Ayşe Erkmen b. 1949, Istanbul) graduated from the Sculpture Department of Mimar Sinan University in 1977. In 1993, she moved to Berlin for one year as part of the DAAD International Artists Programme. Erkmen served as Arnold Bode Professor at the Kassel Art Academy from 1998 to 1999, taught at the Städelschule in Frankfurt between 2000 and 2007, and at Kunstakademie Münster from 2008 to 2016. Erkmen’s works have been presented in numerous international exhibitions, including the 2nd, 3rd and 13th Istanbul Biennials; the Turkish Pavilion at the 54th Venice Biennale; Manifesta 1 and Manifesta 16; as well as biennials in Shanghai, Berlin, Gwangju, Sharjah, Limerick, SCAPE, Ichihara, Aichi, Montreal, Çanakkale, Mardin and Sinopale, and triennials including Folkestone, Echigo-Tsumari, Ichihara and Setouchi. In June 2017, she participated in Skulptur Projekte Münster with her project On Water, and in 2019 she took part in the inaugural Yorkshire Sculpture International with her work three of four. In 2020, she became the first female artist to receive the prestigious Ernst Franz Vogelmann Sculpture Award, which is awarded every three years. Erkmen’s solo exhibitions at Dirimart include I still insist, Dirimart London, London (2025); I Insist, Dirimart Dolapdere, Istanbul (2022); and Kıpraşım (Ripple), Dirimart Dolapdere, Istanbul (2017). Venues hosting Erkmen’s permanent works installed in public spaces include Akşemsettin Park, Istanbul; Kunsthalle Vogelmann, Heilbronn; Korenmarkt, Ghent; Wittenberg Old Prison, Wittenberg; Kemper Art Museum, Washington University Campus, St Louis; Borusan Contemporary, Istanbul; Deniz Palas (today Nejat Eczacıbaşı Building), Şişhane, Istanbul; K21 Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen / NRW.BANK, Düsseldorf; AK / Arbeiterkammer Wien, Vienna; Heizkraftwerk Mitte, Berlin; Heinrichplatz, Berlin; and Tünel Square, Istanbul. Ayşe Erkmen lives and works between Berlin and Istanbul.
