Erna Ucar
Erna Ucar was born in Ankara in 1979 and graduated from the Graphic Design School, Fine Arts Faculty of Hacettepe University in 2001. She lived in Moscow between 2004-2014 and became fascinated with Russian Fine Arts. She spent years living in Cyprus, Turkey, Russia and Malaysia. Experiencing life and light in different geographies and climates has had a significant impact on her life and her art. Her paintings focus on the different physical aspects of each location she visits.
Erna works with colours that do not need to be in perfect harmony and uses silhouettes influenced by her background in graphic design. Japanese painter and printer Utagawa Hiroshige is an influence on her work. Erna creates impressive patterns with ink painting and detailed fine lines, together with contrasting elements to produce a surreal integrity. She favours using ink painting and drawing techniques on paper and delicate materials such as lattice on cotton paper with acrylic ink and pen nibs thinner than 1mm. Subject matter aside, the main commonality of Erna’s pieces is her attention to detail and the dreamlike quality of all her paintings, whether figurative, abstract, or landscape.
She says, “In the ‘Chemistry Series’ I dreamed the oceans in the sky; ones flying in the ocean, ones diving in the sky, ones hunting in darkness, and clouds in the seas...”
Erna began exhibiting her photography and paintings in 1998 and has participated in numerous exhibitions in Ankara, Moscow, Istanbul and London.