Hikmet Barutchugil: Harmony of Water and Pen, 0+

Description of exhibition

Exhibition of Works in Traditional Turkish Ebru Art: “Hikmet Barutchugil: Harmony of Water and Pen”. The exhibition will feature 43 works created by a renowned ebru master in 2010–2022.

Hikmet Barutchugil is the founder and director of Istanbul’s Ebru House, a professor at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, and an advisor to Turkey’s National Palaces Administration.

Ebru (the ancient art of water marbling) is a distinctive method of paper ornamentation. The technique gained greatest prominence at the Ottoman court, where it was used to safeguard official documents against forgery. Ebru subsequently evolved into an independent art form and spread widely throughout the Islamic world. The essence of this art lies in painting with water-insoluble pigments on water’s surface — where swirling colours form intricate patterns before being captured on paper. Ebru and calligraphy – featuring the Beautiful Names of the Divine and the sacred symbolism of ‘waw’ and ‘alif’ letter forms – exist in harmonious complementarity.  Using the calligrapher’s work as a template, the design is transferred to the ebru surface through a layering technique — applying multiple paint strata to the same paper between drying stages.

While Hikmet Barutchugil is already familiar to Kazan audiences, this exhibition promises to unveil never-before-seen techniques and original compositions.  The Kul Sharif Mosque Gallery will showcase ebru works on fabric alongside calligraphic ebru collages.