VAHHAB AYHAN

Vahhab Ayhan's Solo Painting Exhibition "Katmanlar-2" is on view at Galeri Soyut between June 5-24.

Galeri Soyut is pleased to host the solo painting exhibition titled "Katmanlar-2" by painter, photographer, and productive cinema art director Vahhab Ayhan between June 05 and June 24, 2026. The exhibition will take place at Galeri Soyut Hall A, and the opening reception will be held with the participation of art lovers on Friday, June 05, between 18:00 and 20:00.

Adopting the approach of "drawing" instead of the act of "painting" in the traditional sense of art, Vahhab Ayhan bases his artistic style, in terms of content and technique, on the "teşi" technique—a traditional tool made of wood known for the process of yarn twisting and spinning. With this special method he has developed and transformed, the artist transfers traditional weaving practices into a contemporary plastic language. Ayhan states that if this original approach, which requires patience and high precision, were to be defined through a movement, it could be called "Teshizm" (Teşizm).

Following a method reminiscent of the production processes of traditional weaves such as kilims, carpets, and cicims in his works, the artist constructs abstract compositions by drawing delicate, vertical, diagonal, cross, and slanted lines that resemble sewing thread on canvas using fine brushes. Each line depicted by the artist with a palimpsest approach appears before the viewer as a cover, a meaning, a thought, a dream, or a new layer of memory. Woven like threads, these lines cover the one beneath them in each new layer without completely erasing its trace, creating a visually and intellectually deep stratification on the surface. This process symbolizes the continuous evolution and accumulation of life and human thought.

About the Artist: Born in the Samsat district of Adıyaman in 1985, Vahhab Ayhan completed his undergraduate education at Erciyes University Faculty of Fine Arts in 2008, and then continued his graduate studies in the Painting Department of the same university, graduating in 2011. Preparing his master's thesis on "The Examination of Visual and Narrative Relations Between Cinema and Fine Arts," the artist moved to Istanbul the same year and established his own studio.

In addition to his painting and photography works, Ayhan continues his professional career as an art director in the cinema industry and has established strong ties with the literary world. The artist prepared the cover illustration for the French translation of Bilge Karasu's work "Göçmüş Kediler Bahçesi" in 2023; in 2024, his monograph titled "Genèse–Oluşum," focusing on the artist's recent works and prepared in Turkish and French, was published by Kontr.

Among Vahhab Ayhan's solo exhibitions are "Lokianus'un Anısına" (2011, Adıyaman University), "Oluşum / Genèse" (2024), held concurrently with the 6th International Mardin Biennial, "Katmanlar" (2025) at Istanbul Skala Galeri, and "Katmanlar-2" (2026) at Galeri Soyut in Ankara. The artist has also taken part in many prestigious group exhibitions and fairs such as "İtiraf Et Korkuyorsun" (2015), "Evin İçinde-Evin Dışında" (2016), "Kıyamet-Kıyam Et" (2016), "Olumlayan Dünya" (2021), ArtNova 2nd Art Fair (2025), "Hareket Halinde" (2025), and Art Ankara 12th International Contemporary Art Fair (2026).

All art lovers who wish to discover Vahhab Ayhan's technically and aesthetically deepened world of lines and its philosophical layers where traditional and modern blend can visit the "Katmanlar-2" exhibition at Galeri Soyut until June 24, 2026.