“The captured moments of these photographs are a reflection of myself as the observer.
They represent an impression of nature filtered through my mind, rather than a simple recording of a landscape.” - Kenan Aktülün
At first glance, the quiet stillness of Kenan Aktülün’s photographs could be mistaken for simple, minimalist landscapes. And while his imagery can be appreciated for both its visual beauty and subtle mystery, to not go beyond these qualities is to miss the deeper emotional exploration and connection the artist expertly creates through his lens with his natural subjects.
Resonant of the iconic works of early 20th century American photographer Ansel Adams, Aktülün’s landscapes go beyond the visual beauty of the locations and objects he selects. Each image is carefully curated, documenting the emotions he is feeling at that particular moment in time. From a misty lakeside obscuring the horizon, to the startling clarity of detail on a lone plant, Aktülün’s photos are contemplative, even spiritual. They are timeless reflections of the nature around us, filtered through a process the artist describes as ‘connecting with each frame, which requires patience and respect, to fully absorb that which I’m observing and reflect upon the meaning of it’.
Kenan Aktülün is a Turkish-American photographer. He was born in Diyarbakir, Turkey in 1959 and graduated with a degree in Graphic Design from Marmara University in Istanbul. He went on to study film and history at L’Écoles des Hautes Etudes, and French language at the Sorbonne in Paris. His love of photography and documenting the world around him has been a life-long passion and pursuit, but his creative process shifted more fully to photography when he moved to New York in 2001. Since then, Aktülün has continued to travel and document landscapes around the globe, all while furthering his exploration of experimental techniques and process. His work can be found in numerous private collections in the US, Europe and Asia.
Kenan Aktülün lives and works in New York.