Significant postmodernist female artists in contemporary Turkish painting

The concept of postmodernism began to be seen as an approach in the art world in the 1970s, and has continued to be influential since the early 1980s. The general purpose of postmodern art is to enable the emergence of conceptual processes and experiences and to bring new impressions and experiences to art by breaking away from the patterns of traditional understandings of art. Postmodern thought, by bringing the conceptual perception to the agenda, began to show its influence in Turkish painting as well from the late 1970s; the artists addressing the timely issues of the period after the 1960s reflected concepts such as migration, identity, and gender in their works in line with social, political, cultural, and social movements. Art shows including the New Tendencies exhibitions which were held every two years between 1977 and 1987, the Profile of Pioneering Turkish Art exhibitions, the A-B-C-D Exhibitions that have more conceptual pieces, and the Contemporary Artists Istanbul Exhibitions have been the most significant events to prove that contemporary art has parted from traditional art in Turkey in the concept of postmodernism. In this period, the artists with a postmodern perspective mostly worked in ready-made objects, sculpture, photography, painting, video art, environmental art, and installation fields. During the process that started in the late 1970s, through the 1980s, and is ongoing still in the work of painters today, Turkish artists who have continued working from a postmodern perspective had significant influences on conceptional Turkish painting. In this study, postmodernist works and artistic approaches from significant Turkish female artists - Füsun Onur, İpek Duben, Gülsün Karamustafa, Nur Koçak - have been analysed, with particular focus on their perceptions of space and conceptual imagery, and their procedures that reflect on the field of art. Keywords: Conceptual Art, Kitsch, postmodern Art.