Mehmet Pesen
(1923-2012)

Mehmet Pesen was born in Istanbul in 1923. He founded “the 10s” together with 9 other art students at the workshop of Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu in 1947. In the next year, he graduated from the Istanbul State Academy of Fine Arts. After his military service, Pesen taught art and art history at a high school in Giresun until 1952. He went back to Istanbul and taught art and art history at Haydarpaşa High School from 1953 to 1963. The following year, he went to Cyprus and taught at Paphos High School for a year. Pesen then served as an assistant principal in Haydarpaşa High School from 1964 to 1967 and taught there until 1977.

While teaching, Pesen continued painting. He reconciled paintings with Turkish miniature paintings. He had over 50 solo exhibitions in Turkey and abroad. In 1986, his works were reproduced as UNICEF postcards. In the same year, he won the Grand Prix at the International Postcard Creation Contest, which was co-organized by UNİCEF and the Strasbourg Academy. In 1998, he received a prize “50 Years of Art” from the Artist Association in Istanbul. In 2003, Pesen joined the exhibition of “the 10s” at the Antik Art Gallery in Istanbul. Pesen passed away in 2012.

Reference: mehmetpesen.com, lebriz.com, tr.wikipedia.org