5/9/2025 - 1/4/2026
Together
Yapı Kredi Culture and Art
Fulya Çetin: Daydreams
İlhan Sayın: The Night of the Deer
The second edition of the exhibition series Together focuses on two Istanbulite artists of the same generation, who have been active since the 1990s: Fulya Çetin and İlhan Sayın. Presenting urban and natural landscapes, animal and human portraits, abstractions, and objects, the artists create open-ended works that invite the viewer’s imagination. Connected through shared themes, similar perspectives, and a long-standing bond of friendship, the artists converge in their artistic approach and subject matter despite their differing formal choices. The most striking common feature in their practice lies in their subtle yet thought-provoking exploration of human domination over nature. Rooted in painting yet extending beyond it, these works invite the viewer to a magical realm where plants and animals also possess agency. The artists engage with contemporary social issues such as gender inequality, environ- mental injustice, and colonialism, distilling them into a delicate, minimal, and personal artistic language.
The display method in the exhibition series Together, developed as a response to Yapı Kredi Gallery’s architecture, combines individual and dual exhibition modes. Two floors are dedicated to solo exhibitions, while the “white cube” in the central area hosts both artists together, offering a shared platform that highlights their conceptual connections. Creating a space to explore the works of artists with parallel research themes and artistic expressions, Together, in this edition, reflects on the intricate web of relationships humans have built with nature, the city, and one another. In his exhibition The Night of the Deer, inspired by Turgut Uyar’s poem with the same title, I·lhan Sayın focuses on the resilience of nature, transience of time, and architecture, while Fulya Çetin presents an ecofeminist vision in Daydreams, drawing from the shared struggle of women and nature to exist. Both artists engage with difficult topics through a subtle, simple, and sensitive approach. In her painting Bouquet (2016), Fulya Çetin gives visibility to male violence, whereas in Hammam (2022), İlhan Sayın brings the issue into the present with the addition of graffiti, confronting us with the reality of our own impermanence as humans.
The artists are interested in the aesthetics of the worn-out and decrepit. In Leftover (2009), Fulya Çetin recounts a past event by painting a pair of sad, high-heeled boots left in the corner of a ramshackle building. Fire, demolition, explosion, or earthquake—we do not know what happened, but we are united by a feeling of shared grief through the images ingrained in our collective memory. Lovers, abandoned objects, or plants— whatever her subject may be, Fulya Çetin’s works create a sense of empathy embracing the viewer with their warmth. This stems from her deep engagement in reading, feeling, and internalizing the themes she works on, as well as her genuine connection to life and to herself.
Like Fulya Çetin, İlhan Sayın searches for the aesthetics of the worn-out, rundown, and broken. In his vision, the realities of the past and the present are in constant clash—yet this is never expressed in the language of violence. Instead, İlhan Sayın constructs a world of subtle irony through juxtaposed situations, building timeless universes. In his series Book of Birds (2024-2025), cracked walls with peeling paint evoke the past, yet perhaps this is a day in the future rather than the past. İlhan Sayın’s interest in ruins is tied to his critical perspective on humanity’s pursuit of eternal existence. His compositions, quiet and reflexive, explore contradictions.
When we look at Fulya Çetin and İlhan Sayın’s artistic productions in juxtaposition, another common theme emerges: portrait painting. Sayın depicts glittering, idiosyncratic figures who shine on stage with their talent, such as Aysel Gürel, Björk, Bergen, and his musician friend Kani. Aysel Gürel’s oversized, colorful sunglasses, the flower Kani tucks behind their ear, Björk’s voluminous hair, and Bergen’s signature eye makeup... İlhan Sayın chooses to paint these powerful figures softly rather than in a bold style, avoiding to define them with clear-cut lines. Therefore, he adopts a light and colorful manner that accentuates their intense gaze. While İlhan Sayın’s work is primarily associated with landscapes and urban scenes, he has intermittently returned to portraiture throughout his practice since the beginning, as seen in unconventional works such as ‘99 (1999) and Broken Portrait (2024). On the other hand, portraits hold a more prominent place in Fulya Çetin’s practice. In her early works from the 1990s, she depicts her son and creates self-portraits. Since the 2000s, however, she has shifted her focus to her close circle—faces encountered by chance, friends, lovers... They are individuals who represent her chosen family.
Sometimes, we are face to face with a woman who is about to set her long, red hair on fire with a lighter in her hand. At other times, we encounter a young boy holding a bouquet of lilies, or a couple laughing mouth to mouth. Sometimes, we see lovers tenderly touch one another, or a person lying on the grass, gazing at the sky. And other times, we see a mysterious figure in a bird costume... Fulya Çetin’s portraits are not mere depictions of faces; they are infused with a feeling and a state, which at times appears as resistance, and at other times, as love, or trust. She also highlights the relationships between animals and humans, or humans and nature. Fulya Çetin’s focus gradually shifts from people to nature, which gives life to striking large-scale works that can be referred to as plant portraits, such as Hollyhock (2023).
