Gülsün Karamustafa

Biography

Gülsün Karamustafa was born in 1946 in Ankara, Turkey. She lives and works in Istanbul. Including painting, sculpture, video, and installation, Karamustafa’s work deals with gender, migration, identity, and history.

Often described as one of Turkey’s most courageous and outspoken artists, Karamustafa has long been driven by her political ideals. Following political imprisonment in the 1970s, the artist painted a series of portraits of incarcerated women. Describing herself as a chronographer of Turkey’s modern history, Karamustafa is interested both in the stories that are glossed over as well as the ways in which history can be reinterpreted. In the late 1980s, her practice evolved from figurative painting to incorporate multimedia practices.