Born in 1929 in Istanbul, Burhan Doğançay learned the basics of art from his father, Adil Doğançay, and Arif Kaptan, two renowned Turkish painters. Initially, he studied law in Ankara and later pursued university studies in Paris, where he earned a doctorate in economics.

During his time in Paris, from 1950 to 1955, he attended courses at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière. Upon his return to Turkey, Burhan Doğançay pursued a diplomatic career while continuing his artistic activities, regularly exhibiting alongside his father. In 1964, he decided to fully dedicate himself to art and made New York his primary residence, while also living and working in Istanbul and Bodrum, Turkey.

An avid traveler, Burhan Doğançay visited over a hundred cities throughout his life. He became fascinated by urban walls, which he viewed as barometers of society, reflecting the passage of time and various social, political, and economic manifestations. His work is filled with motifs, signs, and symbols he observed on these walls, which he permanently captured with his camera.

These elements served as an inexhaustible source of inspiration. They were first worked into drawings and sketches, and once a composition was found, the artist used a variety of materials to transform them into collages. Each work was born from a series of steps: a layer of paint was applied to the entire surface, upon which the artist added various elements, which he then sprayed with inscriptions.

These works do not depict any specific city or wall but combine memories from different countries, creating fictional narratives of urban reality. Burhan Doğançay passed away in 2013 at the age of 83 and was the first Turkish artist to be represented by the Metropolitan Museum. Today, his work is exhibited in over 70 museums worldwide.

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