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Zeynep Gungor is a Turkish Canadian multidisciplinary visual artist whose practice includes ceramics, painting, sculpture, and installation. Currently based in Montreal, her work investigates themes of femininity, idealized beauty, and the distinct psychological and physical pressures imposed on women. Drawing deeply from her heritage, Gungor integrates ornamental motifs and cultural patterns to explore the intersections of memory and identity. She holds a DEC in Visual Arts from John Abbott College and is currently a BFA candidate majoring in Sculpture at Concordia University. Her work has been featured in several group exhibitions, including Touching the Earth at L’Espace Morphoze, Open Door and Sculpture 310 at the Concordia Sculpture Gallery, and the Graduating Exhibition at the John Abbott College Agora.

I am a multidisciplinary artist working across sculpture, ceramics, and painting. Mypractice examines feminine beauty and the female body through contemporary images that engage with historical visual culture. I am interested in beauty standards and the physical and mental struggles experienced by women and exploring how cultural expectations have been imposed on women throughout history. However, I am equally interested in beauty as an authentic form of self-expression. Throughout history, women have embraced cosmetics, body adornment, and ornamentation not just in response to social expectations, but as profound assertions of identity, cultural heritage, and ritual. Rather than presenting beauty strictly as a tool of oppression, my work explores the complex tension between these dual perspectives and examines how they continue to intersect within the female experience.

Drawing from ballet antique objects, and elements of my Turkish heritage, I reinterpret historical aesthetics to investigate how ideas of beauty and identity are constructed and transformed over time and throughout culture. I am particularly interested in how decorative surfaces and materials can carry memory in regard to labour. Ornamentation is not only a visual element in my practice but also a way of connecting past and present, allowing historical references to exist within contemporary contexts. By combining traditional influences with modern forms, I aim to create works that encourage reflection on the relationship between history, culture, and the body.

When it comes to my ceramic works, there are many references to Turkish identity via motifs. My cultural background plays an important role in this aspect of my practice, as I draw inspiration from decorative patterns, craftsmanship, and objects that have remained significant throughout generations. Ceramics allow me to explore themes of heritage, preservation, and personal experience while experimenting with texture, surface, and form. I am interested in how these familiar visual languages can communicate both collective and individual histories.

My painting practice is abstract while also using impressionist techniques. I often use both approaches and styles within the same painting. I enjoy exploring colour,
movement and form, allowing intuition to guide the process while creating compositions that balance structure with spontaneity. Colour plays a central role in these works, with bright and vibrant palettes becoming a defining feature of many of my paintings. Through abstraction, I can focus on atmosphere and emotion.

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

studio@zeysculpture.com

CV