A solo exhibition focusing on the early drawings of pioneering Turkish contemporary artist İpek Duben, titled ’70–, will be on view at Galerist from November 22, 2025, to January 3, 2026. Curated by Farah Aksoy and Amira Arzık, the exhibition sheds new light on Duben’s multilayered practice by tracing the aesthetic and conceptual foundations of her artistic approach that began in the 1970s.
A New Perspective on Duben’s 1970s Explorations
’70– centers on Duben’s drawings from the 1970s, exploring how this formative period laid the groundwork for her later painting, installation, and performance works. The exhibited drawings reveal how, for Duben, drawing was not merely a tool of representation but also a bodily mode of thinking, feeling, and perceiving space.
In 1969, Duben abandoned her PhD in Political Science to pursue art, and between 1972–1976 studied at the New York Studio School, where her practice underwent a radical transformation. During this intense period, she developed a unique dialogue between figuration and abstraction, approaching the act of drawing as a way of thinking.
From New York to Istanbul: A Silent but Determined Period of Production
After returning to Istanbul, Duben embarked on an intuitive journey, producing outside academic circles yet always in dialogue with them. Experimenting with materials, surfaces, and spatial relationships, this period became the foundation of her versatile artistic language.
The exhibition treats these early drawings not as “preparatory works” but as manifestations of Duben’s visual thought processes. Her self-definition as “an artist working on space” is palpable in these pieces that explore the transitions between line and color, figure and surface, body and space. This early sensitivity to line foreshadows the layered surfaces of the 1990s and the bodily tensions of her canvases from the 2010s.
A Journey to the Roots of Duben’s Practice
By connecting her early drawings with her later signature works, ’70– reveals Duben’s intellectual and formal evolution. The exhibition invites viewers to experience drawing as not merely a starting point but as a central, enduring component of her conceptual and corporeal inquiry.
About İpek Duben
Born in 1937, İpek Duben is one of Turkey’s leading contemporary artists, known for her profound impact on both academic and artistic fields. After graduating from Arnavutköy American College for Girls, she studied Philosophy at Agnes Scott College and Political Science at the University of Chicago. In 1969, during her PhD studies, she decided to fully dedicate herself to art. Her education at the New York Studio School (1972–1976) marked a turning point, laying the foundation for her interdisciplinary approach.
Her major solo exhibitions include Retrospective: Skin, Body, Self (Salt Beyoğlu, 2021–2022), Angels and Clowns (Pi Artworks, 2020), Onlar/They (Fabrica Brighton, 2017; Salt Galata, 2015), What is a Turk? (The Agency London, 2013), and Borrowed Objects (Gallery Zilberman, 2011). Her works have been featured in the 13th and 18th Istanbul Biennials, as well as at The British Museum, Frieze London, the 4th International Mardin Biennial, and Istanbul Modern.
Today, her works are held in major collections including The British Museum (London), Arter (Istanbul), Istanbul Modern, Wien Museum (Vienna), and Bibliotheca Alexandrina (Alexandria). With her layered practice, political and social awareness, spatial investigations, and deep reflections on the body–surface relationship, Duben continues to be one of the most influential figures in contemporary art both in Turkey and internationally.
’70– can be visited at Galerist from Tuesday to Saturday, 11:00–19:00, until January 3, 2026.
