Temür Köran, 1960

Temür Köran is known for his paintings that bring together reality and dreams. He invites his viewer into a world where different meanings, expressions and styles of painting are gathered together. His painterly language is poetic, eclectic and romantic. His paintings, constructed from layers of color and with a strong foundation in drawing, may not disclose their narratives immediately. His ideas can usually be traced back to newspaper photographs, spreads from full-color women’s magazines and photographs he took himself. Köran doesn’t just reproduce his sources, but rather uses them to reference specific political issues of the day, sometimes appropriating the inherent narratives of his original source image.

Color and texture are central elements in Köran’s painting; by using a very thin application of paint he makes the marks of his brush appear as delicate dashes on his figures. He sometimes leaves the base of his paintings untouched, or leaves his preparatory marks visible, which gives his figures a sense of incompleteness. This is perhaps why Köran’s paintings seem to be poised to incorporate another story or media image. Köran usually portrays his figures from a variety of angles, depicting the body as a cluster of color, continually oscillating between effacement and incompletion. By leaving his characters in this hazy state, Köran raises questions about the physicality of the figures.