Canan Ünal

Canan Ünal was born in Karaman in 1971. She graduated from the Department of Painting at Gazi University in 1993, and held her first solo exhibition in the same year. In 1999, she completed her Master’s degree at Hacettepe University, Institute of Social Sciences, with a thesis entitled “Tendencies of Overhead View in Art.”

A defining feature of Canan Ünal’s work is the bird’s-eye view, or overhead perspective, which has remained a consistent and distinctive element of her artistic language from her first exhibition to the present day. Through this perspective, she explores the spaces inhabited by individuals, as well as the relationships they establish with one another, revealing both their emotional and objective dimensions.

By structuring these interactions through geometric and modern forms, Ünal creates compositions that both guide and challenge the viewer’s perception. Her works do not impose a single reading; rather, they open up a space for personal interpretation. In this way, her paintings invite the viewer to reflect on human presence, spatial experience, and the subtle networks of connection that shape everyday life.

In Canan Ünal’s oeuvre, the overhead perspective becomes more than a visual strategy; it is a means of observation that uncovers the hidden layers of contemporary existence with both distance and sensitivity.

Awards

2006 Exhibition Award, Nuri İyem Painting Awards, Evin Art Gallery, Istanbul, Türkiye
2007 Special Jury Award, Nuri İyem Painting Awards, Evin Art Gallery, Istanbul, Türkiye

Solo Exhibitions

2026 Bird's-Eye View  BBprojectTT / İSTANBUL
2019 Dutch Design Week, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
2019 ITU University, Istanbul, Türkiye
2017 Celebrating Life, Join+Idea Gallery, Arnavutköy, Istanbul, Türkiye
2016 …A Breath…, Rengigül Art Gallery, Bozcaada, Türkiye
2015 Berze Gallery, Istanbul, Türkiye
2014 Galerie Linda Farrell, Paris, France
2013 Cenani Mansion, Gaziantep, Türkiye
2013 View, ArtPoint Gallery, Istanbul, Türkiye
2012 Atölye Turuncu, Bozcaada, Türkiye
2011 Atölye Turuncu, Bozcaada, Türkiye
2010 ArtPoint Gallery, Istanbul, Türkiye
2010 My View Takes Flight II, Od'A – Ouvroir d'Art, Istanbul, Türkiye
2010 Resim Evi, Bozcaada, Türkiye
2009 My View Takes Flight I, Ortaköy Art Gallery, Istanbul, Türkiye
2008 Armagrandi Art Gallery, Bozcaada, Türkiye
2007 Nazım Hikmet Cultural Center, Istanbul, Türkiye
2006 Vakıflar Bankası, Taksim, Istanbul, Türkiye
2006 The Marmara Hotel, Taksim, Istanbul, Türkiye
2004 Galeri Tılsım, Bozcaada, Türkiye
2004 Ümit Yaşar Art Gallery, Istanbul, Türkiye
2003 Feriye Foyer, Ortaköy, Istanbul, Türkiye
1993 Kırmızı-Lacivert Art Gallery, TED, Ankara, Türkiye

Group Exhibitions

2026 J/M Gallery, London, United Kingdom
2024 Aradabirbirarada I, Ortaköy Cultural Center, Istanbul, Türkiye
2020 Affordable Art Fair, Milan, Italy
2016 Rengigül Gallery, Bozcaada, Türkiye
2016 LemoART Gallery, Berlin, Germany
2016 Aradabirbirarada III, Ortaköy Cultural Center, Istanbul, Türkiye
2015 Expo 2015 Milan, FOOD Exhibition, Milan, Italy
2015 Çanakkale Ceramic Museum, Çanakkale, Türkiye
2015 Aradabirbirarada II, Ortaköy Cultural Center, Istanbul, Türkiye
2014 Aradabirbirarada I, Ortaköy Cultural Center, Istanbul, Türkiye
2014 Galeri Mosa, Kayseri, Türkiye
2013 Art Has Wings, ARTE Gallery, Sotheby’s, Istanbul, Türkiye
2012 Statute of Limitations Exhibition, Taksim, Istanbul, Türkiye
2012 Divercity, Sainte Pulchérie, Istanbul, Türkiye
2012 Art of Migration, Cezayir Gallery, Sotheby’s, Istanbul, Türkiye
2012 Nod Art Gallery, Taksim, Istanbul, Türkiye
2011 ArtPoint Gallery, TÜYAP Art Fair, Istanbul, Türkiye
2011 Ortaköy Artists Exhibition, Istanbul, Türkiye
2010 The Spirit of the Island, Bozcaada, Türkiye
2009 Denizatı Art Gallery, Istanbul, Türkiye
2009 Republic Exhibition, Taksim, Istanbul, Türkiye
2007 Nuri İyem Painting Competition, Selected Works, Evin Art Gallery, Istanbul, Türkiye
2007 Case Del Art, TÜYAP Art Fair, Istanbul, Türkiye
2006 Nuri İyem Painting Competition, Selected Works, Evin Art Gallery, Istanbul, Türkiye
2005 TÜYAP Art Fair, Istanbul, Türkiye
2004 Galeri Girgin, Istanbul, Türkiye