Quick Facts
Biography
Mertim Gökalp (born 1981) is a portrait and figure painter. He was a finalist in the Archibald Prize in 2013 with his portrait of Bille Brown, and a finalist in the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize 2015 with his painting "The Sacrifice of the Model".
Life and work
Gokalp is a Sydney based artist of Turkish origin. He has moved to Sydney in 2009. He is now part of an artist run initiative Project 504, and works from his studio in St Leoanards.
Education
Gokalp holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Istanbul.
Past exhibitions
Gokalp's latest painting, the Sacrifice of the Model - a contemporary re-take of Caravaggio's Entombment of the Christ, has been selected into the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize 2015 and has been exhibited in the Juniper Hall in Paddington.
In 2014, Gokalp had exhibited in the Contemporary Istanbul and had a solo show "The Descendants", in the Rocks Discovery Museum. Mertim’s self-portrait ‘I am a bit mad, but that is ok!’, which was a semi-finalist in the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize 2013, has been selected amongst many Australian portrait artists to be exhibited at the Australian Embassy in Washington DC, U.S.A.
In May 2014, two of Gokalp's paintings ‘Mama keeps me warm’ and ‘ Bille Brown in a Turkish Bath’ have been selected to be exhibited by Angus Trumble in the Glencore Percival Portrait Prize. This is artist’s first time in exhibiting his works in Queensland.
In March 2013, Gokalp’s portrait of the late Bille Brown, an Australian stage, film, television actor, and playwright, was announced as one of the finalists in the Archibald Prize. It was also exhibited in NSW Parliament House in July 2013 as a part of the "MultiCultural Australia" exhibition.
