Cihat Aral
Cihat Aral was born in Sivas, Turkey in 1943. He studied at Istanbul State Academy of Fine Arts, Department of Painting, from 1964 to 1969. He held his first solo exhibition at Taksim Art Gallery in 1970. In order to specialize in the field of art, he was sent to France on a government scholarship in 1970.
He has held numerous solo exhibitions both in Turkey and abroad. After receiving the 1st May Award from the 1st Fine Arts Association, he did not participate in any award exhibitions. In 1985, he was dismissed from his position due to the martial law (Law No. 1402), but he returned to Turkey in 1974 and was appointed as an Assistant Professor at Istanbul State Academy of Fine Arts. He served as the Secretary General and President of the Visual Artists Association between 1976 and 1980.
He became an Associate Professor in 1994 and a Professor in 1999 at Mimar Sinan University. He served as the Director of the MSU Painting and Sculpture Museum from 2003 to 2004. He retired from the same institution in 1984. The artist continues his artistic activities in Istanbul.
In his works, Cihat Aral tries to express the psychological depth of human tragedy by eliminating individuality and using a simple language of painting with the multiplicity, integrity, and light-dark values of color.
Exhibitions: 1970 - Taksim Art Gallery - Istanbul 1974 - Galerie Poisson d'Or - Paris, France 1975 - Cumalı Art Gallery - Istanbul 1986 - Tem Art Gallery - Istanbul 1989 - Soyak Art Gallery - Istanbul 1993 - Atatürk Cultural Center - Istanbul 1996 - Parmakkapı İş Art Gallery - Istanbul 1997 - Maltepe Art Gallery - Istanbul 1997 - Transparan Art Gallery - Istanbul 1998 - Ministry of Education Art Gallery - Istanbul 1999 - Izmir Painting and Sculpture Museum - Izmir 2000 - Caveau des Artistes - Saint-Claude, France 2000 - IRCT, Copenhagen - Denmark 2000 - Centre Cultural Anatolie - Paris, France 2001 - Ömer Sunar Art Gallery - Ankara 2002 - Antik Art Gallery - Istanbul 2003 - Koşuyolu Art Gallery - Istanbul 2005 - Nurol Art Gallery - Ankara 2006 - Cey Art Gallery - Istanbul 2007 - Harmony Art Gallery - Istanbul 2007 - Gözde Art Gallery - Ankara 2008 - Harmony Art Gallery - Istanbul 2009 - Bilkent University Art Gallery - Ankara 2009 - Terakki Art Gallery - Istanbul 2012 - Rh Sanar Gallery - Istanbul 2013 - KAV Art Gallery - Ankara 2013 - Retrospective, İş Sanat Kibele - Istanbul
