MISRA BALKAN

Mısra Balkan completed her undergraduate education in Painting and Printmaking at the Glasgow School of Art in 2023. Balkan, who continues her artistic practice in both the United Kingdom and Turkey, strives to develop her work dynamically and innovatively by embracing different cultural and artistic perspectives and blending international influences into her practice. Her work explores the dynamic interaction between the ground and the sky in-depth. The continuous flow of energy and the passage of time emerge as central themes. Her pieces, symbolizing the cycles of creation and decay in nature, interpret these cycles through ever-changing shapes and forms. Adopting an approach akin to biological processes such as cell division or parasite growth, her works express the raw essence of existence or intense emotional states. Emotional and sexual desires create depth and suspended moments in her work, inviting the audience into an extraordinary experience. Embracing fluidity and form, Balkan challenges conventional perceptions and celebrates the unconventional.

Balkan’s artistic investigations examine the mutual interdependence between nature and the individual, seeking to understand how this relationship shapes identity and consciousness. Her works, exploring primal instincts and desires, reveal their role in overcoming life’s complexities. Within this framework, Balkan celebrates the fluidity and diversity of existence, aiming to transcend boundaries and traditions through her art.

After graduating, Balkan began participating in artist residency programs, completing her first residency in Fall 2024 at Duplex AIR Residency in Lisbon. Her exhibitions include the "Birlikte" exhibition supported by Şişli Municipality as part of Istanbul Artweeks, the Duplex AIR Residency Group Exhibition, The Weird & The Eerie at New Glasgow Society, the Glasgow Art Club Winter Graduate Group Exhibition 2024, The Paper Stage - Expanded Drawing Week Exhibition, İstikrarlı Hayaller at Meteor Gallery (Nilüfer Municipality), Phoebus Cartel at SaltSpace, and ENYA - Flos Collective Debut Exhibition.