The strikingly patterned and textured art of Birsen Yurdaer is evocative of the building blocks of life at the micro level. At first glance, they remind the viewer of fractal patterns found in nature, blood cells under a microscope, and atomic particles. But even though these pieces are rooted in the subatomic world, it is the spiritual world Yurdaer peers into as she works. A practicing Sufi, Yurdaer seeks understanding of the universe, its creator, and human beings’ place in cosmology, by meditating on the tiniest elements that make up our existence and blowing them up to the macro level in her paintings. By doing so, she presents what is invisible to the human eye in a forcibly tactile, bold, and arresting way, altering how her viewers look at the cosmos and, above all, themselves.
Yurdaer graduated with a degree in dentistry from Marmara University, and has been known to use dental equipment as sculptural elements in her pieces, along with ceramics and metal. She is currently a dentist in Istanbul, Turkey.
