Seba Uğurtan

Seba Ugurtan

She was born in İstanbul in 1956. During her high-school years she worked at the State Museum of Art and Sculpture at Cavit Atmaca’s studio, and during her university education, she worked at the studios of significant artists like Şeref Bigalı, Fahri Sever and İbrahim Bozkuş. Certificated through her education at the Painting Principal Branch of Arts of Buca Education Faculty at Dokuz Eylül University in 1978, she completed her undergraduate courses at the same faculty. She worked as a painting teacher for 20 years.
Opening Obje Art Gallery in 1995, she has leaded the mounting of many shows. She put her dynamic and vivacious brush strokes compatible with her state of spirit into action in the works she has produced at her studio in the gallery. For her works calling for being sensitive towards human beings and the environment, she was awarded an environment certificate and medal by the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Environment.
In 1999, she brought a novel art gallery to İzmir –Seba Art Gallery.
In 2003, together with the artists raised at her studio, she set up the Su Group (Water Group) and held over 50 exhibitions with about 500 participant artists both in and outside the country until 2008. The entire revenue obtained from the exhibitions was given over to charity institutions. She provided that 500 original artworks produced by the Su Group and the supporting artists were presented as gifts to the İzmir Institute of High Technologies, Ege University Hospital, Dokuz Eylül University Hospital and İzmir Atatürk Education and Research Hospital.
She won the 5th and 6th prizes at the international event Caterina de’ Medici in 2002. In 2004, she got the 2nd prize for her works about breast cancer at the competition held by Lilly Oncology in England. Her works were put at the cover of the catalogue, were exhibited at the London Academy of Arts and travelled over the world for various exhibitions. With these works, the artist wanted to tell about the curing power of art to the world.
At the Florence Biennial she has participated in 2007, she got a certificate of gratitude. In order to contribute to the world peace, she has presented some of her works with all rights as a gift to the World Peace Association. Leading for their first installations, she provided that 10 artists in the Su Group were invited to the Florence Biennial in 2007, and 36 Turkish artists were invited in 2009. In 2009, she was nominated as a chairsperson for the Scientific Committee of the Florence Biennial.
She has joined many painting studies held outdoors and exhibitions with her original works of art. She has been a leading figure in painting studies held on the streets both in Turkey and worldwide. She has executed the wall painting of a particular area of Darülzeferan Monastry in Mardin. She has initiated a project called Our Cities of Gold, which consists of paintings telling about the historical aspects of cities and putting golden leaves to work. With this project she had the intention to introduce cities one another and give the society a message of friendship. She has begun to work for the 1st International İzmir Art Biennial in 2009. A total of 800 Turkish and foreign artists are expected to participate to the biennial that is to be held in İzmir in 2011.
The artist, many students of whose work as tutors and teachers in schools and universities in and outside Turkey, has opened around 40 individual exhibitions and participated in many group exhibitions both in and outside Turkey. Seba Ugurtan continues her work at her own Seba Art Gallery in İzmir.