Esra Gülmen (*1986, Istanbul) is a Berlin-based artist from Turkey.
As a genuine witness and observer of her zeitgeist, Esra Gülmen generates contemporary iconography of the here and now in response to visual culture, and the present, while, concerning the past, she uses a form and creative language all her own. She develops a playful, ironic practice by carving out and revealing the "embedded notions" of social codes, the human condition, our inner voice, and, needless to say, our insights and daily obsessions. Intending to torpedo the ideal in contemporary art, such as irony and parody, her gestures move between fields, at times traveling along the boundaries of sculpture and painting.
Gülmen's language of artistic expression addresses the viewer at eye level. Consequently, the "sublimity of painting" loses relevance in her works. Text, image, or form operate democratically as intermediaries of her works, depending on the context. This attitude of hers can be regarded as the rawest reflection of the changing moods of modern humans, going beyond the impeccable and the ideal, moving closer to "the real." Seeking to render what can be known into something more perceivable, by making the image more visual, or text more comprehensible, Gülmen illustrates possible states of being outside "the great show." Challenging oppressive forms, the fetishism of meaning, and the burden of references, she calls us to revisit our questions concerning the raison d'être of art.
1986 Born in Istanbul, Turkey
2004-2005 Bachelor of Arts (BA), American Culture and Literature, Dokuz Eylül University Faculty of Literature, İzmir, Turkey
2005-2009 Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA), Interior Design, Marmara University Faculty of Fine Arts, İstanbul, Turkey
2008-2009 Erasmus Exchange Program, Design and Architecture Department, Università degli Studi di Genova, Genova, Italy
2009-... Master of Fine Arts (MFA), Interior Design, Mimar Sinan University of Fine Arts, İstanbul, Turkey
2009-2012 Assistant Professor, Interior Design, Marmara University Faculty of Fine Arts, İstanbul, Turkey
Museum Shows
2026 “Eagle, Order of Merrit, Ballot Box – Redesigning Democratic Representation”, Museum of Applied Arts Frankfurt, (Upcoming, August 2026)
“Public Matter(s) – Design and Democracy”, Design Museum Gent, (Upcoming, October 2026)
“Bosporus Beats” Kupferstichkabinett, Berlin
“SUMM SUMM SUMM” Stadtgalerie Saarbrücken, Saarbrücken
2025 “Tile By Tile, I Exist” Solo show, Plataforma, Guadalajara
“Interactions x We/Trans/Form” Bundeskunsthalle, Bonn
Group Show, Sculpture Park at Schlossgut Schwante, Berlin
2024 “Radical Feminine” Kunsthaus Blaue Butter, Gmunden
“For Everyone! Redesigning Democracy” Bundeskunsthalle, Bonn
“Interactions 2024” Bundeskunsthalle, Bonn
“Uncensorable, Euphoria” Solo Show, Mountainview Gallery, Fuhrwerkswaage, Cologne
“I WAS I AM” Solo show, OK, Center for Contemporary Art, Linz
Solo Shows
2025 “Love Is The Answer” Solo Booth, Art Düsseldorf, Galerie Judith Andreae, Düsseldorf
2024 “Showroom Presentation” König Gallery, Berlin
“Look Mom, I Made a Landscape Painting”, Club Marvy, İzmir
2022 “Don’t Play With My Emotions” Pilevneli Gallery, Istanbul
2021 “Rrrrivers” Bilsart, İstanbul
2019 "Don't I look Turkish?” BOLD, Berlin
2018 "It's just OK.” XH Cube x Markenfilm Crossing, Hamburg
2017 "Thirteen” Cafe Struik, Amsterdam
Public Projects
2024 Ventana Project, Public art installation, Alt-Templehof U-Bahn Station Berlin
2023 MeyaMeya Project, Public art installation, Kobe, Japan
Controversy Teeter-Totters installation, Wilhelmhallen Hallen #5, Berlin
2022 Esravaganza World, Installation, Potsdamer Platz Berlin
Public Collections
2025 Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf
2024 OK, Center for Contemporary Art, Linz
Group Shows
2026 “Doom Time”, Gallery Eigenheim, Weimar
“En el centro del ombligo y en la punta de la lengua” Convento, Guadalajara
2025 “ Looking for a Place To Hide” Parrotta Contemporary, Bonn
2024 “50 For Bad Berlin” Flussbad Berlin, Bauakademie, Berlin
“My Best Of” Mustafa Paşa Hamamı, İstanbul
“Liaison” Better Go South, Stuttgart
“Love is Everything” Galerie Judith Andreae, Bonn
“DRAWINGS” HVW8 Gallery, Berlin
2023 “Time is: Love” Kethüda Hamamı, İstanbul
2022 “Karma for Kabul”, Vienna
MISA, König Gallery, Berlin
2021 MISA Van Ham Kunst Halle, Cologne
“Where are we now?” HVW8 Gallery, Berlin
MISA, König Gallery, Berlin
2021 Pilevneli X König | Kaplankaya, Bodrum
“Pictoplasma” Silent Green, Berlin
2017 “Design talks Politics” Designxport, Hamburg
“Poptales” Gallery Fata Morgana, Berlin
2016 “All-Stars” Pictoplasma, Urban Spree, Berlin
Talks
2024Fuhrwerkswaage, Cologne
2023 WLGD, Copenhagen
Forward Festival, Berlin
2022 The Loeries, Cape Town
OFFF Barcelona
Forward Festival, Vienna
LIA, London
Forward Festival, Berlin
Pictoplasma Festival, Berlin
2020 Forward Festival, Hamburg
Photo: Burak Sungar