Türkçe
İrem Yılmaz, with her oil paintings questioning the nature of freedom, weaves various shuttles between reality and imagination by placing images at length with their components. While the pastel tones she uses express the narrative of simplicity, her education that was based on graphic design adds a unique sharpness to her works. You are invited to discover our journey with the young artist who is on the path to following her feelings.
How did you meet art? How did painting enter your family house?
Art has always been in my life. The more I got to know myself, the more It began to take part in my life. I’ve been painting since I was a kid, I used to draw cartoon characters back then. As a professional career, on the other hand, I got acquainted with it during my senior year of painting high school.
What caused you to prefer the Department of Plastic Arts and Painting as a minor besides Graphic Design education?
The designs I made were mostly pictures, but there was always a mechanical aspect because graphic design is something like that. This too was not enough for me and was not satisfying me; I wanted to feel the paint in my hands.
Do you have daily routines that trigger and nourish you during the production process?
What feeds me in my daily life is chatting with people, listening to them, and observing them emotionally.
Your works mostly carry names that evoke a certain sense of being away. Do you think there is a pattern of simplicity that dominates your work?
My works talk about emotions and how they’re an endless cycle that can never be solved. So there is a feeling of being a little further away. I usually work on a singular emotion at each work so It may feel simple.
In your works where pastel colors are dominant, you prefer to diminish the use of vivid colors. Do you think these colors affect the feeling in the paintings?
There are things that colors tell and reflect as much as images.
What would you like to say about the image of cover/cloth that has recently appeared in your works and the mystery it hides?
I love the mystery inside the cloth in my works. I think that it both directs the audience to emotion and makes them trie to solve the mystery. It’s kind of like a game.
You mentioned that the need for freedom was an important part of your work. To what extent do you think your art stems from the desire to be free? Do you define yourself as free?
The real world is not a place where we can be free enough. That’s why my fantasy world, my works, expresses the longing for it.
The surreal is present in your works, almost reminiscent of René Magritte. What do you think about the dreamy atmosphere that encapsulates your art?
I like to create works between reality and dreams. It is a method I use in my works to be inspired by real, lived feelings and to distance them from reality.
Are there any books, movies, or content that are influential in your art and that you are inspired by?
I usually read philosophy books. Reading Sartre’s thoughts in particular inspires me.
What kind of future do you envision in your career? What are your future plans?
Creating new work makes me very excited. I want to constantly yield and bring them together with the audience.
What do you think about the fact that your works meet art lovers with Art50.net and online art platforms?
Online platforms allow everyone to access art. This is a very beautiful thing. Art50.net is one of them. I am content because we work together.
You can find İrem Yılmaz’s works on Art50.net here.
Cover Photo: Moritz Rehbein