Canan Atalay is a sculptor living in Istanbul. She was born in 1979 and studied Business Administration at Koc University in her earlier years. After graduating, she had a successful career in finance until she decided to change her path to become a fine artist in 2015.
She began her art education in Istanbul at Ada Art Studio and fell in love with making ceramic sculptures. In 2017, she decided to pursue her art education in New York. She attended The Art Students League of New York (“The League”), which is one the most reputable and well-known art schools in New York City. During her education, she was awarded with Merit Scholarship by The League on artistic merit. Her education at The League helped her tremendously to cultivate the discipline and the ability to be an innovative and influential artist.
She graduated from The League in 2021 specializing in ceramics, contemporary sculptures and pottery. During her career, she has taken part in many group exhibitions in The Phyllis Harriman Mason Gallery in New York. She also exhibited her works in several pop-up galleries in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Long Island, New Jersey and Boston between 2018-2020.
Her two current projects are called “Bloom” and "Grace."
In Bloom series, she explores the idea of evolution by integrating different features, qualities and characteristics of all life forms through the elegance of movement. Her subject matter is the evolution of life and its connection to earth. Her creative process is fully intuitive and shapes are captured in spontaneous movements. She creates complex forms combining the features and characteristics of humans, plants and animals.
We try to understand life and explain our existence with our present knowledge and perceptions. In fact, it’s all a mystery. She tries to go beyond the lines of what we know today and asks questions like; “What could be the future of our existence?”, “How can we free ourselves from the current rules of life and nature; and how would that change our perspective on our existence?” Her inspiration is the idea of all life forms harmoniously fusing and creating a metamorphosis of new life forms defying the existing order and classifications of nature. She believes, just like evolution is continuous, her work will carry on progressing and evolving through her artistic journey.
The Grace series is about simplicity, refinement and smoothness of form and power. It’s about exploring ways to make shadow and light work harmoniously to form elegant and graceful lines. Power exists in all forms of life. It can be a strong wild animal, the love and tenderness of an expecting mother or at the deep, solid roots of a cedar tree. Before she starts her work, she does extensive research on the anatomy and the characteristics of the subject. Creating unique shapes and forms is her biggest motivation and passion. What the viewer sees as the finished work is the collaboration of her imagination, the actuality of the figure and the reflection of the concept of power.