Ahmet Ertuğ

 
Style of Art : Artist / photographer, architect, publisher
Branch of Art : Photography
Art Profile :

Ahmet Ertuğ was born in 1949. He graduated from the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London in 1974. He practiced architecture in England, Iran and Turkey. In 1972, he started photography, and took photographs of Caribbean festivals and street life in the West End and East End of London. While working in Iran as an architect between 1974 and 1976, Ertuğ photographed indigenous settlements and ancient Persian monuments. In 1979, he received a fellowship from the Japan Foundation to research on the traditional architecture of Japan, and photographed ancient temples and gardens in Japan.

After returning to Istanbul, Ertuğ worked as an architect for the conservation planning of the historical city. His knowledge of the historical quarters of the city encouraged him to photograph the architecture and art of Byzantine, Ottoman, and Roman heritage of this ancient city. His photographic exhibition on the monuments of Istanbul was shown in Paris, Madrid, Toronto under the auspices of UNESCO. In 1980s, Ertuğ founded Ertuğ & Kocabıyık: Publishers of Fine Art Books with Ahmet Kocabıyık, and published art books on Byzantine, Ottoman, Hellenistic and Roman, and Asian art. All limited edition volumes are printed and bounded manually in Italy and Switzerland. He has had many important solo exhibitions in Turkey and abroad. His photographic book of Buddhist sculptures at the Musse Guimet collections was selected the best publications of 2004 by Le Monde. Currently, Ertuğ continues to work in Istanbul.

His selected exhibitions:
1986, "Istanbul Gateway to Splendor" , Zamana Gallery,The Agha Khan Cultural Center, London (later exhibited in Paris, Lisbon, Madrid, Barcelona, Montreal, and Toronto by UNESCO)
1987, "Lumiers sur la Ville" Ecole nationale superieure des Beaux-arts, Paris
2001, "Images de Byzance", Couvent des Cordeliers, Paris
2002, "Sculpture pour la Eternite", Jardin des Tuilleries, Paris
2003, "Panaromic Landscapes of Cappadocia" exhibition of photographs for the book launching, Istanbul, 2003
2003, "Sculptured for Eternity" Topkapı Palace Museum first courtyard, Istanbul
2003, "Chora :The Scroll of Heaven" The Japan Foundation, Tokyo
2004, "Architectural Heritage in Istanbul and Edirne", Topkapı Palace Museum second courtyard, Istanbul
2004, Exhibition of Byzantine, Ottoman and Asian art photographs, Art Curial Art Gallery, Paris
2004, "Spiritual Journey: Sacred Art from Musee Guimet", Musee Guimet Paris
2005, "Spiritual Journey: Sacred Art from Musee Guimet" Ben Janssens Oriental Art Gallery/ exhibition and book launching hosted by Cartier, London
2005, "The Architectural Genius of Sinan" Bernard Shapero Rare Books, London
2005, "Voyage mystique- Secrets de Byzance et reves ottomans", La Conciergerie, Paris
2006, "Vaults of Heaven: Sanctuaries of Byzantium", World Monuments Fund Gallery, New York
2007, "Seraglio and Beyond" Elipsis Gallery, Istanbul
2007, "Spiritual Journey: Sacred Art from Musee Guimet" Patrick Derom Gallery, Brussels,
during Brussels Oriental Art Fair III
2008, "Celsus Library, Ephesus" Frankfurt Book Fair, Frankfurt
2008, "Ephesus: Architecture, Monuments and Sculpture" Ephesus Museum, Vienna
2009, "Libraries: Temples of Knowledge" Blibliotheque Nationale de France, Paris
Permanent Exhibition at Hagia Sophia, Istanbul
Permanent Exhibition at Ephesus Museum, Vienna

Selected books:
Silks for the Sultans: Ottoman Imperial Garments from Topkapı Palace Museum (1996)
Hagia Sophia: A Vision for Empires; text by Cyril Mango (1997)
Gardens of Paradise:16th Century Turkish Ceramic Tile Decoration. text by Walter Denny (1997)
Sinan: an Architectural Genius. text by Doğan Kuban (1999)
Anatolian Carpets: Masterpieces from the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum, Istanbul. text by Walter Denny & Nacan Olcer (1999)
Chora: The Scrolls of Heaven. text by Cyril Mango (2000)
Sculptured for Eternity: Treasures of Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine Art from the Istanbul Archaeological Museum. text by R.R.R. Smith (2001)
Spiritual Journey: Sacred Art From Musée Guimet. texts written by the curators of the museum (2004)
Sacred Art of Cappadocia: Byzantine murals from the 6th to 13th Centuries. text by Catherine-Jolivet Levy (2006)
Ephesus: Architecture, Monuments and Sculpture. text written by members of the Archaeological Institute of Austria (2007)
Aphrodisias: Roman Asian Architecture, Monuments and Sculpture. text by R.R.R.Smith, director of excavations in Aphrodisias (2008)
Temples of Knowledge: Libraries of the Western World. text by Friedrich Krizinger (2009)

Reference: ahmetertug.com, en.wikipedia.org, salom.com.tr, google.com.tr/images

Web Site : www.ahmetertug.com
Email : ahmetertug@gmail.com
City : Istanbul
Country : Turkey
Preferred Lang. : Turkish / English
Images :