Gencay Kasapçı - Turkish Painting Association

Who is Gencay Kasapçı? (1933-2017)

She was born on March 9, 1933 in Ankara. His father is Bulgarian immigrant chemistry teacher Vicdani Ataseven, and his mother is Şaziment Ataseven from Istanbul. He spent his childhood in Balıkesir between 1936 and 1939 due to his father’s duty. When his father was appointed to Istanbul in 1939, he settled in the Kuzguncuk district of Üsküdar.
She graduated from Kuzguncuk Marko Paşa Primary School in 1944 and Üsküdar Fıstık Ağaç Secondary School in 1947. The artist, whose interest in painting started when he was three years old, was selected among the top 20 students for the painting that his former teacher sent to the Turkey-wide exhibition at the Faculty of Languages, History and Geography, when he was in his last year of secondary school. She graduated from Istanbul Girls’ High School in 1950.
In 1954, he completed the Master’s Degree in Painting at the Istanbul State Academy of Fine Arts with outstanding success. Later, he studied classical archeology for a year at Ankara University Faculty of Languages, History and Geography.
She opened her first exhibition in 1957 at the Art Lovers Association in Ankara. In 1959, he went to Florence with a scholarship given by the Italian Government and worked as a professor at the Florence Academy. He worked on frescoes and mosaics with Collacichi. He stayed in Rome between 1960-65 and established his own workshop there.

For a while, he illustrated stories at Arnoldo Mondadori Publishing House and Vallecchi Publishing House and designed the cover of Gianna Manzini's book Barka d'Noe.
During his stay in Rome, he opened his first international personal exhibition. He opened exhibitions and received invitations in galleries in Genoa, Gubbio, Rome, Venice and Milan.
In the late 1950s, during World War II in Germany. She is considered to be the first and only representative of the Zero movement in Turkey, which started with the philosophy of dispelling the pessimistic atmosphere that emerged after World War II and creating a more positive climate.
She returned to Turkey in 1966 and married Abdullah Kasapçı. Between 1976 and 1983, he served as consultant and manager of Vakko Art Gallery in Ankara.
In 1994, upon the request of the Ministry of Culture, he built the "Monument of Freedom" in Mersin in memory of the Cyprus Peace Operation. The flying bird figures on the "Monument of Freedom" with a diameter of 270 cm on Mersin Adnan Menderes Boulevard were renewed in 2014 on the grounds that they were damaged, and meanwhile, the ceramic bird The figures were removed and the Turkish flag was placed in their place.
Many people, including Kasapçı, reacted to the new version of the monument. Thereupon, Mersin Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Burhanettin Kocamaz requested that the monument be renewed in accordance with its original form. The Statue of Liberty was reopened with a ceremony in its new location on İsmet İnönü Boulevard in 2015.
She died at the age of 84 at Mersin University Faculty of Medicine Research and Practice Hospital on November 29, 2017, due to an illness related to old age. He was buried in the city cemetery after the funeral prayer performed at Mersin Mufti Mosque on December 1, 2017.

Achievements and awards
1960 - International Gubbio Painting Competition Second Prize, Italy
1961 - International Gubbio Pattern Competition First Prize, Italy
1974 - Dyo Painting Competition Award
1980 - Home Decoration Painting Competition Achievement Award
1983 - Vakko Painting Competition Honorable Mention
2003 - Ministry of Culture 64th Painting and Sculpture Competition Achievement Award.
2007 - Mersin Kızkalesi Rotary Club Professional Service Award
2009 - Mersin Rotary Club Professional Service Award
2011 - International Women's Day, Mersin Soroptimist club, Successful Woman of the Year Award
2013 - International Mersin Music Festival Art Award
2013 - ÇAĞSAV Contemporary Arts Center Art Award
2013 - Izmir 5th International EgeArt Art Days, Respect for the Master (Master) Award