The Glass Furnace (Cam Ocağı) is an Istanbul-based non-profit foundation dedicated to advancing contemporary glass art. Through workshops, exhibitions, education, and public programs, it brings together artists, students, and visitors around creativity, experimentation, and hands-on engagement with glass.
Annually, typically around the New Year’s Eve, the foundation organizes an annual art and craft fair showcasing the works of local artists, artisans and craftspeople. For the last five editions of the event, I have had a privilege of being commissioned to design the key art, posters, billboards and other collateral, as a returning artist.
The Glass Furnace (Cam Ocağı) is an Istanbul-based non-profit foundation dedicated to advancing contemporary glass art. Through workshops, exhibitions, education, and public programs, it brings together artists, students, and visitors around creativity, experimentation, and hands-on engagement with glass.
Annually, typically around the New Year’s Eve, the foundation organizes an annual art and craft fair showcasing the works of local artists, artisans and craftspeople. For the last five editions of the event, I have had a privilege of being commissioned to design the key art, posters, billboards and other collateral, as a returning artist.
In order to stand out during dark and cold winter days, I designed the 2025 poster around a small group of surreal characters. Tall and colorful, together they form a warm, tropical forest. Like much of my work that year, many of the forms are inspired by African art and European folk patterns.
Celebrating the return of the event after a brief hiatus, I filled the designs for this year’s event with classic holiday iconography. Socks, bells, gifts and candy cane all feel quite familiar in December. In order to help the poster stand out, I used a warm, festive color palette, inspired by the harvest festivals and Autumn hues.
This year’s design was a homage to traditional European Christmas tree ornaments. Featuring classic winter colors and few retro-inspired decorative flourishes, the poster looked great against a snowed-in city. Little did we know this was to be the last event for a while, due to global events unfolding in 2020…
The 2018 edition of the event took place, atypically, in Spring, rather than in winter. This gave me an opportunity to explore a more lively, nature-inspired color palette and themes – ones I later echoed in the 2025 edition.
2017 was my first time working with The Glass Furnace. Being the sweet-toothed person, I represented the theme of holiday celebration through sweets and candy – turning the sugar cravings into cute, playful characters.
