About

Biography

Ayşe Eylül Sönmez is a Turkish visual artist and academic whose practice is primarily focused on watercolor and drawing.

Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally through exhibitions, biennales, and various art events. In 2020, she held her first solo exhibition, Above the Clouds, at Kelimat Art Gallery in Istanbul. Her work was featured in A Watercolour a Day (Promopress, 2018), and she is a member of the International Watercolor Society (IWS) and Illustrators Platform.

Alongside her academic work in fashion design, she continues her artistic practice in her studio in Istanbul.

Artist Statement

Through watercolor and drawing, I explore the relationships between memory, identity, nature, and human experience. My practice is shaped by the intersection of personal observation and a theoretical interest in contemporary visual culture.

My work often moves beyond direct narratives, opening into associations, transformations, and layered meanings. Figures, organic forms, and traces of nature emerge and dissolve, reflecting themes of memory, belonging, fragility, and change. The fluid and unpredictable nature of watercolor plays a central role in my process, where the balance between control and chance becomes an essential part of making.

Through my series, I investigate the transitions between childhood and adulthood, the connections between humans and nature, and the emotional landscapes that exist beneath visible realities. Rather than offering fixed interpretations, my work invites viewers into an open visual space where they may form their own associations, memories, and meanings.