In addition to common aspects between artists, the Together exhibition series also explores their differences, or different ways of coming together. This time, Together takes a new path. In the first edition in 2023, two artists, Sena Başöz and Noor Abuarafeh, were paired up without ever having met or seen each other’s works until the exhibition invitation. This time, however, the artists have known each other for a long time—worrying together, celebrating joyful moments.
On Fulya Çetin
Is daydreaming only reserved for dreamers, or does it offer a much-needed escape in our post-truth era as a means for preserving our sanity while trying to hold on to truth? Fulya Çetin’s comprehensive exhibition at Yapı Kredi Gallery offers us the opportunity to explore her earlier and most recent works together. In this ever-evolving, feminine universe woven with leaves, branches, hair, and bouquets, sometimes she speaks the language of women, at other times, that of plants. In the Woods (2006), which greets the visitors at the entrance of the exhibition, depicts a serene woman immersed in the moment on a spring day, lying peacefully on the grass among. From the Underground (2019), a series of ceramic works, introduces us to snakes, porcupines, reptiles, and vulva-like forms, all of which are exhibited for the first time at Yapı Kredi Gallery. These objects, slithering along walls and undulating shelves, appear to emerge from a surreal narrative, infiltrating the exhibition space. A thorny creature, rather than one with soft fur, alongside a leech, a reptile, and a snake present the charm of the unlikeable. They open eerie, undefined, and blurred pathways.
On İlhan Sayın
Drawing plays an important role in İlhan Sayın’s works, which focus on collective memory, the transience of time, and social issues. He works meticulously with lines, details, and the interplay of empty and filled spaces, carefully filtering his chosen subjects through his unique lens. He is a keen observer of both the internal and external world, and a collector, who often spends time at secondhand bookstores and flea markets. These habits and sensibilities are reflected in the visual language of his paintings. Much like taking a deep breath before speaking, he takes a moment of absorption before beginning a painting. Rather than rushing into fast production and back-to-back exhi- bitions, he prefers to share his works only when the timing feels right. He depicts unconventional urban scenes, nightscapes, archaeological sites, ruins, greenhouses, and compositions inspired by old postcards. He navigates the effects of gentrification, life cycles of historical places, and the lives and times spent around them. Animals, people, and streets in his works appear to be uncanny and conflictual—sometimes, in a way that makes it difficult for us to pinpoint when or where the scene takes place. These compositions, reminiscent of cinematic scenes, are imbued with strong emotions and narratives. His paintings, which evoke the fleeting nature of humanity, time, and power, also represent the endurance and resistance of nature and life in the face of human domination.
Please refer to the exhibition catalogue for the entire text.
İlhan Sayın: The Night of the Deer
The second edition of the exhibition series Together focuses on two Istanbulite artists of the same generation, who have been active since the 1990s: Fulya Çetin and İlhan Sayın. Presenting urban and natural landscapes, animal and human portraits, abstractions, and objects, the artists create open-ended works that invite the viewer’s imagination. Connected through shared themes, similar perspectives, and a long-standing bond of friendship, the artists converge in their artistic approach and subject matter despite their differing formal choices. The most striking common feature in their practice lies in their subtle yet thought-provoking exploration of human domination over nature. Rooted in painting yet extending beyond it, these works invite the viewer to a magical realm where plants and animals also possess agency. The artists engage with contemporary social issues such as gender inequality, environ- mental injustice, and colonialism, distilling them into a delicate, minimal, and personal artistic language.
The display method in the exhibition series Together, developed as a response to Yapı Kredi Gallery’s architecture, combines individual and dual exhibition modes. Two floors are dedicated to solo exhibitions, while the “white cube” in the central area hosts both artists together, offering a shared platform that highlights their conceptual connections. Creating a space to explore the works of artists with parallel research themes and artistic expressions, Together, in this edition, reflects on the intricate web of relationships humans have built with nature, the city, and one another. In his exhibition The Night of the Deer, inspired by Turgut Uyar’s poem with the same title, I·lhan Sayın focuses on the resilience of nature, transience of time, and architecture, while Fulya Çetin presents an ecofeminist vision in Daydreams, drawing from the shared struggle of women and nature to exist. Both artists engage with difficult topics through a subtle, simple, and sensitive approach. In her painting Bouquet (2016), Fulya Çetin gives visibility to male violence, whereas in Hammam (2022), İlhan Sayın brings the issue into the present with the addition of graffiti, confronting us with the reality of our own impermanence as humans.
The artists are interested in the aesthetics of the worn-out and decrepit. In Leftover (2009), Fulya Çetin recounts a past event by painting a pair of sad, high-heeled boots left in the corner of a ramshackle building. Fire, demolition, explosion, or earthquake—we do not know what happened, but we are united by a feeling of shared grief through the images ingrained in our collective memory. Lovers, abandoned objects, or plants— whatever her subject may be, Fulya Çetin’s works create a sense of empathy embracing the viewer with their warmth. This stems from her deep engagement in reading, feeling, and internalizing the themes she works on, as well as her genuine connection to life and to herself.
