Candeğer Furtun, 1936

Candeğer Furtun was born in Istanbul in 1936. She studied painting under Nurullah Berk at the Academy of Fine Arts, and later received ceramic training in the studios of İsmail Hakkı Oygar and Vedat Ar. After graduating, she first worked at Istanbul University’s Faculty of Chemistry, focusing on clay and minerals, and later at the Eczacıbaşı Ceramic Factory Art Workshop, where she learned glaze formulation and firing techniques. With a scholarship, she completed her master’s degree at the Rochester Institute of Technology School for American Crafts, where she also taught. In 1963, she returned to Türkiye and established her own studio.

In the early years of her artistic career, functionality was a key focus of her ceramic works. By the 1970s, Furtun began to turn toward organic forms, engaging both formally and conceptually with the theme of nature. In works dating back to the 1980s, the human body, social memory, and current events emerged as key themes. These works evolved first into shell-like forms with circular reliefs, and later into minimalist installations centered on the concept of part and whole, featuring multiple body fragments.

Furtun’s 2010 work “Applause” consists of twenty hand sculptures. The artist produced these by casting her own hands, aiming to transform them into a collective act that could evoke celebration or protest. Despite its quiet stance, the repetition of hands in varying sizes creates a rhythmic composition that evokes images of people gathering together, such as moments of public celebration or protest.