Hülya Özdemir

Hülya Özdemir is a Turkish artist who specializes in watercolour portraits. She was born in Istanbul in 1972, and has been living in Bodrum, in the South Aegean, for three years.

In her work we see women becoming increasingly self-confident; re-establishing their human identity.

Although she focuses on predominantly female portraits, she does not set any restrictions on her drawings. What guides her is the understanding that a woman is a person who still struggles to exist in a male-dominated society, imprisoned in a role based on maintaining norms of society: tradition, morality, and family triangles, considered essential for the "protection" of women.

For Hülya, contrast is an important means of expression in her paintings.

Her focus for her works is females whom she describes as "an imaginary character or inner version of me, but never a specific person".

The most important thing when starting a new piece of artwork is to avoid doing something traditional or that has been done before.

It is vital to experiment and explore new techniques, giving each work its own unique voice.

This is a fundamental aspect of Hülya’s creative process.

What inspires her the most are the stories of powerful women who have managed to break free from their constrictions and fight for their own independence. These women have served as a great source of inspiration for Hülya and have helped to shape the content of her paintings.

Hülya’s work has been featured in numerous exhibitions and collections, both in Turkey and internationally. In 2017, she had her first solo show at the Antonio Moya Foundation in Madrid, Spain. Her work is also held in private collections in Turkey, the United States, and Europe.