Bawer Doğanay

Bawer Doğanay (b. 1990, Mardin) graduated from the Painting Department of the Faculty of Fine Arts at Mardin Artuklu University in 2018. In the same year, he began his graduate studies in the Painting Department of the Institute of Fine Arts at Dokuz Eylül University. In his paintings, figures are depicted experiencing everyday and intimate moments within a fantastical world. Approaching individuals as flâneurs who explore, question, and observe, the artist brings fields of colour into dialogue with elements such as stone ornamentation, motifs, historic buildings, plains, skies, and clouds. This interplay between reality and fiction offers a contemporary interpretation of history painting, bringing together elements of primitive and contemporary art. Through figures embodying both nihilistic and romantic attitudes, his work focuses on individual and collective existence. His solo exhibitions include Blue Dream, ‘ewrê te ewrê baranane’ at Zema Contemporary in Barcelona in 2025, and I'm Living in a Cloud at Ferda Art Platform in Istanbul in 2021. Doğanay has also participated in various exhibitions, including 2026 Mardin Biennial Sky-Ground, Izmir Mediterranean Biennial, Yeni Topraklar / New Lands at Arkas Alaçatı, and New:Now, 2nd Edition at CerModern. He continues to live and work in Mardin.