Like Fulya Çetin, İlhan Sayın searches for the aesthetics of the worn-out, rundown, and broken. In his vision, the realities of the past and the present are in constant clash—yet this is never expressed in the language of violence. Instead, İlhan Sayın constructs a world of subtle irony through juxtaposed situations, building timeless universes. In his series Book of Birds (2024-2025), cracked walls with peeling paint evoke the past, yet perhaps this is a day in the future rather than the past. İlhan Sayın’s interest in ruins is tied to his critical perspective on humanity’s pursuit of eternal existence. His compositions, quiet and reflexive, explore contradictions.
When we look at Fulya Çetin and İlhan Sayın’s artistic productions in juxtaposition, another common theme emerges: portrait painting. Sayın depicts glittering, idiosyncratic figures who shine on stage with their talent, such as Aysel Gürel, Björk, Bergen, and his musician friend Kani. Aysel Gürel’s oversized, colorful sunglasses, the flower Kani tucks behind their ear, Björk’s voluminous hair, and Bergen’s signature eye makeup... İlhan Sayın chooses to paint these powerful figures softly rather than in a bold style, avoiding to define them with clear-cut lines. Therefore, he adopts a light and colorful manner that accentuates their intense gaze. While İlhan Sayın’s work is primarily associated with landscapes and urban scenes, he has intermittently returned to portraiture throughout his practice since the beginning, as seen in unconventional works such as ‘99 (1999) and Broken Portrait (2024). On the other hand, portraits hold a more prominent place in Fulya Çetin’s practice. In her early works from the 1990s, she depicts her son and creates self-portraits. Since the 2000s, however, she has shifted her focus to her close circle—faces encountered by chance, friends, lovers... They are individuals who represent her chosen family.
Sometimes, we are face to face with a woman who is about to set her long, red hair on fire with a lighter in her hand. At other times, we encounter a young boy holding a bouquet of lilies, or a couple laughing mouth to mouth. Sometimes, we see lovers tenderly touch one another, or a person lying on the grass, gazing at the sky. And other times, we see a mysterious figure in a bird costume... Fulya Çetin’s portraits are not mere depictions of faces; they are infused with a feeling and a state, which at times appears as resistance, and at other times, as love, or trust. She also highlights the relationships between animals and humans, or humans and nature. Fulya Çetin’s focus gradually shifts from people to nature, which gives life to striking large-scale works that can be referred to as plant portraits, such as Hollyhock (2023).
In addition to common aspects between artists, the Together exhibition series also explores their differences, or different ways of coming together. This time, Together takes a new path. In the first edition in 2023, two artists, Sena Başöz and Noor Abuarafeh, were paired up without ever having met or seen each other’s works until the exhibition invitation. This time, however, the artists have known each other for a long time—worrying together, celebrating joyful moments.
On Fulya Çetin
Is daydreaming only reserved for dreamers, or does it offer a much-needed escape in our post-truth era as a means for preserving our sanity while trying to hold on to truth? Fulya Çetin’s comprehensive exhibition at Yapı Kredi Gallery offers us the opportunity to explore her earlier and most recent works together. In this ever-evolving, feminine universe woven with leaves, branches, hair, and bouquets, sometimes she speaks the language of women, at other times, that of plants. In the Woods (2006), which greets the visitors at the entrance of the exhibition, depicts a serene woman immersed in the moment on a spring day, lying peacefully on the grass among. From the Underground (2019), a series of ceramic works, introduces us to snakes, porcupines, reptiles, and vulva-like forms, all of which are exhibited for the first time at Yapı Kredi Gallery. These objects, slithering along walls and undulating shelves, appear to emerge from a surreal narrative, infiltrating the exhibition space. A thorny creature, rather than one with soft fur, alongside a leech, a reptile, and a snake present the charm of the unlikeable. They open eerie, undefined, and blurred pathways.
On İlhan Sayın
Drawing plays an important role in İlhan Sayın’s works, which focus on collective memory, the transience of time, and social issues. He works meticulously with lines, details, and the interplay of empty and filled spaces, carefully filtering his chosen subjects through his unique lens. He is a keen observer of both the internal and external world, and a collector, who often spends time at secondhand bookstores and flea markets. These habits and sensibilities are reflected in the visual language of his paintings. Much like taking a deep breath before speaking, he takes a moment of absorption before beginning a painting. Rather than rushing into fast production and back-to-back exhi- bitions, he prefers to share his works only when the timing feels right. He depicts unconventional urban scenes, nightscapes, archaeological sites, ruins, greenhouses, and compositions inspired by old postcards. He navigates the effects of gentrification, life cycles of historical places, and the lives and times spent around them. Animals, people, and streets in his works appear to be uncanny and conflictual—sometimes, in a way that makes it difficult for us to pinpoint when or where the scene takes place. These compositions, reminiscent of cinematic scenes, are imbued with strong emotions and narratives. His paintings, which evoke the fleeting nature of humanity, time, and power, also represent the endurance and resistance of nature and life in the face of human domination.
Please refer to the exhibition catalogue for the entire text.
Artists
Fulya Çetin, İhan SayınCurators
Didem YazıcıAsistant Curator: Zehra Begüm Kışla
