“Semiha Berksoy: Aria of All Colors” Exhibition Event

Subject and Self on Canvas: A Talk with Esra Aliçavuşoğlu on Self-Representation and the Construction of Identity in Semiha Berksoy’s Paintings

Date: Thursday, April 9, 2026

Time: 18.00

Venue: Istanbul Modern Auditorium

Speakers: Esra Aliçavuşoğlu

Moderators: Öykü Özsoy Sağnak, Deniz Pehlivaner

Istanbul Modern hosts Prof. Dr. Esra Aliçavuşoğlu for a public event held within the scope of “Semiha Berksoy: Aria of All Colors,” an exhibition bringing together more than seventy years of Berksoy’sproduction. Moderated by Istanbul Modern’s Chief Curator Öykü Özsoy Sağnak and Curator Deniz Pehlivaner, the talk approaches Berksoy’s paintings from an art-historical perspective, examining the figures that emerge on the artist’s canvases through the relationships between subject, self, and representation. Known for her dramatic presence on the opera stage, Berksoy’s paintings point to a multilayered construction of subjectivity established between self-portraits and performance, and between public identity and personal memory. Focusing on this duality between representation and construction in Berksoy’s paintings, the event aims to offer a new perspective on the artist’s practice.

About Esra Aliçavuşoğlu:

(Prof. Dr.) Esra Aliçavuşoğlu is a faculty member at Marmara University Faculty of Fine Arts. After graduating from the Department of Art History at the Faculty of Letters, Istanbul University, she completed her master's and doctoral degrees at the same institution. In 2000, she attended courses in ‘Curatorial Studies’ at the University of the Arts London Central Saint Martins, and in 2016, she conducted research on contemporary art museums in New York with a TÜBİTAK scholarship. In 2022, she worked as a visiting researcher at the Pratt Institute's History of Art and Design Department in New York with another TÜBİTAK scholarship. A member of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA), Aliçavuşoğlu has published articles, critiques, and monographs on artists in numerous national and international academic publications. She co-edits the series ‘The History of Art in Turkey’ published by Can Yayınları Tellekt with Ayşe Köksal. The first book in the series, ‘Museum,’ was published in 2023. She co-edited the book Bauhaus: The Design of Modernisation (2009) with Ali Artun. Esra Aliçavuşoğlu is a member of the Istanbul Modern Collection Advisory Board and a consultant for the International Mardin Biennial.

The event is free of charge.

The talk is held in Turkish.

Attendance is limited due to seating capacity.