Erman Gürcüm was born in Izmir in 1992. He began his painting career in 2011 by being accepted into the Painting Department of Doğuş University's Faculty of Art and Design, ranking first in his class.

Throughout his education, he studied under numerous masters in their fields, striving to discover his artistic understanding. In 2015, he began his master's degree in the Department of Plastic Arts at Yeditepe University's Institute of Social Sciences. Having completed his master's degree, the artist continues his work in his own studio. "Every object represented conveys a meaning beyond itself. A path that begins with seeing through what is visible to the naked eye..."

In his works, Gürcüm explores the contrasting aesthetics of beauty and the unbeauty with a contemporary approach. The artist, who paradoxically critiques the pleasure, ostentation, and sense of possession that life offers, while simultaneously reminding the viewer of the inconclusiveness and brevity of worldly goods, explores the tradition of Vanitas painting in a contemporary way, questioning worldly pleasures and the objective world. The artist explores the concepts of life and death, drawing inspiration from the allure of worldly pleasures. The skull, a feature seen in his works, is also depicted as a self-portrait.

He aims to inspire viewers to discover a piece of themselves in the stories that unfold in his works, crafted with an allegorical narrative style.

"This Is My Story" 2021

Charcoal on Paper

70x50