Derin Yansımalar | Deep Reflections
Şebnem Kurtul & Tuba Üstel
21.10.2025 - 08.112025
offgrid art project hosts two artists between September 4 – October 18, 2025, who embrace the colors of life through works inspired by nature, the sea, sand, and earth.
The transparency and fluidity of glass, capturing the light, stand side by side with the rigid, intricate forms of clay.
Kurtul and Üstel, both nourished by the same source — nature itself — express their individuality through color and form. The exhibition opens a space where differences can coexist in harmony, inviting viewers to discover the layered diversity born from this union.
Şebnem Kurtul infuses her glass objects, inspired by stones shaped by water, with the full spectrum of the rainbow, while Tuba Üstel, through her ceramic works molded by the warmth of the earth, reaches toward the magical reefs and corals of the sea. Together, the artists build new worlds with color, embracing both difference and togetherness. Their journey is accompanied by curator Nilgün Kıvırcık.
The possibilities that make us fall in love with life reveal themselves through the reflections of light in glass, the “secret” of colors emerging from the kiln, and fluid, multilayered, unconventional forms. The exhibition evokes the silent strength of the sea, the joy of life, and the enchantment of depth.
“Deep Reflections” draws us into a journey that invites viewers to look into both the depths of nature and their own inner worlds. The works peek behind humanity’s visible, unconscious reflections, opening doors to our illusions and emotional scars — those shaped by manipulation and social expectations. Through color, we begin to heal the wounds left by masked faces.
Deep Reflections promises an artistic voyage where the unseen and the unknown find their voice through color, inviting viewers to lose themselves in the illusion crafted by two magical female artists.
Tuba Üstel
Graduated from the Faculty of Letters, Department of Pedagogy at Istanbul University.
Although her passion for clay dates back to her youth, it wasn’t until 2019 that she turned it into a dedicated practice. She met art lovers through a group exhibition at Galeri D’Art (2021), followed by solo shows at Elif Dağdeviren Art Space (2021) and Galeri Fe (2023).
Her deep connection to the sea, and the intense emotions stirred by her encounters with earth and nature, led her to recreate the mysteries of the ocean’s depths with clay and her own hands.
When diving into the sea, Üstel feels as if she’s drifting away from the earth — finding joy and calm within a serene solitude. She reaches the same state of detachment and peace when she begins shaping clay.
Reflecting on her artistic journey, Üstel says:
“Working with clay is like diving blind. The deeper I go, the more surprises await. My creations are a kind of endless illusion — that’s why the sea and clay have become my playground.”
Şebnem Kurtul
Graduated from the Industrial Design Department of Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University. After years of working in product design within the private sector—collaborating with various companies, factories, advertising agencies, and corporate brands—she eventually established her own studio. Today, she continues her practice both in her personal studio in Yalova and a collective studio in Amsterdam.
For Kurtul, glass is a guide — a medium that accompanies her in her journey to understand people, nature, species, and the cycle of life. Her designs, with their organic, fluid forms and spirit of freedom, transcend boundaries and conventions, resonating with those who share her passion for glass and for life itself.
Kurtul has collaborated with prestigious institutions such as Istanbul Modern, Odunpazarı Modern Museum (OMM), Chester Beatty (Ireland), H’ART Museum (Hermitage Amsterdam), and Museum JAN Amstelveen, as well as design stores like Spiegel Store. Her works have reached collectors across many countries. Hosted by ETMK Istanbul Branch, she exhibited both her well-known collections and an entirely new series for the first time at the Istanbul Design Museum.
In 2024, she was awarded a scholarship to attend the Glass Art Society Workshop in Germany, and in 2025, she continued her international journey at the Flameoff France Glass Workshop, collaborating with designers from around the world.
Through the stories she tells in glass, Kurtul reinterprets flexibility against rigidity, nonconformity against compliance, freedom against limitation, and the rainbow against monotony.
Her illustrations, featured in brand campaigns, T-shirt designs, cards, and children’s books, have reached thousands — adults and children alike — through their imaginative and colorful worlds. Her glass jewelry and detailed design pieces invite viewers on a vibrant journey through memory and time.
