39th DYO Painting Awards Exhibition opened at Sakıp Sabancı Mardin City Museum. DYO Painting Awards, which have been held uninterruptedly since 1967 and today have an international quality, have also hosted many masters of Turkish painting art, including Adnan Çoker, Mustafa Pilevneli, Vedat Mavitan, Zahit Büyükişlenen, Devrim Erbil, and Mustafa Ayaz in a 56-year period. DYO Painting Awards, which have the distinction of being an art event that particularly attracts the young artist generation; today, in addition to bringing valuable names to the art of painting, it has become a platform where current national and international developments, new trends and researches in the art of painting are evaluated.
The exhibition, which opened its doors at the Sakıp Sabancı Mardin City Museum, hosted by the Sabancı Foundation; It consists of the award-winning and exhibit-worthy works of the 39 DYO Painting Awards organized with the theme of “Nature and Human”. The jury of the competition, in which 704 artists from Iran, Azerbaijan, Germany, Chile and Bulgaria applied with 1.066 works, was the artist Habip Aydoğdu, Prof. Hayri Esmer, Assoc. Dr. Devabil Kara, Prof. Gabriel Ötgun, Prof. Dr. Ferhat Ozgur, Prof. Mümtaz Sağlam and journalist İhsan Yılmaz. While the selection committee awarded 6 works of art, 79 works were found worthy of exhibition.
The selection committee awarded Atila National's "Don't Take Me From Here", Furkan Armutçu's "Wheat Field", İrfan Dönmez's "Imaginations About Me" and Murat Özbakır's "Earth-City-Building" in the painting category. Kübra Gürlenen's “Salt Lake” and Şerife Şen Akkaş's “Extinction” were also awarded in the original print category. 79 works were found worth exhibiting.
Speaking at the opening ceremony for the 39th DYO Painting Awards Mardin Exhibition held on Tuesday, May 23, Yaşar Holding Chairman of the Board and Chairman of the Executive Board of Yaşar Education and Culture Foundation, Feyhan Yaşar said, “Art is very important and indispensable for Yaşar Group. Today, with our exhibition where colors speak, in Mardin; We are very happy to be in this beautiful city, which has a cultural diversity such as the diversity of art and where different cultures live together. Art lovers who will visit our exhibition in this special place will not only see the 39th DYO Painting Awards, but also the Yaşar Family and Yaşar Group's view of art, the 56-year uninterrupted support of our DYO brand to art, and the professionalism that Yaşar Education and Culture Foundation brought to the DYO Painting Awards competition. and they will have the opportunity to see and understand the value added to the art of painting in our country. We are determined to continue the tradition of DYO Painting Awards, which includes many young artists and master artists both in the selection committees and as competitors.
The DYO Painting Awards competition, which started in 1967 with the dreams of our grandfather Durmuş Yaşar and our father Selçuk Yaşar, has been going on for 56 years without a break. On the centennial of the Republic, we will organize the 40th edition of our competition, celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Yaşar Education and Culture Foundation, and bring the Yaşar Museum to the cultural and artistic life of our country.”
Sakip Sabanci Museum Director Dr. Nazan Ölçer said, “First of all, we are happy to host the DYO Painting Awards Exhibition, which has been going on since 1967 and which has brought recognition to many young artists in the field of painting, in Mardin. DYO Painting Awards reflect a serious tradition. Each time, distinguished names of our art world and important artists have accepted to be in the selection committee of this competition, and by making a meticulous evaluation, many promising artists have emerged. It is seen that the young artists who received honorable mentions participated in the competitions again in the following years and won degrees, and even later joined the selection committee. Young artists will appear before us as lecturers and well-known painters. There is undoubtedly a great vision behind the fact that a competition such as the DYO Painting Awards has been going on since 1967, in today's world where many projects are unfortunately halfway. Showing this exhibition in different cities of our country is also a part of this vision. We are very happy that one leg of the exhibition is taking place at the Sakıp Sabancı Mardin City Museum, which the Sabancı Foundation brought to the museum community.”
Sabancı Foundation Sakıp Sabancı Mardin City Museum Director Fırat Şahin said, “We would like to thank Yaşar Holding and Yaşar Education and Culture Foundation first and foremost. Although Sakıp Sabancı Mardin City Museum is a young museum, it has hosted many local and international artists until now. Now, we are proud to host this exhibition that will encourage young artists who have not yet had the opportunity to participate in a major exhibition.”
The 39th DYO Painting Awards exhibition can be visited from Tuesday to Sunday between 09.00 and 17.00 at the Sakıp Sabancı City Museum. The exhibition will remain open until September 30, 2023.