creating art and building community are not luxury endeavors. They are vital survival mechanisms.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
What I Do & My Specialization
At my core, I define myself as a painter. Painting is the foundational ground where I stand, though my creative practice dynamically shifts into other mediums—such as installation, three-dimensional forms, sculpture, photography, or video—depending entirely on what my conceptual intent requires. My work fundamentally focuses on the hand-made manipulation of existing visual materials, with my primary focus centered on my long-running “Toy with Proportions” series. For this project, I use oil paint directly on vintage mass-market fashion and lifestyle magazines. My process relies entirely on a raw physical intervention: I paint with oils onto a selected page, structurally backing it with other torn sheets from the same publication to reinforce its physical presence. Finally, I coat the entire layered structure with transparent epoxy resin or presenting inside the custom plexiglass boxes. This methodology allows me to transform a fleeting, mass-produced commercial illusion into a permanent, heavily textured object.
What Sets Me Apart
What sets my work apart is the deliberate rejection of digital perfection. My practice channels a playful childhood impulse—reminiscent of defacing crossword puzzle portraits—to actively challenge the aesthetic dictatorship of mass media. This physical act restores the human volume and vital “imperfection” that the seamless digital landscape deliberately marginalizes
.What I Am Most Proud Of
On an artistic level, I am proud that this specific conceptual approach has resonated deeply within the contemporary art ecosystem, gaining recognition in publications like HuffPost, People, and Buzzfeed. I am also deeply proud of maintaining my artistic production as an active member of the KRE Artists Collective since 2012, which provides a vital space for shared solidarity and independent creation.
On a personal and community level, I am immensely proud of navigating my existence within a deeply patriarchal art world as both a wife and a mother. Raising my daughter while simultaneously rebuilding my career from scratch in a new country remains my most profound challenge and proudest achievement.
This exact journey fuels my passion for cultural leadership. Being part of the team that co-founded TAVPA, establishing the Dallas Turkish Film Festival (DTFF), and curating the ‘Her Voices’ project are milestones I cherish deeply. Bringing the identity and belonging stories of local immigrant women into the public eye proved to me that producing art and building communities are vital survival mechanisms for collective healing.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
My primary advice is to never fear stepping out of your comfort zone. Early in your career, you believe a settled routine and a familiar network are everything. However, uncertainty and relocating are not roadblocks—they are profound catalysts. True creative growth happens when you allow a completely new environment to challenge your perspective.
Secondly, navigate the patriarchal art world by turning your raw experiences into power. Being a woman, a wife, and a mother in this ecosystem requires navigating deep systemic boundaries. Do not minimize your personal realities or domestic labor; instead, bring your distinct gaze directly into your practice.
Furthermore, do not produce in isolation. Art history romanticizes the solitary artist, Real resilience is collective. Find your team, collaborate with local institutions, and build platforms that lift other women up. When you build a community, you secure your own voice.
Finally, protect your analogue sensitivity. In a world that demands instant digital perfection, your most powerful tools are your own hands. Do not run away from the physical labor or the “human flaw” of your process. Lean into the deliberate slowness of your materials. Mass media will always try to sterilize your voice; your job is to use your childhood impulses to break their rules.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.nurgurel.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nurgurell/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nur.gurel.9
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nur-gurel-67530334/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@nurgurel5167
