Azade Köker’s earlier works are mainly concerned with identity and belonging. The artist proposes hybridity as an inevitable survival mechanism, which is achieved through a subjectivity based on discrepancy, transparency and vulnerability. In her later works, nature is negotiated as a cultural construct. She creates images of nature inhabited by traces of human intervention, which she then deconstructs by a repeating pattern on the surface. Through this layering and reworking of the surface, she disrupts the perfection and legibility of the represented image and comments on the possibilities of paintings.
Azade Köker (1949,Istanbul) lives and works between Berlin and Istanbul. She used to be a professor at the Braunschweig Technical University, Berlin, Germany. Her recent solo exhibitions include: Verblendet (Zilberman Gallery, Berlin, 2018), Everywhere, Nowhere (Zilberman Gallery, Istanbul, 2015), Azade Köker (Proje 4L, Elgiz Museum, Istanbul, 2015), Moving Spaces (Galeri Zilberman, 2013), Human Nature (Milli Reasürans Art Gallery, Istanbul, 2007), Transparenz der Abwesentheit (Otto-Gallery, Münich, 2004), and Transparenz des Gartens (Kunstverein, Bielefeld, 2001); and her recent group exhibitions include: Ultrahabitat (Zilberman Gallery Berlin, 2016), Minor Heroism (Zilberman Gallery, İstanbul, 2015), Meeting Point (Kunstverein Konstanz, Germany, 2015) and Dream and Reality (Istanbul Modern, Istanbul, 2011).
Her works are in numerous public and corporate collections including Akbank, Istanbul; The British Museum, London; Berlinische Gallery, Berlin; Elgiz Museum of Contemporary Art, Istanbul; Lebendiges Museum, Berlin; John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Wisconsin; Istanbul Modern Museum. She has public sculptures in Cuvry-Brunnen (Berlin), Bundesgartenschau (Berlin), Menschenlandschaften (Berlin), Frechen Museum (Düsseldorf), Bremen-Nord Zentralkrankenhaus (Bremen), Schule am Barbarossaplatz (Berlin), Schlosspark (Wolfsburg), Building of Turkish Embassy (Japan), Altınpark (Ankara), Istanbul Stock Exchange (Istanbul), Aspat Art Park (Bodrum) and Park of German Embassy (Ankara).

A respected voice in contemporary art discourse.
Focusing on ambitious storytelling and insightful art-world commentary. Ocula Magazine publishes in-depth interviews, critical essays and timely analysis on the artists, exhibitions and ideas driving the global art world.
Learn more about Ocula Magazine
Showcasing the best of the art world.
Ocula partners with galleries from around the world to highlight their artists, artworks and exhibitions. Gallery membership is by application and invitation, with each member vetted by an independent panel.
Learn more about Ocula Membership
Specialises in the sale of major artworks.
Led by a team with deep ties to the world’s leading auction houses, galleries and collectors. Ocula’s advisory team offers bespoke services to high-net-worth clients from around the world who are looking to acquire the best of contemporary and modern art.
Learn more about our team and services