This web archive presents the paintings of the architect and artist Nafi Çil from 1970 to the present. Çil was born in Kula in 1939 and currently resides in İzmir. Although Çil is more widely recognized in some circles for his work in architecture, he says about himself: “I was a painter before I was an architect.” Çil began painting before he became an architect and continued to paint long after retiring from his architectural practice. The total number of works he has created to date has reached 864. This number includes works whose locations cannot be determined.

This archive brings together Nafi Çil’s works for the first time allowing for a narration of his artistic journey as well as a clear exposition of his unique place within Turkish contemporary art and the global painting scene since the 1970s. The paintings are organized in four categories based on the years of their creation, material, current location, and relevant keywords.

About Years and Dating

Nafi Çil’s paintings are grouped into ten-year periods starting from 1970, when he had his first personal studio. This approach was chosen both to facilitate the viewing of his large number of works and to implement a neutral form of classification. No attempt has been made to establish a connection between the years with any specific content or theme. Art historians and critics examining this archive will have the flexibility to group the paintings according to different time periods based on the thematic and conceptual consistencies they identify in Nafi Çil’s works.

For the paintings that did not have a date indicated upon them, the dating was based on the painting’s exhibition date and/or the date it was photographed. If the exact year could not be determined, the abbreviation “c.” for circa (e.g., c. 1990) was used to indicate an approximate date. If it was certain that the painting belonged to one of two consecutive years, a slash, “/” was used (e.g., 1990/1991). For years that were understood to fall between exhibition and photography dates but could not be further specified, an “’s” was added (e.g., 2000s).

In addition, Nafi Çil has revisited some of his paintings. For these works, both the year Çil began the painting and the year he completed it are indicated. If he worked on the painting intermittently over a period, a “dash” was used (e.g., 1980-2012). If he made a single intervention after many years, the abbreviation for revised “Rev.”, (e.g., 1980, Rev. 2012) was used. If he made changes to the painting in several different years, the years were separated by “commas” (e.g., 1980, 2000, 2012). The dating was done based on the degree of change he made to the theme and composition of the painting. In cases where the intervention did not significantly alter the essence of the painting, the date of the original creation of the painting stands as the official date; otherwise, the finalization date is used.

About Materials and Techniques

Nafi Çil is an oil painter. Except for a group of experimental works he created in 1990 using ink and opaque pigment on straw or found paper as well as four paintings on canvas, all of his works have been made with oil paint on paper. In some cases, he applied whiting and polymer glue to the surface before painting with oil to add texture and density. He deliberately avoided canvas, citing his discomfort with the movement of the canvas surface while painting. To achieve the stability he desired, he adhered thick painting paper to hardboard or water-resistant plywood.

To create the textures he wanted, he sometimes rubbed newspaper soaked in thinner onto the painting or scraped the surface with a razor blade. These works can be viewed under the subcategory “Oil on Paper or Canvas.”

In addition to his oil paintings, Çil created 65 small-scale works using ink and opaque pigment on straw paper or found paper of various sizes in 1990. These pieces can be viewed under the subcategory “Chinese Ink and White Pigment on Paper.” In 1992, he photographed these works and painted over the enlarged prints using oil paint. This group is categorized under “Oil on Photographic Prints of Artist’s Own Paintings.”

Both of these groups can also be found together under the “1990s: A Different Series” section of the “Years” category.

Except for his last three paintings, all of Nafi Çil’s works are all matted and framed in wood.

About the Current Locations

There are currently 574 paintings in Nafi Çil’s studio, with the smallest measuring 11 x 22 cm and the largest 110 x 170 cm. These paintings can be viewed under the subcategory “Available in the Studio.”

Since his first exhibition in 1971, 95 of his works have been acquired by institutional and private collections. These paintings along with paintings he gifted to friends are categorized under “In Collections.”

Apart from the paintings listed above, there are 136 paintings for which there are photographs but whose current locations are unknown. These paintings are presented under the “Location Unknown” subcategory, with the aim of gathering information from possible owners.

Over time, Çil has reworked some of his paintings. His older works that he completely covered with new paintings are shown under the “No Longer Existing” subcategory, while those in which traces of the original artwork can still be seen beneath the new painting are included in the “Altered” subcategory.

About Keywords

Different from the relatively technical categorizations above, Nafi Çil’s paintings are grouped thematically using 17 keywords to provide an alternative way of exploring his works. These keywords have mostly been selected based on the titles given to the paintings by Çil himself. A single painting can be included under multiple keywords.