Güçlü Öztekin’s practice unfolds between the ordinariness of daily life and the fantastical realms of imagination. Working with modest, readily available materials such as kraft paper and styrofoam, he transforms surfaces through scratching, tearing, folding, and painting, developing a raw and intuitive visual language. Approaching painting as a surface, Öztekin conceives it as an immediate interface that first engages the viewer, functioning as a threshold which perception is liberated. Avoiding explanatory narratives, his works invite a direct, sensory engagement beyond the pursuit of meaning. Rooted in a process he describes as a form of upcycling, his practice involves the continual reworking of materials, with artworks attaining their full expression within the exhibition space. His compositions, often shaped by performative gestures and large-scale formats, create dynamic encounters that bring together material, space, and viewer within a continuously shifting field of experience. Öztekin is also a member of the artist collectives HA ZA VU ZU and GuGuOu, participating in performance, music, and interdisciplinary projects.
