Ülker Erke

Ülker Erke was born in Istanbul in 1932. She finished at American College for Girls. She learned illumination art (Tezhip) and miniature from Prof. A. Süheyl Ünver, and obtained her professional license in 1958. Besides working miniatures, she worked painting with Sami Boyar for 5 years. Erke also studied design and anatomy with the painter Ercüment Kalmik. Between 1986 and 1996, Erke taught miniature at the A. Süheyp Ünver Workshop in the Faculty of the History of Medicine of Istanbul University. She has had 23 solo exhibitions, and has participated in 63 group exhibitions. She has received 42 certificates of appreciation. Erke received an award from Turkish Writers Association for the exhibition “Alem Dönüyor – Minyatürlerle Mevlevihaneler”. In 2006, Erke won the award “artist of the year” in the category of traditional arts. She has published many books such as “Minyatürlerle Mevlana ve Mevlevilik”, “Minyatürlerle Gemiler”, “Minyatürlerle Anadolu’dan Efsaneler”, “Âlem Dönüyor – Minyatürlerle Mevlevihaneler” and “Minyatürlerle Anadolu Halk Dansları”.

Reference: minyatursanati.com, klasikturksanatlarivakfi.com, istanbulunustalari.com, İstanbul’un Ustaları (Istanbul: İstanbul 2010 Avrupa Kültür Başkenti, 2010), p. 140.