Held at the Ismet Vehit Güney Art Centre Nicosia.
By Heidi Trautmann….
I would not miss visiting the yearly exhibition of Osman Keten’s students, 29 this year, students of all age groups. Some of them had been working with him for many years, some were fresh students of some months only. All walls of both halls of the Ismet V.Güney Art Centre were fully used with enough space for each of the students’ works, showing works in different techniques.
Osman Keten came to join me at the exhibition and we went along the walls together and he gave me details about the students. I have known Osman Keten for many years, starting with an interview for my first art book “Art and Creativity in North Cyprus, Volume I” and later visiting him in his art studio on a regular basis recording his activities and development of working philosophies.
In teaching art Osman Keten follows some strict rules, that is to first teach the students to see, and this is drawing with pencil, drawing objects and giving them form with pencil lines, a nose, a mouth, hands, feet, from there to a face, then the body as a whole, sort of sculpting with the pencil. The next steps are composition and perspective, laws of colours and brushwork. Also studying old masters belongs to his teaching rules. In other words, he teaches his students the basics of art, and when there is the will and urge to use the gained knowledge to find their very own way, they will succeed with some confidence.
I was happy to see that Osman Keten’s teaching has carried good fruit again.
To see more pictures please visit my Facebook page
