Selma Gürbüz

• Name — Selma Gürbüz • Born — 1960 • Birthplace — Istanbul, Turkey • Died — 22 April 2021 • Place of death — Istanbul, Turkey • Education — Marmara University, Faculty of Fine Arts Exeter College of Art and Design • Known for — painting, sculpting

Gürbüz was born in Istanbul in 1960. She studied painting, photography and theatre at Exeter College of Art and Design in England in 1978, and continued with her studies there in painting and sculpture from 1980 to 1982. She graduated from Marmara University, Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Painting in 1984, and held her first solo exhibition in Istanbul in 1986. She was one of Turkey's leading contemporary artists and her works appear in the collections of the British Museum in London, the Fondation Maeght in Paris, SantralIstanbul, İstanbul Modern, Proje 4L and Bilgi University in Istanbul, and in the State Art and Sculpture Museum in Ankara. She also held exhibitions in Paris, Rome, Barcelona and Buenos Aires. Aside from her paintings, Gürbüz produced sculptures, weaving and engravings. She also worked as the artistic director of Ömer Kavur's films Akrebin Yolculuğu (The Scorpion's Journey, 1997) and Karşılash (The Encounter, 2002). Gürbüz ranked 425th in Artprice's list of the top 500 best-selling contemporary artists in the world in 2016. Having survived three years of treatment for cancer, Gürbüz died of COVID-19 in Istanbul, on 22 April 2021, at the age of 61.