Cahide Keskiner

Cahide Keskiner was born in Istanbul in 1931. In 1953, she began learning illumination (Tezhip) art and miniature from Prof. Dr. A. Süheyl Ünver. Keskiner also learned calligraphy from Macit Ayral; and painting from Şeref Akdik. In 1965, Keskiner began working as a specialist on Turkish Decorative Arts at the Istanbul Yıldız Porcelain Factory. She founded the Turkish Decorative Workshop, and taught Turkish Decorative Art. She has also taught at many public and private workshops. In 1980, she served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors and lecturer at the Workshop of Applied Arts and Turkish Decorative Arts, which was organized by the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism in the Topkapı Palace Museum. In 1982, she began teaching at the Department of Traditional Turkish Handicrafts of Mimar Sinan University. Keskiner has had 6 solo exhibitions and has participated in numerous group exhibitions in Turkey and abroad. She has received many awards such as Mevlana Signal Reward (2000), and the Culture and Arts Grand Award (2013). In 2008, her works have been published on the occasion of her 50th Anniversary in Art. She has also published several books including Türk Süsleme Sanatlarında Desen ve Motive (Istanbul: Tercümen Sanat ve Kültür Yayınları, 1978), Turkish Motifs (Istanbul: Türkiye Turing ve Otomobil Kurumu, 1989), Çocuklar için Türk Motifleri ile Çizim ve Boyama Kitabı (Istanbul: Türk Kültürüne Hizmet Vakfı, 1990), Türk Süsleme Sanatlarında Stilize Çiçekler: Hatai (Istanbul: T.C. Kültür Bakanlığı, 2000), and Minyatür Sanatında Doğa Çizim ve Boyama Teknikleri (Istanbul: T.C. Kültür Bakanlığı, 2004). Currently, she continues teaching at her workshop in Istanbul.

Reference: klasikturksanatlarivakfi.com, istanbulunustalari.com, İstanbul’un Ustaları (Istanbul: İstanbul 2010 Avrupa Kültür Başkenti, 2010), p.172.