Ali Şentürk's Prints

‘‘The process that began with Derin’s studio invitation in 2024 came to life nearly a year later. This period also coincided with a time when I was questioning my own practice and searching for new directions. Until now, I have worked with various materials and techniques, producing prints and paintings in my studio. However, when I entered Derin’s studio, I realized that although I thought I knew printmaking, it was in fact a world with an entirely different depth.​

 

As I learned the techniques and made experiments, I experienced how ethcing is a realm of its own—and how difficult it is to progress in this field without the guidance of a master. In the printshop, we prepared four different plates. To find the most suitable technique for the watercolor sketches I use in my prints, we made several trials and finally arrived at the right method. Then we continued with test prints and gradually reached the final versions of the works.

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Three of the resulting prints became part of a series I call “Vigeland”, which originally began with watercolor sketches. This series grew out of the sketches I made of sculptures by the artist Gustav Vigeland, whose work I greatly admire. The other design emerged as a continuation of my previous works.

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Whether working with paper, canvas, or sculpture, I try to capture the purest and most emotional moments of the figures. My artistic practice is based on building a simple yet intense visual language centered around the human figure. In my work, the figure is not merely a bodily form; it carries emotions, contact, and states of existence.

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In the pieces I create with a minimal visual language, I aim to approach the essence by stripping away every unnecessary detail. This simplicity invites the viewer into a quiet emotional space; the figures often evoke an inward, calm, yet profound atmosphere.

 

In my sculptures and prints, simplicity is not a reduction—it becomes a space where meaning intensifies. The distance, touch, or gaze between figures establishes a communication beyond words. Within formal simplicity, there is a continuous search for a quiet, measured, yet profound balance that hints at the emotional complexity of being human.’’

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Ali Şentürk

2025