Oya Zaim Katoglu (1940 Turkey), Denizde Gezinti'

oil on canvas, 40 cm x 30 cm, signed, dated 73, slightly stain spotted, partial minimal craquelures, minimal paint chippings

Born in Istanbul in 1940, the painter Oya Katoglu graduated from Ankara University, Faculty of Language, Geography and History, Department of Art History. The daughter of the painter Turgut Zaim became a member of the Swiss-based group ''Henri Rousseau''. In 1969, the artist won the second prize in the Art Critisism Society, as well as the special prize of the jury of the International Painting Exhibition Zurich in 1975. Only two years earlier, she created the painting ''Denizde Gezinti'' (engl. ''a cruise on the sea''). In the style of naive painting, the artist depicts a subject that is still topical and politically explosive today: small boats on an open meet filled with people. Some of the people are depicted in back view, but some saddened faces full of concern as to whether they would find a life in a country with better living conditions are clearly visible. Men, women and children sit in these boats. The exact message of the work remains hidden due to the restrained formal language. Certainly, they could be refugees, then as now. Especially since none of the people have any belongings with them, except the clothes they are wearing. In an artistic way, Oya Zaim Katoglu addresses societal and socially critical themes.