burhan doğançay

İstanbul, 1929

Burhan Doğançay, attended the University of Paris in 1950 and obtained his Ph.D. in Economics in 1953. During his studies in Paris, he followed the courses of the famous academy of arts, La Grande Chaumière. On his return to Turkey, he concentrated mostly on painting. In 1965, the Guggenheim Museum in New York purchased one of his works. Ten years later, in 1975, he initiated a photography project entitled “The Walls of the World” that covered 112 countries. Apart from photography and painting, Doğançay worked at the Los Angeles Tamarind Atelier of Lithography in 1969 and at the Aubusson Raymond Picaud Atelier of Carpet in 1983. That same year, he also created the “Shadow Sculptures of Alucobond”. In 2001, most of his works were brought together at his retrospective organized at the Istanbul Dolmabahçe Cultural Centre.

Two years later, his work entitled “Homage to the Art of Calligraphy” was included in the collection of the European Parliament; one of EU’s fundamental bodies; he thus became the first Turkish artist whose work is represented in this international collection. That same year, he was listed as one of the influential artists of the American history of art in the prestigious encyclopedia entitled “American Painters, Sculptures & Engravers of the U.S.”. In the final quarter of 2003, Doğançay opened “The Dogancay Museum” -one of the first private museums of Turkey- in Istanbul Beyoğlu. Burhan Doğançay continues working in Istanbul and in New York.