Erdogan Zumrutoglu

Zümrütoğlu (b.1970) is a Turkish artist originally from Konya who now lives and works between Berlin and Istanbul. Widely known for his abstract impastoed large scale canvases, Zümrütoğlu’s work unveils the subconscious mind. Exploring themes such as the dehumanization of modernity, physiological anxiety, and human impermanence Zümrütoğlu finds inspiration through literature such as Joseph Conrad’s, ‘The Heart of Darkness’.

Zümrütoğlu studied Fine Arts at Dokuz Eylul University in Izmir, Turkey graduating in 1996. Choosing to continue his education in fine art, Zümrütoğlu travelled to Belgium and Holland to expand his knowledge of European painting. His oeuvre is marked by abstract colourful compositions featuring dissolving and remerging shapes on monumental sized canvases. Influenced by German Expressionism and physical abstraction, Zümrütoğlu infuses his works with tension and irony through energetic colour and brushwork.

Further, his use of chromatic variation serves to create a sense of plasticity in his images. Shapes melt into his canvases and are born again in dripping colour creating compositions reminiscent of Francis Bacon. Zümrütoğlu is an established artist having exhibited in museums and foundations worldwide.