The Thinking Man’s Artist Cover Artist Nurhan Gokturk
by Shauna Grissett
“The artistic practice, broadly speaking, is governed by process, meaning the medium defines the message.” — Nurhan Gokturk
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Inside Northside
are the artist’s best friend, and within his folios are mini-masterpieces, pen-and-ink sketches, watercolors and writings. Gokturk’s sketchpads are visual journals, even diaries, of his artistic studies, observations, travels—the graphic evolution of his craft over years and years. “I carry these sketchbooks by hand or in my backpack wherever I go, whenever I travel.” Articulate and deliberate with his words, Gokturk >>
photo: CANDRA GEORGE mycreativereality.com
MULTIDISCIPLINARY ARTIST and urban designer Nurhan Gokturk was born in Istanbul, Turkey, but immigrated to New York City at the age of 3 and was raised in Brooklyn and Queens. He went on to receive a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Pratt Institute and a master’s degree from Harvard Graduate School of Design. Multidisciplinary art is “the blending of several disciplines together to form an altogether new field.” Gokturk is a talented artist who is accomplished in many different media, including—but not limited to—drawing, painting, sculpture, photography and architecture. His studio, located in an artist collective of rented studio spaces, displays many of Gokturk’s works and highlights his skill as a multi-faceted artist. Strewn throughout Gokturk’s work space are numerous sketchbooks, mostly small-to-medium sized and leather bound. The artist says, “I started drawing early, when I was very young.” Sketchbooks
