50 GOLBORNE

Belkis Balpinar (1941 Eskisehir, Turkey) is a textile specialist, a writer and researcher, and an artist. Graduated from the Textile Department of Istanbul Fine Arts Academy, the former curator at The Turkish and Islamic Museum in Istanbul has been creating textile artworks for the last 25 years, working collaboratively with the same master weavers.

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A pioneer in her field, she has overcome traditional rules regarding weaving techniques, iconography and format treatment. Doing so, she has projected an ancient skill into the realm of contemporary art. Her unique visual language combines age-old techniques with contemporary thought and science.

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While most of her one-of-a-kind pieces are woven for exhibitions, Belkis Balpinar also undertakes site-specific and special corporate art commissions. She was commissioned to create a piece for the entrance walls of the World Bank Building in Washington DC and the Aramco Center in Dhahran-Saudi Arabia and as well as 80 pieces for the Marmara-Manhattan Hotel in New York and some private commissioners. Some of her works have been displayed at the Modernist Exhibition in New York City and at the Basel Art Fair in Miami by Galleria Nilufar from Milan. Her works also feature in prominent private art collections worldwide including the Al Gore, Bernard Chappard and Miuccia Prada’s.

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Balpinar lives and works since 2006 in Bodrum, Turkey.