Today, we’d like to introduce you to Umit Sural.
Hi Umit, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I am a multidisciplinary artist who works in acting, filmmaking, photography, painting, sculpting, and design. After graduating in computer science, 3D animation, and post-production, I almost naturally went on to filmmaking and acting. Following my predominant interest in the artistic dimension of these activities, the step to video art, painting, and sculpture was as predictable as natural.
Born in Istanbul in 1984, I today live and work in Barcelona and Paris., cities that profoundly nourish my creativity as an artist and designer. Several solo and group exhibitions have shown my work since 2021. Influenced by the struggles and difficulties of my native culture, liberty and freedom of speech became a determining centerpiece of my artistic expression. Human rights, the fight against racism, religious indoctrination, and intolerance of any kind are permanent issues in my creative process.
In the «Protect Me» project, a series of acrylic paintings on canvas, «covered» by hand-sculptures & spray-painted aluminum meshes, I navigate between painting and sculpture. The inventive, transgressive, and interdisciplinary style of this series, plays with symbols of cover and protection and their contractionary possibilities of use and interpretation.
The « Space» works, a very graphic series of duo-chromatic paintings on paper, illustrate the need for balance and equality in order to achieve harmony. The composition strikes by its geometric power and basic colors, with a central void balancing between light and darkness.
In my «woman power project», a series of B&W photographs, I oppose film and digital photography, again to express unbalanced power and the constant struggle of women for equality.
Through the latest digital NFT series, I continue my reflection and work on balance and opposition. Such as the impressionist movement was regarded to be in opposition to the academic art of its predecessors, nft interrogates the established ways of producing and distributing art. Opposition and balance not only relate to the contents but also to the media and means of artistic expression. It therefore is no coincidence, that some of my digital creations find their inspiration in impressionist masterpieces. It therefore is no coincidence, that some of Ümit’s digital creations find inspiration in impressionist masterpieces.
From charcoal drawings to acrylic painting, from three-dimensional canvases to sculpture, from photo- and videography to NFT animation, I explore various scales of artistic expression. Influenced by the modern movement of the late 19th and early 20th century, my art projects are declined in series, each of which refers to a particular influence, reference, or event.
Guided by a sincere taste for artistic research and invention, each art project becomes decisive, personal, and unique. All of my projects are visible on “www.umitsural.com“. Recently, I started working on my new fashion brand called “Oowne”, designing, producing, and distributing bags and fashion accessories destined for the international luxury market.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Making art and design visible never is a smooth road. It is not enough to have ideas and artistic convictions, finding access to potential viewers and buyers is essential to make your creations exist. As an artist, creating new pieces and projects is a permanent evolution; showing them and finding an interesting public, on the other hand, is less natural and not always easy.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
While photography for example can perfectly express a certain subject, painting and sculpture have other possibilities and sensitivities of expression. Working multidisciplinary enables me to choose the right art form according to the subject, emotion, and message, I want to express.
What matters most to you?
I am very much influenced by the struggles and difficulties of my native culture. Therefore, liberty and freedom of speech became a determining centerpiece of my reflection and artistic expression.
Empathy, human rights, the fight against racism, religious indoctrination, and intolerance of any kind are permanent issues in my creative process.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.umitsural.com. &. www.oowne.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/umitsural/ &. https://www.instagram.com/oowneofficial/
Image Credits
Selin Onel
