“What draws me to the motif of ceramics is the deep sense of belonging they evoke in me,” says Deniz Kurdak. The London-based artist is fascinated by blue-and-white porcelain—a method that originated in China as early because the seventh century and was broadly imitated and picked up across the globe—and the best way sure items encourage familiarity. She provides, “They have even found their way into my grandmother’s home.”
Themes of identification, belonging, and reminiscence play central roles in Kurdak’s work, as she attracts on private histories and bases her compositions on actual objects that remind her of items her grandmother owned.
“Growing up with an abusive father, I found sanctuary in my grandparents’ home—a safe, predictable, and nurturing space where I felt accepted,” the artist tells Colossal. “Along with my admiration for blue-and-white porcelain, my passion for textiles and embroidery was passed down to me by my grandmother.”
Bringing conceptual components to needlework, a craft historically dismissed in artwork circles as “women’s work,” she emphasizes expression and narrative. “I like to reimagine the acts of cutting, stitching, and embroidering as forms of emotional repair,” she says, “allowing me to reconstruct and navigate the complexities of my personal history.”
Lengthy related to its calming and meditative nature, “embroidery has become both a medium and a means of reflection in my artistic process,” Kurdak says. Seemingly at odds with making intimate and methodical stitches, her pictures counsel the violence of breakage, suddenness, and the connection between decoration and utility.
Kurdak is intrigued by dualities—fragility and resilience, belonging and displacement—which mirror the tensions and contradictions of the human situation. Contrasting brittle but sturdy porcelain with pliable but resistant material and thread, she highlights polarities within the act of merging the concepts collectively.
Blue-and-white porcelain predominantly conjures up Kurdak’s compositions, however she additionally renders crimson, inexperienced, or multi-colored items in textiles, too. She makes use of a variety of needlework and material strategies, together with appliqué, lacework, and embroidery. Vases seem to soften into streams, lacy decorations hover above the floor, and motifs rearrange into puzzle-like grids or dynamic swirls.
Should you’re in London, “Willow” is at present on view on the Younger Masters Artwork Prize Finalists Exhibition via April 8. Kurdak’s work will likely be included in Gather Artwork Honest opening in late February at Somerset Home, adopted by Inexpensive Artwork Honest in March in New York. Study extra on her web site, and adopted updates on Instagram.
