Ali Şentürk's Prints
All photos: Orhun Gedik
‘‘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.
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.
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.
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.’’
Ali Şentürk
2025