Melahat and Eşref Üren: Ankara Show Puts Two Painters Side by Side

An exhibition in Ankara is revisiting the shared life of painters Melahat and Eşref Üren. “Side by Side” (“Yan Yana”) is on view at the Türkiye İş Bankası Economic Independence Museum in historic Ulus Square. It opened on 1 August after an Istanbul run, and it gives particular attention to Melahat Üren, an artist who has long been overshadowed.

The couple moved to Ankara in 1939 and lived there for the rest of their lives. According to İş Bankası, that bond with the city is why the show was brought to the capital.

Why the Üren exhibition came to Ankara

Ece Şıranur, exhibitions manager at İş Bankası, described Eşref Üren as widely regarded as a painter of Ankara. She said both artists felt deeply tied to the city. The aim, she explained, was to bring their works back to the place they called home.

Ulus Square is a fitting setting. It is one of the capital’s historic districts, and the museum there focuses on the early Republic’s economic story.

Two artistic voices, one household

The two painters shared many interests. Both worked in still life, often looked to Ankara’s landscapes, and gave special weight to colour. Their styles, however, stayed distinct.

Eşref Üren was known for strong contours and an impressionist-expressionist approach. Melahat Üren worked more intuitively, with looser lines and freer brushwork.

Eşref’s career followed a clear path. He reportedly turned to painting after watching artist İbrahim Çallı at work at Bursa’s Green Tomb. The Sanayi-i Nefise Mektebi, the fine arts academy founded in 1882 and now Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, first turned him away because of his age. He was later admitted as a special student, and he went on to study in Paris in the studio of André Lhote.

Bringing Melahat Üren out of her husband’s shadow

After returning to Türkiye, Eşref taught in Erzurum. There he met Melahat, who was born on the Greek island of Lesbos. Their relationship became a lifelong partnership, and their home became a shared space for living and making art.

The couple later travelled to Paris together, where Melahat’s interest in painting deepened. She also taught art for a time at Kurtuluş Secondary School in Ankara.

Far more is known about Eşref’s career. He held solo exhibitions and built a name in the art world. Melahat kept painting largely out of public view and never had a solo show in her lifetime.

Şıranur said the team came to see how talented and visionary Melahat was as they studied her work. “We wanted people to see that she isn’t just Eşref Üren’s wife, but an artist named Melahat Üren in her own right,” she said.

Readers planning a visit should check the museum for current opening hours and the closing date. The source does not state when the Ankara run ends.

Source: Daily Sabah
Featured image: LoudHmen / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0