Güler Ates

Turkish-born artist Güler Ates works in a variety of media including video, photography, printmaking and site-responsive performance. Her atmospheric, theatrical images merge Eastern and Western sensibilities to explore, in her words, ‘the experience of cultural displacement’.

Güler works with models draped in richly-coloured veils which represent a recurring motif throughout her artistic practice. These mysterious figures are often photographed as if quietly passing through architecturally lavish interiors, in locations chosen for their links to colonialism and ‘the East’. Rich in narrative, Güler’s imagery also references European traditions of veiled woman as seen in the paintings of old masters such as Vermeer and Rembrandt. These historical comparisons, for the artist, ‘highlight social and political issues, especially those surrounding gender politics and the veil’.

Güler moved from Turkey to London in 1998, studying first at Lewisham College and then moving on to a BA in Painting at Wimbledon School of Art. She subsequently graduated with an MA in Fine Art from the Royal College of Art in 2008. Her work has been exhibited widely in the UK and internationally including solo exhibitions in Washington DC, Mumbai, Turin, Amsterdam, Napoli, Porto, Okinawa and London, including ‘Transcendent’ with Marcelle Joseph Projects, in 2023. Güler has been awarded numerous prizes for her work including the Arts Council England Project Award in 2020 and she has undertaken residencies and commissions in Mumbai, Mojacar and Paris. Her work is also held in notable collections including the Royal Collection, Turin, Italy, the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, and the Government Arts Collection, UK.

Güler has worked at the Royal Academy Schools, London, as a digital print tutor since 2011. She lives in south east England.

We are looking forward to presenting new work by Güler in our forthcoming group exhibition Almost Blue which opens on 6th June 2024. Please register your interest.