Overview
2021, Istanbul, 130x200cm, Oil on canvas
2021, Istanbul, 130x200cm, Oil on canvas

Özer Toraman (b. 1989), based in Berlin and Istanbul, produces figurative paintings focusing on urban life, the body, human identity and gender. His new works inspired by urban life represent personal avatars, pairings and everyday social interactions. These works reveal the limitless possibilities of representing imagined situations, memories, desires and emotions.

Using photographs that he has taken while travelling the world as inspiration, Toraman creates works that are 'windows' to another realm. The artist’s signature use of flat colour planes, combined with meticulously detailed features, shuns fixed meaning and invites viewers to impart personal significance onto each scene.
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Works
Exhibitions
Biography
Ozer Toraman

Toraman presents oil paintings depicting figures situated in nature across different geographies such as Berlin, Istanbul, Lisbon, Thailand and New Mexico. He defines this series as “reimagined landscapes”. His bold simplicity and intensified use of colour position the viewer between reality and fantasy. Born in Van in 1989, Özer Toraman lives and works in Istanbul and Berlin. Between 2022 and 2024, the artist realised Pure Joy of Nature (Noh Art Contemporary, Naples, 2022) and participated in the Ateliers Höherweg artist residency programme in Düsseldorf in 2024; in the same year, he continued his production in an international context with his solo exhibition titled The Ocean in My Heart (Gallery 39+, Singapore, 2024).

Selected exhibitions include The Ocean in My Heart, Gallery 39+, Singapore (2024); Spring, Ateliers Höherweg, Düsseldorf, Germany (2024); Garden of the Mind, Pi Artworks, Istanbul; Friends and Family (group), Pi Artworks London, UK (2022); Meanwhile the World Goes On (solo), Pi Artworks Istanbul, Turkey (2021); The Ballery (group), The Ballery Gallery, Berlin, Germany (2019); Passengers of Kaleidoscopic Journey (group), Berlin, Germany (2018); Anatomy of Passion (solo), Pg Art Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey (2018); The First Dream (solo), Bozlu Art Project, Istanbul, Turkey (2017); Borders Orbits 17 (group), Siemens Art, Istanbul, Turkey (2015); You Lived Inside My World So Softly (solo), Artnivo, Istanbul, Turkey (2015); Mamut Art Project (group), Istanbul, Turkey (2014); Connecting the Dots (group), Marmara University, Faculty of Fine Arts 6th International Student Triennial, Istanbul, Turkey (2013); Borders Orbits 14 (group), Siemens Art, Istanbul, Turkey (2013); Self Contained Steps (group), Marmara University, Faculty of Fine Arts, Istanbul, Turkey (2013); Graduation Project Exhibition (group), Marmara University, Faculty of Fine Arts, Istanbul, Turkey (2012); Nezaket Ekici “Form It Able” Performance, Fulya Congress Center, Istanbul, Turkey (2011).

 
 Berlin and Istanbul based Ozer Toraman (b.1989) creates figurative paintings that tell stories of urban life, the body, human identity and gender. New paintings that represent personal avatars, couplings, and everyday social exchanges inspired by urban life. Together, they articulate limitless capacity to represent imagined states, memories, aspirations, and emotions. Toraman is presenting oil paintings portraying people in nature in different cities: Berlin, Istanbul, Lisbon, Thailand City and New Mexico. All compositions are based on Toraman’s personal travel photographs. People in this series are his friends, family and colleagues that surrounds him. Toraman describes this series as landscapes of re-imagination. Toraman’s bold simplicity and heightened colours place the viewer between fantasy and reality. 
Ozer Toraman, b. 1989, Van, Turkey, lives and works in Istanbul and Berlin. Major exhibitions include; Friends and Family (group), Pi Artworks London, UK (2022); Meanwhile the World Goes On (solo), Pi Artworks Istanbul, Turkey (2021), The Ballery (group), The Ballery Gallery, Berlin, Germany (2019); Passengers of Kaleidoscopic Journey (group), Berlin, Germany, (2018); Anatomy of Passion(solo), Pg Art Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey (2018); The First Dream (solo), Bozlu Art Project, Istanbul, Turkey (2017); Critical Thinking (group), Pg Art Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey (2017); Fear (group), Bozlu Art Project, Istanbul, Turkey (2016); Borders Orbits 17 (group), Siemens Art, Istanbul, Turkey (2015); The Journey to Me (group), Artnivo, Istanbul, Turkey (2015); Celebration and Memories (group), Artnivo, Istanbul, Turkey (2015); You Lived Inside My World So Softly (solo), Artnivo, Istanbul, Turkey (2015); Download, Artnivo, Istanbul, Turkey (2014); Mamut Art Project (group), Istanbul, Turkey (2014); International Workshop (group), Art Suites Gallery, Bodrum, Turkey (2013); Connecting the Dots (group), Marmara University, Faculty of Fine Arts 6th International Student (2013); Triennial (group), Pera Museum, Istanbul, Turkey (2013); Borders Orbist 14 (group), Siemens Art, Istanbul, Turkey (2013); Self Contained Steps (group), Marmara University, Faculty of Fine Arts, Istanbul, Turkey (2013); Graduation project exhibition (group), Marmara University, Faculty of Fine Arts, Istanbul, Turkey (2012); Division Unfolded (group), Tarlabaşı, Istanbul, Turkey (2012); Artist 2011 (group), 21th International Istanbul Art Fair, Istanbul, Turkey (2011); Spontaneously (group), Gallery 24 Art, Istanbul, Turkey (2011); The King is Naked (group), Asma Art Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey (2011); Nezaket Ekici “Form It Able” Performance, Fulya Congress Center, Istanbul, Turkey (2011).
Download Artist's CV (PDF, opens in a new tab.)
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