ÜMIT ERZURUMLU

“If music and mathematics were brothers and the wind and noise were relatives, we are the relative of everything. In my painting, I am in search of the relationships among the branches of the whole family tree, an entity travelling among them. As if the thoughts in my mind were chasing the words. The instrumentalist is accompanying the rhythm of the music while I am painting. I hear the heart beating of the fighters when I am drawing them. As for painting landscapes, I can listen to the screams of the roofs against the blowing of the wind.”

Ümit Erzurumlu was born in Sivas in 1974 and became recognized in his home country with his futurist style of painting. He studied fine art at Marmara University in 1992. During this time he took courses on print painting from Mustafa Aslıer and Fevzi Karakoç leading him to set up his own studio in 1996.

FEATURED ARTWORK

Acid etching printing, also known as etching,

Acid etching printing, also known as etching, is a venerable and intricate art form that combines the precision of printmaking with the expressive potential of drawing. This technique, which dates back to the early 16th century, involves the use of acid to carve designs into a metal plate, usually copper, zinc, or steel.

The process begins with the artist coating the metal plate with a waxy, acid-resistant substance known as a ground. Using a pointed etching needle, the artist then meticulously draws their design, exposing the bare metal wherever the needle touches. Once the drawing is complete, the plate is immersed in an acid bath, where the exposed metal is gradually eaten away, creating recessed lines.

The depth and character of these lines can be controlled by varying the length of time the plate is exposed to the acid and by stopping out areas with more ground to protect them from further etching. This allows for a remarkable range of line qualities, from delicate, hair-thin lines to deep, bold strokes, giving the artist exceptional control over the final image.

Defining his art under futurism and cubo-futurism his oil and print paintings were exhibited in the Library of Celcus in Ephesus in 1997,1998,1999 and 2000 and have taken their place in more than 60 private collections in different countries.

In 2016, one of his paintings was exhibited in Paris and selected for the UNESCO works of art collection and in 2018 he was invited to the VI. International Painting Biennial of Guayaquil & “Alvaro Noboa Ponton” to represent Turkey. He has been painting in his own studio in İstanbul for 23 years.