Dr. Demir Fitrat Onger, collectionneur du groupe du Gymnase à Paris

Entretien

Authors

  • Perin Emel Yavuz Institute for Democracy, Media and Cultural Exchange (IDEM), Paris
  • Ekin Akalın Center for Turkish, Ottoman, Balkan, and Central-Asian Studies (CETOBAC), EHESS, and National Federation of Specialized Experts in Art (Fnepsa), Paris

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.36950/manazir.2024.6.8

Keywords:

Turkey, Abstract art, New School of Paris, Modernity, Artistic migration

Abstract

After the WWII, Turkish artists of the École de Paris played a significant role in the Parisian art scene, actively participating in the debates between abstraction and figuration. Turkish painters and sculptors exhibited at major salons such as the Salon de Mai and the Salon des Réalités Nouvelles, asserting their presence within the Parisian avant-garde. Their interactions with influential figures in modern art, as well as participation in key exhibitions, testify to their integration into the French artistic milieu. The long-neglected memory of this generation is today preserved thanks to many players in the art world. Dr. Demir Fitrat Onger, who built up a major collection and maintained close ties with these artists, is one of them. His testimony sheds light on their contribution to artistic modernity, but also on their bohemian lifestyle and lack of recognition.

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Author Biographies

  • Perin Emel Yavuz, Institute for Democracy, Media and Cultural Exchange (IDEM), Paris

    Perin Emel Yavuz holds a doctorate in art history and theory, and is co-founder of the research group on the visual arts in the Middle East 19th–21st centuries (ARVIMM). She specialises in narrativity in art forms and is interested in art as a space for cultural and political interaction in relation to global transformations and contemporary issues of representation. She has coordinated a number of publications, including “Que fait la mondialisation à l’esthétique” with Bruno Trentini (Proteus, no. 8, March 2015), “Contextualiser nos regards” with Annabelle Boissier, Fanny Gillet and Alain Messaoudi (Revue des mondes musulmans et de la Méditerranée, no. 142, 2018), and “Les images migrent aussi” with Elsa Gomis and Francesco Zucconi (De facto Migrations, no. 24, January 2021). Currently head of communications and development at IDEM (L’Institut pour la Démocratie) and a member of the Désinfox-Migrations association, her career has been marked by a constant commitment to disseminating knowledge on sensitive subjects that divide society.

  • Ekin Akalın, Center for Turkish, Ottoman, Balkan, and Central-Asian Studies (CETOBAC), EHESS, and National Federation of Specialized Experts in Art (Fnepsa), Paris

    Ekin Akalın is a researcher specializing in global modernities, with a focus on late Ottoman and early Turkish Republican art history. She is affiliated with the Fédération nationale des experts d'art (Fnepsa) and the Center for Turkish, Ottoman, Balkan, and Central-Asian Studies (CETOBAC), Paris. She completed her masters under the supervision of Marianne Barrucand. Her curatorial work includes positions at the Sadberk Hanım Museum (Istanbul) and projects with the Musée du Quai Branly (Paris), the Musée Pierre Loti (Rochefort, France). She was the coordinator of the 2011 exhibition 20 Modern Turkish Artists of the Twentieth Century at santralistanbul. Her doctoral research investigaes territorial aesthetics in 19th century Ottoman military schools. Her recent article, “Aesthetic of Prosperity: A Case Study on the Paintings of Halil Paşa,” was published in the International Journal of Islamic Architecture.

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Published

14.05.2025

Issue

Vol. 6 (2024): Les artistes du Maghreb et du Moyen-Orient,
l’art abstrait et Paris

Section

Perspectives

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Perin Emel Yavuz, Ekin Akalın

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Yavuz, P. E., & Akalın, E. (2025). Dr. Demir Fitrat Onger, collectionneur du groupe du Gymnase à Paris: Entretien. Manazir Journal, 6, 191–213. https://doi.org/10.36950/manazir.2024.6.8