Deniz Atay: Painting an Inner Reality Beyond the Visible World

From Istanbul, where layers of history and contemporary life coexist in constant tension, painter Deniz Atay has been quietly building a body of work that resists easy categorization. His paintings do not aim to replicate the visible world. Instead, they propose an alternative reality - one shaped by emotion, intuition, and the inner drafts of the mind. Selected for inclusion in the World Art Collection, Atay’s participation marks a significant moment in his evolving artistic path, placing his work within an international editorial context while remaining deeply personal in tone and intent.

Introduction – Setting the Scene

Deniz Atay’s artistic journey is a relatively recent one, yet it unfolds with the intensity of a long-held necessity. Based in Istanbul, Atay works primarily with oil on canvas, developing expressionist landscapes and portraits that emphasize atmosphere over accuracy and feeling over form. His paintings often depict figures, animals, and environments that feel familiar but slightly displaced, as if they belong to a parallel world governed by different rules of perception.

Rather than seeking recognition through spectacle or provocation, Atay’s practice grows from a sustained engagement with painting as a daily act of devotion. Art, for him, is not a profession adopted for visibility, but a passion that gradually took hold and reshaped his way of seeing and interpreting life.

A Professional Identity That Stands Apart

At the core of Deniz Atay’s artistic identity is a clear refusal of photorealism. He openly states that his work should never be mistaken for a conversion of photography into paint. Reality, in his view, does not need to be faithfully reproduced. It needs to be reimagined.

This position places Atay firmly within an expressionist tradition, yet his work avoids imitation of any single historical style. His paintings are defined instead by contrasts in color, visible brush effects, and a willingness to let forms remain unresolved. Faces appear both direct and fragmented, landscapes are simplified yet emotionally charged, and animals - particularly horses - emerge as recurring presences.

Horses occupy a central role in Atay’s visual universe. They are not depicted as anatomical studies, but as carriers of mood and symbolism. Through them, he explores strength, movement, vulnerability, and mysticism, allowing the animal figure to bridge the gap between the earthly and the imagined.

Vision, Method, and Approach

Atay’s working process is intuitive rather than rigidly planned. While he sometimes begins with drafts in a drawing notebook, he often moves directly onto the canvas, letting the painting develop through gesture and response. Oil paint becomes both medium and dialogue partner, enabling revisions, hesitations, and sudden shifts in direction.

This approach aligns with his broader vision of art as an autonomous reality. His paintings do not aim to explain themselves or guide the viewer toward a single interpretation. Instead, they invite contemplation and sensory engagement. The visible brushstrokes, the deliberate distortions, and the contrasts in tone all serve to remind the viewer that what they are seeing is not a window onto the world, but a constructed space with its own internal logic.

Mysticism plays a subtle but persistent role in this process. It does not appear as overt symbolism, but as an underlying atmosphere - a sense that the scenes depicted carry meanings beyond their immediate visual elements. Atay’s sources of inspiration are deeply internal, rooted in imagination and a fundamental love toward living beings and existence itself.

Participation in a Culturale Lab Project

Deniz Atay discovered the World Art Collection through Instagram, encountering it not as a promotional platform, but as an editorial project with a global scope. Published by Culturale Lab, the World Art Collection is conceived as a large-scale international art book designed to document and connect contemporary artists from around the world within a single curated volume.

Each participating artist is represented through a structured editorial format that combines printed presence with digital accessibility, emphasizing documentation rather than competition. For Atay, the decision to take part stemmed from a desire to be recognized as an artist with a distinct and different style, without compromising the independence of his work.

He describes the experience of being included in such a global project in simple, personal terms, likening it to receiving a birthday present. This understated response reflects his broader attitude toward recognition: valued, but never pursued at the expense of authenticity.

An International Context

By joining the World Art Collection, Deniz Atay’s work enters a broader international framework that extends beyond his local context in Istanbul. The project brings together thousands of artists from different countries, disciplines, and cultural backgrounds, creating a collective snapshot of contemporary artistic production across borders.

Within this context, Atay’s paintings contribute a voice shaped by personal imagination rather than regional narrative. While his environment inevitably influences his sensibility, his work does not seek to represent Istanbul or Turkey in a literal sense. Instead, it offers an inward-looking perspective that resonates across cultures, grounded in universal questions of perception, emotion, and meaning.

This international visibility does not alter the nature of his practice, but it situates it within a wider conversation about what contemporary painting can be when it prioritizes inner reality over external likeness.

Looking Ahead

Looking to the future, Deniz Atay expresses a clear but measured ambition: the realization of solo exhibitions. These aspirations align naturally with the trajectory of his work, which lends itself to immersive viewing and sustained engagement rather than fragmented display.

At the same time, his closing message remains focused on something more fundamental. For Atay, support for an artist is not an abstract concept or a metric of success. It is a deeply felt acknowledgment that sustains the act of creation itself. In his words, it “means the world,” a sentiment that underscores the emotional stakes embedded in his practice.

As his paintings continue to develop, Deniz Atay remains committed to sharing alternative worlds - spaces where viewers are invited not to recognize reality, but to sense it anew.

You can find more information about the World Art Collection project here: https://culturalelab.com/landing/worldart.php