Istanbul, 1985
Kemal Önsoy was born in Sariidris, Isparta in Turkey in 1954.
Önsoy graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts at the Marmara University in Istanbul in 1980. He held his first exhibition in Istanbul in 1979 and participated in a number of solo and group exhibitions in the 1980’s.
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His distinctive and radical visual language was first displayed at his solo Rumeli Hani exhibition in 1989 in Istanbul, Turkey. In 1990, Rumeli Hani No.9 and No.10 were featured at the 44th Venice Biennial’s Turkish Pavilion.
Önsoy moved to New York in 1989 and lived in his East Village Studio until 1992. He produced his New York and Dan Lynch series, the latter named after a blues bar in New York City. Dan Lynch was exhibited at the 4th International Istanbul Biennial and at the group exhibition I am Another at the Charlottenborg Art Centre in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1995.
In 1991, Snow that Wishes the Sun and in 1997, 11 August 1999 exhibitions opened at the Gallery Nev in Istanbul. His sculptures Come Cry Through My Eyes were showcased at the Istanbul Biennial in 2001, the Sao Paulo Biennial in 2002 and The Rose Can Not Blossom in the Plasm at The Center of Gravity exhibition at the Istanbul Modern Art Museum in 2005.
In 2013, his largest solo exhibition to date, Antrepo, opened at the former venue of the Istanbul Biennial. No.5, displayed at the Antrepo exhibition, was acquired by the Istanbul Modern Art Museum in 2014 and added to its permanent collection.
Since 2018, Önsoy designed and launched three virtual 360° exhibitions, showcasing his most recent works and connecting with his audiences online during the pandemic.
Solo and Group Exhibitions
​1979 Art '78, AKM, Istanbul
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​1980 Hobi Sanat Gallery, Istanbul
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1982 Leonardo Sanat Gallery, Izmir
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1983 Günümüz Sanatçıları Sergisi, MSÜ Resim ve Heykel Müzesi, Ä°stanbul
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1985 Urart Sanat Gallery, Ankara
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1985 Yeni EÄŸilimler Sergisi, MSÜ, Ä°stanbul
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1985 A Cross Section of Avant-Garde Turkish Art, Yıldız Technical University, Istanbul
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1986 A Cross Section of Avant-Garde Turkish Art, AKM | Istanbul, Turkey
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1986 Urart Sanat Gallery, Istanbul
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1987 A Cross Section of Avant-Garde Turkish Art, AKM | Istanbul, Turkey
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1988 "Art Exhibition - Bedri Baykam, Kemal Önsoy, Yusuf Taktak", Urart Art Gallery, Istanbul
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1989 "Cité Roumelie", 2nd International Istanbul Biennial, Gallery Nev, Istanbul
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1990 Gallery Nev, Ankara
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1990 Büyük Sergi 2, MSÜ Resim ve Heykel Müzesi, Ä°stanbul | Coordinated by YahÅŸi Baraz
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1990 44th International Venice Biennial | Turkish Pavillion Curated by Beral Madra | Venice, Italy
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1991 "Snow that Wishes the Sun", Gallery Nev, Istanbul
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1994 "Snow that Wishes the Sun", Gallery Nev, Ankara
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1995 "Dan Lynch", 4th International Istanbul Biennial | Curated by René Block | Istanbul, Turkey
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1995 "I am Another", Charlottenborg Art Centre | Curated by Ali Artun | Copenhagen, Denmark
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1997 "11 AÄŸustos 1999", Gallery Nev, Istanbul, Turkey
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1998 "11 AÄŸustos 1999", Gallery Nev, Ankara, Turkey
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1998 Abstract Tendencies in Turkish Painting Art, AKM, | Coordinated by YahÅŸi Baraz | Istanbul, Turkey
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2000 Gallery Nev, Istanbul | Ankara
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2001 “Come and Cry from my Eyes”, 7th International Istanbul Biennieal | Curated by Yuko Hasegawa | Assistant Curator: Emre Baykal, Istanbul Turkey
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2002 “Come and Cry from my Eyes”, 25th International Sao Paulo Biennial | Curated by Alfonso Hug, Fulya Erdemci, Sao Paulo, Brazil
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2002 “I have Trees with Blood Circulation”, Galeri Nev, Ankara, Turkey
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2003 “Organized Conflict”, Curated by Fulya Erdemci Elgiz Museum of Contemporary Art, Istanbul, Turkey
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2004 “Surrounded by Humans”, Gallery Nev, Ankara, Turkey
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2005 “The Rose can not Blossom in the Plasm”, Curated by Rosa Martinez, Istanbul Modern Museum, Istanbul, Turkey
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2005 “Mutual Aid”, Istanbul Pedestrian Exhibitions, Curated by Fulya Erdemci and Emre Baykal, Istanbul, Turkey
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2007 “Modernity and Beyond”, Santral Istanbul Art Museum, Istanbul, Turkey | Curated by Fulya Erdemci and Emre Baykal
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2011 "Painting as Painting", Borusan Art Collection, Istanbul, Turkey
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2013 Antrepo 3, Istanbul, Turkey
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2018 Into The Unnavigated
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2020 Drawings
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2022 What Was It That The Leaf Wanted
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