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İpek Kotan was born and raised in Istanbul. She studied media arts with emphasis on photography at Emerson College in Boston. After some years working as an entrepreneur and in the corporate world, she could no longer deny the urge to work with her hands and decided to return to school to study art. In 2007 and 2008, she attended Rhode Island School of Design in Providence to study arts foundation, where she explored drawing, painting, ceramics, and metalsmithing. But it was ceramics, and sculptural vessels in particular that resonated with her deeply. After completing her Foundation Studies at RISD in 2008, Kotan moved to Stoke-on-Trent, UK – the “motherland” of studio pottery -, and received her master’s degree in ceramics at Staffordshire University. Soon after graduating in 2010, she established her own studio practice, and has been exhibiting her work in art galleries and fairs widely in Europe and the United States. Her work is in many public and private collections worldwide and she also works for commission.
İpek Kotan′s work stems from a visceral need to create with her hands using natural materials and a love of the sculptural vessel form.
Being one of the oldest objects ever made and one of the most commonly found in archeological sites the world over, the vessel for her is an embodiment of the timelessness, endurance and the universality of the human experience. İpek is interested in what this form represents metaphysically and uses it as a canvas and a frame in which she explores modern and minimalist expressions. She keeps the exteriors of her forms simple to bring out the complex textures and colors in the interiors so that together they can radiate a calm yet dynamic and positive energy. İpek was born and raised in Istanbul, although she is currently based in Amsterdam. Herworks are represented in public and private collections internationally and are available from her studio as well as through select galleries and art fairs.
Public collections:
Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Museum of Decorative Arts of the Dresden State Art Collections, Dresden, Germany
Museum of the City of Landshut – Rudolf Strasser Collection, Landshut, Germany
Presidential Art Collection, Ankara, Turkey
Solo Shows:
2016 Puls Gallery, Brussels, Belgium
2015 “Inside Out”, Brutto Gusto Fine Arts, Berlin, Germany
2013 “Ipek Kotan: New Works”, Beaux Arts Gallery, Bath, England
2011 “Ausstellung no. 19: Ipek Kotan”, Galerie Bollhorst, Freiburg, Germany
Gallery representation, exhibition and fairs:
2017 Adrian Sassoon, London, England (summer)
2017 “Revelations” represented by swissCeramics, Paris, France (May)
2017 “M.17” Museum of Applied Arts, Frankfurt, Germany (November)
2016 Eva Maisch, Würzburg, Germany
2016 “Contemporary Istanbul” represented by ECNP Galeri, Istanbul, Turkey
2016 “European Ceramics and Glass Triennial” Mons, Belgium
2016 “Modern Classics” Westerwald Museum, Höhr-Grenzhausen, Germany
2016 “Decorex” Syon Park, London, England
2016 “Talents” and “Form” Tendence, Frankfurt, Germany
2016 “KunstRAI - Art Amsterdam” represented by Gallery Annelien Kers, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2016 “Ceramic Art London” Central Saint Martins, London, England
2015 “Neue Raüme” represented by Formforum, Zurich, Switzerland
2015 “The Craft and the Makers” Galerie Johanssen, Berlin, Germany
2015 “15 Years: 2000-2015” Galerie Franz Epple, Tuerkheim, Germany
2015 “Ceramic Art London” Royal College of Art, London, England
2014 “SOFA Chicago” represented by Armaggan Gallery, Chicago, USA
2014 “Vase, Vessel, Void” Oliver Sears Gallery, Dublin, Ireland
2014 “Ceramic Art London” Royal College of Art, London, England
2013 “Parcours Céramique Carougeois” Carouge, Switzerland
2013 “Mechtild Lobish, Ipek Kotan & Thomas Bohle” Galerie Franz Epple, Türkheim, Germany
2013 European Makers Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2013 “Hand Made” Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, Netherlands
2013 “Ceramic Inspirations” Bavarian State Archeological Collection, Munich, Germany
2013 “Modern Masters” Galerie Handwerk, Munich, Germany
2013 “In the Window” Bluecoat Display Centre, Liverpool, England
2012 “Contemporary Craft & Design” Sarah Myerscough Fine Art, London, England
2012 “Art & Function” DesignArt Galerie, Innsbruck, Austria
2012 “SOFA Chicago” represented by Armaggan Gallery, Chicago, USA
2012 “Grassimesse” Grassi Museum, Leipzig, Germany
2012 Galerie Eva Maisch, Würzburg, Germany
2012 “International Turned Wood & Ceramics” Sarah Myerscough Fine Art, London, England
2012 “States of Material” Armaggan Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey
2012 Vessels Gallery, Boston, USA
2011 “Vierundzwanzig zwoelf” Galerie Eva Maisch, Würzburg, Germany
2011 “Maison & Objet” Paris, France
2010 “Form”, Ludwigshafen, Germany
2010 “Maison & Objet” Paris, France
2009 “British Ceramics Biennial” Stoke-on-Trent, England
2007 “RISD Ceramics Triennial” Woods-Gerry Gallery, Providence, USA |
