Füreya Koral

[6] Seeking to push the limits of ceramics beyond its function, she was inspired by the art of the ancient civilisations of Turkey, Mexico and East Asia, especially Japan, and her work often combines elements taken from both Western and Eastern artistic traditions.

Like her aunts Fahrelnissa Zeid, Aliye Berger and Ayşe Erdem, and her uncle Cevat Şakir Kabaağaçlı (the Fisherman of Halicarnassus), Koral was an enthusiast for music, painting and literature.

[8] Immediately after helping her aunt, artist Fahrelnissa Zeid, open her first solo exhibition in her home at the Ralli Apartment Block in 1945, Füreya was diagnosed with tuberculosis.

[8] She returned to Istanbul in 1953 and established one of the first private ceramic studios in Turkey at the El Irak apartment building on Cumhuriyet Caddesi in Harbiye where she lived with her husband.

In the 1950s this studio became a meeting place for young ceramic artists, including Ayda Arel, Alev Ebüzziya Siesbye and Leyla Sayar (Akkoyunlu), as well as Bingül Başarır, Candeğer Furtun, Binay Kaya, and Mehmet Tüzüm Kızılcan.

It was also a gathering point for figures from the world of arts and culture of the period, including prominent writers such as Melih Cevdet Anday, Azra Erhat, Sabahattin Eyüboğlu, Vedat Günyol, Yaşar Kemal, Cevat Şakir Kabaağaçlı (her uncle) and Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar.

[11] Encountering Mexico's widespread mural tradition reinforced her belief that art should not be trapped in museums and paved the way for the large panels she would go on to make for public spaces.

She also continued her collaborations with architects, ranging from Utarit Izgi to Haluk Baysal, Melih Birsel, Abdurrahman Hancı, and Selçuk Milâr.

[5] Organised by Károly Aliotti, Nilüfer Şaşmazer and Farah Aksoy, the exhibition aimed to present a comprehensive study of her work, which has, perhaps, been overshadowed by her gender and her family's important role in late Ottoman and early Turkish history.

[6][14] In June 2022 some of Füreya's coffee tables and stools from Turkey's Grand National Assembly Art Collection (Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisi Sanat Koleksiyonu) were shown in the new Galataport cruise terminal in Karaköy as part of the Beyoğlu Cultural Road festival alongside family photographs and memorabilia and copies of photographs of the artist taken by Ara Güler.