Muhabbet Serisi, Dabbetül Arz, 2019
Mixed media on glass
57.5 x 48.5 cm | 22.6 x 19 in.
The Sunflowers, 2014
Ink on special paper
46.5 x 48.5 cm | 18.3 x 19 in.
Muhabbet Serisi, Ikiz Şahmaran, 2019
Mixed media on glass
55.5 x 32.5 cm | 21.8 x 12.7 in.
Muhabbet Serisi, Aşk-1 Muhabbet, 2011
Mixed media on glass
74.5 x 38 cm | 29.3 x 14.9 in.
Muhabbet Serisi, Melekler, 2019
Mixed media on glass
46 x 58 cm | 18.1 x 22.8 in.
Sahmaran, 2011
Ink, gold and photograph on special paper
67 x 92 cm | 26.3 x 36.2 in.
CANAN (b. 1970, Istanbul) is a multidisciplinary artist working across painting, photography, miniature, video, performance, and installation since the late 1990s, grounded in feminist discourse. Her practice critically examines power, gender politics, and their impact on women, highlighting the pressures of traditional norms and the persistence of gender stereotypes shaped by the collective subconscious. Drawing from both personal experience and shared histories, written and oral, her work weaves layered narratives through diverse materials, including her own body as a medium.
In her recent work, CANAN explores how symbols shape human behavior and relationships, investigating their cognitive, emotional, and cultural resonance. Works by the artist are in many important collections, including the Centre Pompidou, Paris, the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, the Royal Ontario Museum, the Vehbi Koç Foundation, the N. Eczacıbaşı Foundation the Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich, and the Davis Museum at Wellesley College, among others.