Adnan Turani

Art historian and painter (b. 1925, Beşiktaş / İstanbul - d. 17 December 2016, Ankara). He graduated from İstanbul Teacher Training School, (1944), the Gazi Institute of Education, Department of Painting (1948) and Munich, Stuttgart, Hamburg Academies of Fine Arts (1955-59). He was taught by Franz Nagel in Munich, Henninger and Willi Baumeister in Stuttgart and Heinz Trökes in Hamburg. His doctorate thesis was “Modern Plastik Sanatları Yaratan Etkenler” (Factors That Create Modern Plastic Art, 1973). He returned to Turkey in 1959 when he was appointed as an academician to Ankara Gazi Institute of Education (1959-1970). He also worked at Hacettepe University (1970-86) and Bilkent Universitiy (1986-92). He taught painting, fine arts, evaluating works of art and the history of art. He retired from Bilkent University in 1993.

His first article “Akademisiz Bir Başkent” (A Capital City without an Academy) was published in the journal Öncü in 1960; others were published in the reviews Varlık (1960), Türk Dili Dergisi (1966) etc. Between the years 1964-1966, he started the review Sanat ve Sanatçılar. He has visited many Middle Eastern and Far Eastern countries including Russia, Israel, and Saudi Arabia besides various European countries. He has participated in countless Turkish and international exhibitions, fairs, biennials and triennials. He collected the State Award for Painting in 1972 and 1974, the Ankara Art Foundation Award in 1991, the Sedat Simavi Visual Arts Award in 1993 and the Ankara Art Fair Modern Arts Foundation Honor Award in 2001. He is a member of the Art Critics Association (chairman between 1975-1980) and the Association Internationale des Critiques d'Art.

WORKS:

Modern Sanatın Gerçek Çehresi (Real Face of the Contemporary Art, 1960), Resim Üzerine (About Painting, 1964), Güzel Sanatlar Terimleri Sözlüğü (Dictionary of Fine Arts, 1968), Dünya Sanat Tarihi (World Art History, 1971), Çağdaş Sanat Felsefesi (Contemporary Philosophy of Art, 1974), Batı Anlayışına Dönük Türk Resim Sanatı (Turkish Painting Aimed at the Western Artistic Mind, 1978), Resimde Geometri (Geometry in Painting, 1979), Sanat Ansiklopedisi (Encyclopedia of Art, 2 volumes, 1980), Başlangıcından Bugüne Çağdaş Türk Resim Sanatı Tarihi (History of Turkish Painting Art from the Beginning to Present, 2 volumes, with Nurullah Berk, 1988), Turkish Painting (1988), Zeki Faik İzer (Zeki Faik İzer, 1995).    REFERENCE: Adnan Turani ile Görüşme (Yeni Boyut, Ekim 1983), Nurullah Berk – Kaya Özsezgin / Cumhuriyet Dönemi Türk Resmi (1983), Adnan Turanî / Batı Anlayışına Dönük Türk Resim Sanatı (1984), Halil Akdeniz / Adnan Turani Desenler Boya Resimleri Drawings Paintings (1989), İhsan Işık / Türkiye Yazarlar Ansiklopedisi (2001, 2004) – Encyclopedia of Turkish Authors (2005) - Resimli ve Metin Örnekli Türkiye Edebiyatçılar ve Kültür Adamları Ansiklopedisi (2006, gen. 2. bas. 2007) - Ünlü Sanatçılar (Türkiye Ünlüleri Ansiklopedisi, C. 5, 2013) - Encyclopedia of Turkey’s Famous People (2013), Mümtaz Sağlam / Adnan Turani (1996) - Sanat Koleksiyonu-Türk Sanatında 1950 Sonrası Çağdaş Yaklaşımlar ve Koleksiyondan Örnekler (c. 2, 2004), Sezer Tansuğ / Resim Sanatının Tarihi (1999).