The exhibition titled “Feyhaman Duran between Two Worlds”, which was organized in collaboration with Istanbul University and Sabancı Holding, was opened to visit after the press conference held at SU Sakıp Sabancı Museum (SSM) on 12 January 2017.

The Rector of Istanbul University Prof. Dr. Mahmut Ak, the Chairman of Sabancı University Founding Board of Trustees Güler Sabancı and SSM Museum Director Nazan Meter participated to the meeting.

997 works on display in the exhibition

The Rector of Istanbul University Prof. Dr. Mahmut Ak said: "Feyhaman Duran Between Two Worlds" exhibition is a different and important project prepared by Sabancı University Sakıp Sabancı Museum with using Istanbul University Feyhaman Duran Culture and Art House and its collection as base. We are very happy to work with Sabancı University on such a project. 997 works from Feyhaman Duran Culture and Art House and the other collection of the artist are on display and the exhibition contains many different kinds of artifacts ranging from painting to miniature, from caligraphy to ornamentation, even to Kütahya ceramics and easel."

The rector of Istanbul University, Prof. Dr. Mahmut Ak, who emphasized that the exhibition would be an important resource for researchers and those interested in Turkish painting history, said: "Feyhaman Duran has also made still life paintings, landscapes apart from the portraits of western style among which there has been his own portrait awarded. When he returned to his country from Paris, he worked with enthusiasm by giving importance to the traditional Turkish arts, from calligraphy and miniature art to Karagöz and Hacivat with the effect of his friend Sühely Enver. After a while later he married to Guzin Duran, they settled into the house of Güzin Duran's grandfather, Calligraphist Yahya Hilmi Efendi in Suleymaniye. This house which continues with the painter members of a calligrapher family witnessed Ottoman Empire and the first period of Turkish Republic and unrolled sections of the cultural life of those times. This house, which he donated together with his wife in 1962 to Istanbul University, is one of the museums of Istanbul University as 'Feyhaman Duran Culture and Art House' and is opened for sightseeing. The art house which is placed with two rooms on the exhibition in addition to the paintings also sheds light on the Turkish family life that is modest, but also in touch with art and culture."

It is nice to collaborate with Istanbul University, the most rooted university of our country

Güler Sabancı, the Chairman of the Founding Board of Sabancı University, stated that they were pleased to welcome the exhibition in the 15th year of the founding of SSM and expressed they gave importance to the exhibition since it brought the two academic institutions together.

Güler Sabancı, by pointing out that Feyhaman Duran was a calligrapher and painting artist, said: "He is an artist who has lived both in the Ottoman period and in the Republican period. He was born in 1886, studied at Galatarasay, studied in Paris, but never forgot his country, his own culture, and built his whole art upon it. "Güler Sabancı, who underlined that he was an artist who was identified with his country and possessed its values, said: "We are glad to support an artist who has grown up in these lands and knows its value by taking it forward. Istanbul University is the most established institution of our country and the greatest settled value. Therefore, it is also a great pleasure for me to be able to work together with an experienced university as a young university like Sabancı University through this exhibition. "

We are going to see the world of the artist in the exhibition

One of the curators of the exhibition SSM Director Nazan Ölçer, by pointing out the collaboration with Istanbul University, noted that the idea of Feyhaman Duran exhibition had already been suggested.

Dr. Ölçer expressed that a large collection of Feyhaman Duran is at Istanbul University and said: "We owe our presentation of Feyhaman Duran's works in such richness as number and content to the collaboration with Istanbul University. In this exhibition, you will see the artist's world, the places he lived in and   hundreds of his paintings which maybe he did not share with anyone but his wife.

In the exhibition that is going to shed light to Feyhaman Duran's life and has the most numerous works of him, more than 1000 works which he made by internalizing both the future and the Western art during the transition period from Ottoman Empire to the Republic and some parts from their house in Beyazıt where he spent a great part of his life with Güzin Duran are on display in the context of special arrangements that describe his daily life and working environment.

These arrangements in which painting tools, furniture and examples from the collection of calligraphy are brought together make it possible to give a detailed sight at the artist, who has a pioneer position in Turkish art history, and his period. In the exhibition that was consisted of the paintings which can be called as 'Feyhaman Duran's private collection', there are also landscape and still life paintings apart from his famous portrait works

The exhibition, after the press conference, was visited by IU Rector Prof. Dr. Mahmut Ak, the Chairman of Sabancı Universty Founding Board of Trustees Güler Sabancı and SSM Museum Director Dr. Nazan Ölçer.

The exhibition titled as "Feyhaman Duran between Two Worlds" is going to wait for the visitors until the 30th of July.

By Damla KALENDER

Translated by İrem Yaşar

IU Press and Public Relations Department