JUL 23

WET PAINT:
FILIZ SOYAK

New York, New York

A few weeks ago, we began a new series to usher in our blog's redesign called Wet Paint. In this series, we select an Artiscle artist and then ask them to complete a short personal questionnaire. The last artist we chose was Lori Kirkbride. Today, we have Filiz Soyak!

Filiz Red Sea Tengai I Filiz Jordan Desert Tengai I

Why We Love Her

Filiz Soyak's work describes what she can't articulate: the deep, visceral feelings generated by things she has experienced, remembered, felt, forgotten, and been moved by. Her strong, moody, and sometimes washed-out colors narrate a non-verbal story informed by Filiz's diverse background (born to Swedish and Turkish parents in Belgium, she has also lived in Japan and the United States) and travels. Often named after places which she has been to, such as Red Sea Tengai I (above, left) or Jordan Desert Tengai (above, right), her soothing canvases offer visual mini-vacations for those of us who are a little more desk-bound than we'd like to be.

Filiz Meijigarden2 Filiz Barbados No Arashi I

Questions

1. Name/Age: Filiz Emma Soyak (32 years old)
2. Hometown: A few. Born in Antwerp- Belgium, grew up in Yokohama & Tokyo, Japan
3. Super power you would like to possess: I want to fly!
4. Favorite Coffee Place in New York: The place I frequent is Cafe Royal in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
5. As kid you were obsessed with: playing pretend, Barbie's, Lego's, gummy candy
6. Favorite Piece on Artsicle that's not your own: Can I say two artists who I admire instead? I love the work of Pantelis Klonaris and Alessandra Delacruz. Both create such complex texture and depth.
7. First job: Selling minerals, rocks, precious stones, African masks, Indonesian soap stone sculptures at a place called Black Market Minerals in SC.