Sevil Tunaboylu

Sevil Tunaboylu (b.1982, born, lives and works in Istanbul) creates a space of translation from painting to sculpture by transporting her subjects across various media as a form of research. Her practice often includes exercises in the adjacency of found objects and portraits that remain outside the frame—present only through their traces. Her recent work focuses on migration and the transmission of craftsmanship across generations, explored through exhibitions. Tunaboylu graduated from the Painting Department of Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University in 2005. Between 2008 and 2010, she co-directed the non-profit initiative Mtaär Open Art Space, which she also co-founded. Since 2017, she has been a member of the feminist collective Alaca Heyheyler, through which she organizes exhibitions and produces artist publications. She has been teaching visual arts since 2007 and continues to live and work in Istanbul. Recent exhibitions include the group shows, to carry: 16th Sharjah Biennial, UAE (2025); Three-Legged Cat, 18th Istanbul Biennial, Istanbul (2025); What Does It Mean for a Place to Be Loved? ifa-Galerie Berlin (2025); Painting Today, YKY, Istanbul (2024); and Atlas of Women, DEPO, Istanbul (2024). Her solo exhibitions include Apprentice, 400&118, Istanbul (2023) and Embarked on an Everlasting Return, DEPO, Istanbul (2020).