Selçuk Demirel

This selection of 20 drawings by Selçuk Demirel spans the last three decades of recent history. Under his pencil, the most critical issues of the contemporary world – war, economic crisis, pain, compromise, crime – alongside the notion of time, become as clear as crystal. These are undeniable realities that we recognize as revealing truths about our lives and ourselves. The globe itself is his paper and home to his thoughts.

“We love Selçuk’s drawings because when we look at them, we feel smarter than we are. The smile that appears on our face does not express the joy we feel in front of satire or of the exposure of the weaknesses and mistakes of others. This smile expresses the pleasure of seei ng the world intelligently, the pleasure of being able to be intelligent by looking at Selçuk’s drawings.”

Orhan Pamuk

Selçuk Demirel (1954, Artvin, Turkey) is an artist, cartoonist, and illustrator who has lived in Paris since 1978. In a career spanning over 45 years, he has published more than 50 books and his drawings have been reproduced continuously in major newspapers and periodicals in France (Le Monde, Le Monde Diplomatique, Le Nouvel Observateur) in the USA (The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Time, The Boston Globe, The Nation, etc.), and in his native country, Turkey.