Elif Üner - Illumination Artist

I was born in Istanbul.

It's nearly impossible to grow up in this city, a masterpiece of Islamic history and culture, without being swept away by the influence and magnificence of Ottoman rule. Such magnificence is evident in art, architecture, books, calligraphy, and illumination. It also manifests itself in awe-inspiring ways in our holy book, the Quran.

This art, which fascinated me from my youth, attracted my admiration and interest long before I started studying at the Gaye Foundation in 2006.

After this preliminary training, I continued my education at the Classical Turkish Arts Foundation in 2007 and then at the National Palaces Education Unit affiliated with the Turkish Grand National Assembly in 2009 after being accepted to the classes of my teachers Nilüfer Kurfeyz and Selim Sağlam.

I completed my training with my teacher Ayten Tiryaki in 2015.

Between 2013 and 2018, I taught illumination at Derya Öncü Educational Institutions, introducing my students to the beauty of art.
We witnessed the excitement of art and production at year-end exhibitions.

Between 2017 and 2019, I conducted interviews with the teachers of our classical arts for Aysha Magazine, aiming to make our arts reach different circles.

I currently give lessons to my students from home and abroad, both face-to-face and online.

At the same time, I continue to work for private collections and galleries and hold workshops to share the unique pleasure my art gives me.

I am happy to share this wonderful experience with others through this site, as I am encouraged by the deep emotion, gratitude, and humility that the art of illumination evokes.