| Art Profile |
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Ayşegül Yeşilnil was born in Izmir in 1959. She finished primary, middle and high school in Izmir. After graduating from the Painting and Textile Designing Branch in the Faculty of Fine Arts at Dokuz Eylül University, she became a fashion designer with bachelor’s degree. She then worked in the factory of Vakko as a stylist in Istanbul. She also worked with different companies and designed textiles for house and boat decoration. The textile collections she prepared for several export firms have been displayed at the fashion shows in various international fairs. She also designed silk pillows, silk scarves and silk clothes, and exhibited them in many galleries and fairs. She prepared posters for the Izmir State Opera and Ballet as well.
Besides her profession, Yesilnil took voice training from Erdoğan Okyay at the Polyphonic Choir of Musicology Department in the Faculty of Fine Arts, and the Jazz artist, Nükhet Ruacan. Since 1985, Yeşilnil has painted Jazz music and mythological subjects and had 16 solo exhibitions. Since 1987, she has sung jazz music as a professional vocalist with the leading Jazz musicians such as Erol Pekcan, Nezih Yeşilnil, Neşet Ruacan, Önder Focan, Selim Benba, Deniz Dündar, Cengiz Baysal, İzzet Hiçkalmaz, Baki Duyarlar, Yahya Dai, Tahsin Ünüvar, Nilüfer Verdi, Rene Macaroğlu, Ali Perret, Aşkın Arsunan, Şenova Ülker, Ergin Özler, Necdet Karar, Emin Aydın, Ergun Eremkar, Okan Şamil, Kadri Ünalan, Cankut Özgül, Ferruh Arıç, İlkin Deniz, Erdal Akyol, Oğuz Durukan, Kamil Özler, Reha Öğünlü, Melih Güzel, Melih Çetinel, Mehmet Kısmet, Oğuzhan Balcı, Lloyd Chisholm and Ted Taylor. In 1995, Yeşilnil released her first CD, “Rüzgara Şarkılar Söyle” (Sing Songs to the Wind), with her own lyrics. With this album, she brought a unique, pure and sophisticated breath to the Turkish Pop Music. Important musicians of Turkey such as Neset Ruacan, Bülent Ortacgil, Nezih Yesilnil, Levent Coker, Onder Focan, Erkan Ogur and others accompanied Yesilnil in her first album. As the only Jazz music painter, who sings jazz in Turkey, Yeşilnil has had numerous jazz concerts, and performed in many jazz clubs and festivals. With the influence of this intensive music atmosphere she lives in, Yeşilnil created a collection of paintings depicting jazz musicians, night lives and their instruments. She blends her accumulation in the fine arts as a painter and art director and in music as a jazz vocalist with the richness, colorfulness and intensity of her soul and her works, and then transfers them to her audiences in the beauty of a dream. As well as her jazz paintings, she is also well-known with her “sahmeran” collections.
Yeşilnil received several awards including the “Izmir’i Sevenler Platform”, the “Türk Başarı Ödülleri Kurulu” and the “1969-2004/ 35. Yıl Vedide Baha Pars, Başarılı Kadın Önderi Onun Ödülü”. She is a member of UNESCO, International Association of Art. Currently she continues to paint at home.
Festivals and Concerts she participated:
1990, I. International Bursa Jazz Festival (Bursa)
1994, IV. International Akbank Jazz Festival (Istanbul)
1996, II. International Cyrus Magosa Festival (KKTC)
1997, Ayşegül & Nezih Yeşilnil Quintet Jazz Concert, Girne (KKTC)
1999, "Antonio Carlos Jobim" Jazz Concert, Atatürk Kültür Merkezi (Istanbul)
1999, Ayşegül Yeşilnil Quintet Jazz Concert, (for AKUT) Babylon (Istanbul)
2000, 10. International Akbank Jazz Festival, (Istanbul)
2001, Ayşegül Yeşilnil Quintet Jazz Concert, Babylon (Istanbul)
2001, I. Afyonkarahisar Jazz Festival, (Afyonkarahisar)
2001, Ayşegül Yeşilnil Quintet Jazz Concert, Girne (KKTC)
2001, Ayşegül Yeşilnil Quintet Jazz Concert, İş-Sanat (Istanbul)
2001, Ayşegül Yeşilnil Quintet Jazz Programs, Shaft Blues&Jazz Club (Istanbul)
2003, Ayşegül Yeşilnil Quintet Jazz Concert, 10. International Istanbul Jazz Festival, Nardis (Istanbul)
2004, Ayşegül Yeşilnil Quartet Jazz Concert, Izmir Sanat (Izmir)
2004, Ayşegül Yeşilnil Quintet Jazz Concert, Bodrum Jazz Days (Bodrum)
2005, Ayşegül Yeşilnil Quartet Jazz Concert, Izmir Sanat (Izmir)
Solo exhibitions:
1985, Painting and Batik Exhibition – The Bodrum Museum of Underwater Archaeology (Bodrum)
1987, İş-Sanat Gallery (Ankara)
1988, Capello Art Gallery (Istanbul)
1988, Hobi Art Gallery (Istanbul)
1996, 3. European Jazz Days / Jazz Paintings exhibitions / Sabancı Culture Palace (Izmir)
1996, Gramofon Jazz Club / Jazz Paintings exhibitions (Istanbul)
1996, Rotary Art Gallery (Izmir)
1997, Cen Ajans (Istanbul)
1998, Istanblues Jazz Club / Jazz Paintings Exhibitions (Istanbul)
1999, IMKB Art Gallery (Istanbul)
2003, Gallery İki Maymun (Istanbul)
2003, Collection (Istanbul)
2004, Pera Art Gallery (Istanbul)
2004, Izmir Sanat (Izmir)
2004, Bodrum Jazz Days /Jazz Paintings exhibitions (Bodrum)
2006, Adnan Franko Art Gallery / “Kutsal 1001 Gece Hayvanları” (Izmir)
Group exhibitions:
1985, Bodrum Culture and Art Festival
1985, The Bodrum Museum of Underwater Archaeology, ′Turgut Reis′ special exhibition (Bodrum)
1987, Galeri BM / Young Artist Painting and Design Exhibition (Istanbul)
1988, Kadıköy Art Gallery / Group Painting Exhibition (Istanbul)
1995, Deniz Museum / Group Painting Exhibition (Istanbul)
2003, Proje 4L Contemporary Art Museum / AD Magazine “Tasarım Tılsımdır”, exhibition (Istanbul)
2004, Pera Art Gallery / World Women’s Day Exhibition (Istanbul)
2005, Pera Art Gallery / World Women’s Day exhibition (Istanbul)
2006, Pera Art Gallery / World Women’s Day exhibition (Istanbul)
2006, Atölye 83 / Musician Photographs (Istanbul)
Reference: tr.wikipedia.org; yesilnil.com |
