Zeki Faik İzer

Painter (B. April 15^th, 1905, Istanbul – D. December 12^th, 1988, Istanbul). After his graduation from Vefa High School he started Sanayi-i Nefise Mektebi (T.N. the Academy of Fine Arts) in 1923 due to his interest in painting. He was the student of Hikmet Onat and İbrahim Çallı there. He went to Paris in 1928 by winning the exam for abroad education in Europe. He studied on the pottery and frescoes in Paris School of Fine Arts after taking courses from André Lhote und Othon Friesz for some time. When he returned, he was appointed to the Department of Painting at Ankara Gazi Institute of Education as a teacher.

He founded the D Group with his friends who studied abroad like himself such as Elif Naci, Nurullah Berk and Zühtü Müritoğlu to share their art with the society. He made illustrations for children books along with his painting works in 1934-1936 in Paris. He founded a photography studio in the Fine Arts Academy in 1937, he taught in the poster workshop. He participated in the exhibition held by the D Group in the hall of the Academy in 1939. He went to Eskişehir organized by the Community Centers within the scope of “Country Trips”. He held his first personal exhibition in 1945 where the invitation text was written by Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar.

He was appointed as commissioner in the International Modern Art Exhibition of UNESCO which was not founded officially in 1946. At that time he carried out the opening processes of the exhibition called "Bugünün Türk Resmi, Dünün Türkiyesi" where the Far East arts were exhibited in Cernuschi Museum with Nurullah Berk.  He was the administrator of the Academy of Fine Arts in 1948-1953. He founded the History of Turkish Arts Institute in the academy in 1951. He participated in the International Modern Painting Exhibition held in Brussels in 1958 as the representative of Turkish art with Cevat Dereli.

İzer, who adopted the cubist movement initially, was abided by the reality and the observation of nature more after studying with Friesz. He leaned to an abstract understanding by getting away from the nature and realistic approaches towards the mid 1950s, he sometimes preferred the tachism works that knew no limits of shape with expressionist orientations. The artist turned to the relationship of music and painting towards the mid 1960s and created a specific rhythm on the surface with the dynamism and richness of color he achieved in Missa Solemnis (1965) he created by being inspired by the Beethoven’s art piece with the same name.

 İzer’s art work Sultanahmet Camiinin Camları (1957) in abstract-expressionist approach that became the first in Turkey in 1960 was sent to Guggenheim International Exhibition. Also, he received the first prize in the 4^th and the 18^th Devlet Resim ve Heykel Sergisi (T.N. State Painting and Sculpture Exhibition) in 1942 and 1957.

MAIN WORKS:

Boğaz'dan, Dolmabahçe'den, Natürmort, Missa Solemnis, Düğün Çiçekleri, Akdeniz Mitolojisi.