Uğural Gafuroğlu

Uğural Gafuroğlu (b. 1952, Salihli, Turkey) is an artist who works in painting, above all camaltı, or reverse glass painting. His subjects are memory, remembered feelings and layers of time laid over one another, more than reality seen directly. His pictures mix irony, humour and naive elements. He takes camaltı, a traditional folk art, and gives it his own imagery and materials. The finished paintings are framed glass panels.

Materials have drawn him since he began painting in 1986: canvas, wood, slate, pebbles and glass blocks. On glass he uses techniques of his own. His solo show Zaman Tüneli (2020) brought together 30 reverse glass works. For Saydam Hafızalar (Translucent Memories) in 2026 he shows five camaltı paintings. They include Sarman ve Sahibi (44 by 47 cm) and Boğaz'da Son Akşam Yemeği (50 by 90 cm). Çekilin…ağır abi geldi measures 59 by 79 cm. Özel Güvenlik Eşliğinde (35.5 by 63 cm) and Korkak Kedi (50 by 70 cm) complete the group.

His solo exhibitions include Taşlar ve Düşler at Almelek Sanat Galerisi, Istanbul (2001), and Zaman Tüneli at Galeri Selvin, Nişantaşı, Istanbul (2020). In 2026 Ekavart Gallery, Istanbul, shows his paintings alongside composite figures by Çağdaş Erçelik. The two-person exhibition Saydam Hafızalar (3 to 28 November 2026) is organised by the EKAV Foundation.