Can Göknil Biography
After graduating from the Fine Arts Department of Knox College (Illinois), in 1968, she recieved her MA degree in 1969 from The City College of the City University of New York, School of Fine Arts.
The images of Can Göknil’s personal exhibitions weave around mythological subjects. For her, mythology is the richest and most universal of sources an artist can reach out to. She finds her themes within the beliefs and traditions of her cultural heritage, exploring each phase in depth, and so she sets out to create her own interpretation applying different techniques of artistry most befitting to the theme at hand such as ceramic renderings, acrylic painting, printmaking and wood sculptures.
For book illustrations the artist has chosen the spontaneity of watercolours to be her prime media. A pioneer of children’s picture books in Turkey, Göknil’s books have also been published in Germany, Holland, Switzerland, and U.S.A. in Turkish, English, German, French, Dutch, Surinam and Arabic. Her approach to the picture book has been that of a painter, she says: “I’ve always wanted each picture to add a new dimension to the page or to the book itself. Acquainting children with art and literature at an early age, enables them to build up their capacity for multiple interpretations so that they can see things in more ways than one. Pictures in a book can have a lifelong influence on a child. I think that with my art children can find joy and humour in life and grow up as proud individuals with respect to others and to nature. Some of them as adults visit my art shows and tell me that they have never forgotten such and such a book. This makes me so very happy!”
Through her unique and immaginative imagery very childlike in style but with expert craftsmanship and an extensive knowledge about her cultural background, Can Göknil can connect with preschool children instantaniously.
The artists works and lives in Istanbul with her beloved husband and son. One can easily find them in their boat touring the eastern Mediteranian coast line.
