About the Artist

Biography

Born in 1980 in Silvan, a district of Diyarbakır kneaded with history and civilization, Bayram Buksel's passion for art blossomed in his childhood with a deep curiosity for the stones and patterns of the lands he lived in. While this early excitement turned into a form of expression for him, the textile business he engaged in professionally alongside painting further nourished his intrinsic interest in texture and layers. Establishing an artistic bridge between the pattern of the yarn and the relief of the paint on the canvas, the artist began to embroider the thousands-year-old memory of his birthplace onto the canvas surface.

Buksel views history and mythology not as stories of the past, but as living, breathing organisms that shape the spirit of today. Building his art upon this fundamental philosophy, he carries legends like Shahmaran and Phoenix, the architectural memory of cradle-of-civilization cities like Diyarbakır and Van, and the echoes of warriors from different layers of the earth onto his canvases. Uniting all these subjects under the main idea of "MEMORY," the artist takes the viewer on a journey into the depths of personal and collective memory.

The most distinctive feature of the artist's works is the sculptural textures and layered structures he uses. The sense of relief he creates by using paint almost like mortar adds not only a visual but also a tactile dimension to his works. Especially in his abstract compositions, instead of depicting a myth or historical event as a whole, he dissects it into its "anatomy." Through color columns, geometric forms, and fragmented figures, he visualizes the non-linear, discontinuous, and layered nature of memory.

Instead of offering a complete answer, Buksel prefers to leave a door ajar for the audience. His works are open-ended questions inviting the viewer to assemble these pieces, fill in the gaps with their own memories and knowledge, and thus reconstruct their own memory.

My Art Concept

My canvas is an excavation site, and my brush is an archaeologist's tool. My art is the act of unearthing the thousands-year-old memory, myths, and echoes of history of the geography I was born in.

Sculptural textures and layers are there to make the weight of memories felt. I break my compositions into pieces because memory is like that too; not holistic, but discontinuous and layered. Each piece is a passage opening to the secret behind the visible.

My works do not offer complete answers; they are doors left ajar for you to find your own truth. Art begins on my canvas and completes in your consciousness.

Exhibitions

• "Secret and Passage" Solo Painting Exhibition - DİTAV, Diyarbakır - 2025