Nail Payza
Biography













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Nail Payza was one of Turkey's foremost artists. Born in Izmir in 1920, his artistic career began with training under Abidin Elderoglu and Arif Kaptan, students of the well-known cubist Andre L'Hote, who in turn studied with Fernand Leger. These French artists, along with Marcel Duchamp, Juan Gris and others, comprised the Section d'Or movement (1912-1914), which was concerned with the proportion and rhythm of geometric forms in art.

Nail Payza's first exhibition was in 1953 at the Helikon Gallery in Ankara. Between 1954 and 1974, he continued his artwork in the US and Canada, where he had numerous solo shows and group exhibitions. After returning to Turkey in 1974, Nail Payza became known for his unique abstracts that were shown in galleries and museums throughout Turkey. Many of his paintings were on tour in Europe from 1983 to 1986. Two of his paintings were inducted into the National Painting and Sculpture Museum in Ankara.

In 1985, Nail Payza began to apply his creativity to the art of printmaking, studying with Murside Icmeli and Hayati Misman at Gazi University. Upon mastering this technique, he exhibited his woodcuts in many exhibits in Istanbul and Ankara. The Turkish Arts Council recognized Nail Payza with the award for Artist of the Year in Printmaking - 1988. His woodcuts prints were also shown in various cities across the US. His most recent North American exhibit of woodcuts was in 1995 in Quebec, at Galerie Simon Blais in Montreal.

Nail Payza was a prolific artist until his death in 1996, his pieces spanning the figurative and non-figurative, monochromatic and multicolour, small scale and large scale. Private collections of paintings and prints by Nail Payza are retained in many countries. Nail Payza's family continues to exhibit his work.
 
The links below provide complete lists of exhbitions where Nail Payza's paintings and prints have been shown.

Solo Exhibits

Group Exhibits