Hedi Turki (15 May 1922 31 March 2019) was a

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

n artist of Turkish origin. He is considered to have been the pioneering force of abstract painting in Tunisia and was an influential member of the School of Tunis. His younger brother was

Zoubeir Turki Zoubeir Turki (19 November 1924 – 23 October 2009) was a Tunisian painter and sculptor of Turkish people, Turkish origin. He was the younger brother of Hedi Turki (1922–2019). Born in the Medina of Tunis to a family of Turkish people, Tu ...

, who died in 2009.

Biography

Turki was born in 1922 in

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

to a family of Turkish origin. His grandfather, Hacı Hamid Semerci, immigrated from

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

in 1870 as an Ottoman army major. Turki attended his primary education from 1928 to 1936, then went to the

Sadiki College Sadiki College, also known as ''Collège Sadiki'' ( aeb, المدرسة الصادقية, "El-Sadqiya High School"), is a '' lycée'' (high school) in Tunis, Tunisia. It was established in 1875. Associations formed by its alumni played a major rol ...

, before going to the

Lycée Carnot The Lycée Carnot is a public secondary and higher education school at 145 Boulevard Malesherbes in the 17th arrondissement, Paris, France. The Lycée Carnot was founded in 1869, first bearing the name of École Monge and then renamed in 1895. Som ...

between 1936 and 1940. He abandoned his studies after the death of his father, Mustapha, in 1939, in order to support his family as he was the eldest of seven brothers. He worked in numerous odd jobs such as an apprentice tailor, clerk, and laborer in oil mill. He married Jamila Skhiri in 1948 after the death of his mother in 1945. He began to learn the principles of pictorial art, self-taught, and then joined the School of Tunis. In 1951 he completed a refresher course of two months in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

at the Academie de la Grande Chaumiere. Then he obtained a scholarship for two years (1956-1657) at the

Academy of Fine Arts The following is a list of notable art schools. Accredited non-profit art and design colleges * Adelaide Central School of Art * Alberta College of Art and Design * Art Academy of Cincinnati * Art Center College of Design * The Art Institute ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. In 1959, he traveled for three months in the United States, where he discovered th abstract art at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. From 1963 to his retirement in 1985, he taught art at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Tunis. He continued to travel and to study and work during his career, particularly in England (1971),

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

(1977) and the United States (1979). Turki was instrumental in the founding of the School of Tunis, the establishment of the National Union of plastic and graphic arts of Tunisia, and the General Union of Arab Plastic Artists. His work evolved over time, a nationalist vocation at first, usually figurative like most members of the School of Tunis, it was then influenced by Abstract Expressionism, as inspired by his trip to the United States. Two American painters influenced Turki:

Jackson Pollock Paul Jackson Pollock (; January 28, 1912August 11, 1956) was an American painter and a major figure in the abstract expressionist movement. He was widely noticed for his " drip technique" of pouring or splashing liquid household paint onto a hor ...

(1912–1956) and

Mark Rothko Mark Rothko (), born Markus Yakovlevich Rothkowitz (russian: Ма́ркус Я́ковлевич Ротко́вич, link=no, lv, Markuss Rotkovičs, link=no; name not Anglicized until 1940; September 25, 1903 – February 25, 1970), was a Lat ...

(1913–1970). Nonetheless, Turki's abstract style was marked by a deep sense of Tunisia and a somewhat religious aspect, which distinguishes it from other artists of his time. Hedi Turki died on March 31, 2019, aged 96.

References

1922 births 2019 deaths 20th-century Tunisian painters 20th-century Turkish painters 21st-century Tunisian painters 21st-century Turkish painters Alumni of Sadiki College Tunisian artists Tunisian people of Turkish descent Turkish artists Tunisian expatriates in Italy {{Tunisia-bio-stub