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Estimate: $ 1,500 - $ 2,500
SELIM TURAN Untitled.
Gouache on paper, circa 1960. 210x157 mm; 8¼x6¼ inches. Signed in pencil, lower right recto.
Provenance: Private collection, Chicago.
Turan (1915-1994) was born in Istanbul and trained at the Istanbul State Academy of Fine Arts during the mid-1930s. Léopold Lévy, who was made head of the Fine Arts department at the Academy during Turan's studies, became a significant influence on the young artist, bringing a more liberal approach and experimentation with color, form and composition that blended both Western and Eastern cultures. In 1947 he and his wife, the ceramic artist Fatma Sahika Arutay, went to Paris, financed by a scholarship awarded by the French government (Boursiers du Government Français). During his early years in Paris, like others of his generation, he was influenced by abstract art and became one of the Turkish artists who embarked on a critical change of direction as a result of their experiences in that city. Turan's abstract paintings were first shown in Paris in 1948 at a group exhibition called "La Rose des Vents" held at the Galerie des Deux-Iles, and his first solo exhibition was held at Galerie Breteau, one of the leading galleries of the time. During the 1960s, Turan pivoted in style from abstraction toward more figurative works, and from the late 1970s onward, at the invitation of then Turkish President Fahri Korutürk, he spent the last part of his life producing a series of works that reflect his interest in Turkish folkloric themes. Turan is among the most important Turkish abstract artists of the 20th century.
