Sevgi Çağal (born February 17, 1957) is a Turkish

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

and

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

Biography

Çağal was born on February 17, 1957, in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, United States. She was educated in French linguistics at the

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

from 1974 to 1978, from where she received a BA degree. In 1976, Çağal studied history of arts in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, France. She completed her education with a MA degree in French linguistics and literature at NYU in 1980. She moved to Turkey in 1987, and lives since then in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

. Between 1990 and 1998, Çağal worked in some art workshops of her masters. She opened her own workshop in 1997. Her works are recognized by their round forms and vibrant color. They can be found in collections all over in Europe, USA and parts of Asia. Her latest works are of

tulip Tulips are spring-blooming perennial herbaceous bulbiferous geophytes in the ''Tulipa'' genus. Their flowers are usually large, showy, and brightly coloured, generally red, orange, pink, yellow, or white. They often have a different colour ...

s, abstracted so that they have a life of their own. The previous works consisted of almost magnified detail of organic forms. Detail has always been important to her: she believes the essence of being is hidden in the detail and tulips, rather the form of the tulip, to her consists of the folds and the forms we may find in all living things.

References

1957 births Living people American people of Turkish descent American emigrants to Turkey Turkish women painters Turkish women sculptors 20th-century Turkish sculptors Artists from New York City New York University Graduate School of Arts and Science alumni 21st-century Turkish sculptors 20th-century Turkish women artists 21st-century Turkish women artists 21st-century women sculptors {{Turkey-sculptor-stub