Mert Diner is a visual artist working primarily in painting and mixed media. He explores the tension between the visible and the invisible through techniques of layering, covering, and revealing. This approach allows him to create spatial depth by shaping meaning not only in what is seen—lines, marks, shapes—but also in what is obscured, left blank, or withdrawn from view. His canvases often feature erased gestures and muted colors that invite slow, contemplative engagement. Diner aims to evoke something larger, a realm beyond the surface. Moving between personal and collective memory, his work captures the emotional undercurrents and existential uncertainties of our time.
After studying Mechanical Engineering at Uludağ University in Bursa, Diner worked as an engineer in Istanbul while taking lessons from renowned Turkish artist Irfan Önürmen. In 2007, he received a scholarship to pursue advanced studies in painting at the New York Studio School — one of the city's most respected institutions for rigorous, atelier-based art education. There, he trained under Bill Jensen, Margrit Lewczuk, and Graham Nickson, and began developing the process-oriented and conceptual approach that defines his work. In 2009, he returned to Istanbul, where his artistic practice continues to evolve, shaped by questions of perception, presence, and psychological space.
Exhibitions
[Solo Exhibitions]
2024 I Didn’t Know I’d Find You Here — Ka Space for Visual Culture & Artistic
Thinking, Ankara, Turkey
2024 Out of Sight — İmalat-hane, Bursa, Turkey
2023 Uncanny States — Art ON Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey
2021 Hiding in Thin Air — Yaya (Viable), Istanbul, Turkey
2021 Leave Us Alone — Ferda Art Platform, Istanbul, Turkey
2019 A While Outside — REM Art Space, Istanbul, Turkey
2017 Lovely Fucking Greys — OJ Art Space, Istanbul, Turkey
2017 Small is Ok Too [Solo studio exhibition] — Istanbul, Turkey
2017 Other Side — Versus Art Project, Istanbul, Turkey
2015 Obscure — Versus Art Project, Istanbul, Turkey
2014 When You Cover It [Pop-up solo show in an abandoned space] — Istanbul,
Turkey
2012 States of Organism — Olcay Art, Istanbul, Turkey
2011 Organism — Olcay Art, Istanbul, Turkey
2009 Puzzle of Nature — Rotary Club, Iskenderun, Turkey
2007 Triangle — Galeri Oda, Istanbul, Turkey
[Group Exhibitions]
2025 Good Morning, I’m Off to Bed — Ka Space for Visual Culture & Artistic
Thinking, Ankara, Turkey
2022 Eye Level [Duo exhibition] — Art ON Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey
2022 After Eight — Yaya ( Viable ), Istanbul, Turkey
2021 Chosen — Ferda Art Platform, Istanbul, Turkey
2017 Prelude: Rhythm Section — Munich, Germany
2016 Rhythm Section - Off Beats — Karşı Sanat Çalışmaları, Istanbul, Turkey
2012 Journeys [Two-person show with “Laetitia Hohenberg“] — NYSS Main
Gallery, New York, USA
2008 Patton Boggs — New York, USA
2008 Goddess [Two-person show] — NYSS, New York , USA
[Printmaking & Residencies]
2024 Dou Print Studio — Lithography
2017 Aksanat Print Studio — Silk screen