Duygu Kıvanc
Biography
Duygu Kivanc is an artist who has shown her work at the United Nations, SOHO, Chelsea in New York, Alexandria, McLean, and Fairfax in the Northern Virginia/Washington DC area as well as internationally in various countries. Duygu has an Associates's Degree in Textiles. She considers her participation in the Art Students' League (open studio programs) in New York has influenced her development style in art. Especially, Knox Martin's instruction on abstraction has very strong influence. Kivanc presents works inspired by her three years in Bhutan in narrative text and mixed-media pictures totaling 38 pages, making this a brief art book. In addition to paintings of the South Asian nation, the artist has included illustrations of her native Turkey as well as Hawaii and a more abstract work Duygu Kıvanc lives and works in Turkey and in the United States.
The artwork is somewhat stylized with characteristically solid elements flowing together to create the scene. The assembled paintings evoke a vivid sense of time and place. While Kivanc clearly experiments with various media, a strong aesthetic point of view is present in each composition.
Artist Statement
I express my moods and feelings reflected in the color, form, and compositions. Although I have created many portraits, abstract landscapes have become another favorite subject to exhibit my use of analogous and complementary color. Many of my paintings have rich, striking, and bold colors, creating an exciting contrast, while my florals are produced by washes of pastel color applied in a delicate technique. I have done a great deal of traveling, oftentimes influencing the subject matter of my prolific collection of oil or acrylic landscapes and portraits.
What first prompted you to think of becoming an artist?
I had always dreams to become an artist. I find the things I can not express with words, I can draw easily and more meaningfully.
What kind of an artist do you ultimately see yourself?
I feel like I am a storyteller. When I was young, I kept my memories (good or bad) thinking one day turning them into paintings. Not every painting or story is about my life. Every life influences me. Especially children and women. They are vulnerable to the living.
What are you hoping to communicate to the viewer through your work?
Some people find my writings and paintings edgy,critisizing. But I am only trying to hold a mirror to people's faces. There is room for improvement, at every stage of living.
My painting "Peace " is about that. Maybe I am a dreamer of Utopia, but even a little effort is help for a change. I am hoping the viewer will think and understand me.
Can you explain the process of creating your work?
I need to be by myself to concentrate on the subject and try to project the feelings of my subject or subjects. That takes long hours. Sometimes,I have to read books about them. E.g; In "Harem" Paintings, I had to study how the women kept and in what circumstances.
What is your favourite part of the creative process?
Putting the paint in the final process always excite me. Finishing a project is always difficult for me.I find myself coming back to the painting with one more detail.
Can you give us an insight into current projects and inspiration, or what we can look forward to from you in the near future?
I want to paint a black figurative painting in a different environment.
Website: www.fineartamerica.com/profiles/duygu-kivanc
Instagram: www.instagram.com/deekivanc/
