Why Our Art Star Ahmet Rüştü Doğan Believes the Best Work Comes With Time

We’re excited to kick off a new series of interviews with our Art Star of the Month program, honouring exceptional talent across various creative fields.

Through this initiative, we aim to spotlight artists making an impact, offering them a global platform to share their work and connect with a community of creators. The Art Star of the Month program is designed to recognise the incredible diversity and innovation in the arts, providing a space for growth, recognition, and meaningful connections.

For this month’s Art Star interview at the Arts to Hearts Project, we sit down with Ahmet Rüştü Doğan, a painter whose journey spans more than forty years. A retired art teacher based in Izmir, Ahmet shares how his early memories—from the streets of his childhood to the sea, ferries, and everyday life around him—continue to shape his work.

With 34 exhibitions across Turkey and abroad, and having spent time living in Paris, his practice has evolved through steady learning, curiosity, and a focus on light, colour, and life as it is. In this interview, he discusses what inspires him, the impact of teaching on his growth, and how being named an Art Star has given him renewed energy to keep moving forward.

I am a retired art teacher. I have a studio in Izmir where I work on painting. I have been painting for over 40 years. I have opened 34 exhibitions abroad and in Turkey. I was in Paris for 4 years. The basis of my art is light and colour. The subjects are based on emotions that come from life.

1 . You’ve lived in Izmir since childhood—how do its sights and sounds shape your recent paintings?  

As a child from a poor family living in a disadvantaged environment, painting was what changed my life. The shanty houses of Izmir. The sea and the ferries, childhood memories. Fishermen. Gypsies. Beggars. The place of my paintings.

Painting is what changed my life. The shantytowns, the sea, the ferries—these became my world and my subjects.

Ahmet Rüştü Doğan

2.  How did your years as an art teacher shape the way you approach your work today?    

Art is based on knowledge and study. You need to be familiar with all the art movements of the past and present. You need to be familiar with contemporary artists and establish a strong path for yourself. You must have high technical mastery so that you can convey the emotions you want to express.

3.  You mention being influenced by Kandinsky and Malevich—what have you carried from their work into yours?     

The power of color and the use of space I used these two concepts in my paintings. By removing the perspective, these two concepts are the features I look for in my paintings.

4.    How would you describe the shift in your practice from early exhibitions to your latest work in Izmir?  

I am constantly evolving and always seeking new experiences. My first paintings are based on the sea and houses. Now they are mostly figure-oriented paintings. I am trying to develop the concept of colour and light with the solid structure of the classical structure.

You have to know the movements, study the work, and keep learning. That’s how you find your way.

Ahmet Rüştü Doğan

5. What draws you to Abstract Expressionism, and how do you interpret it through colour and form?

All of these are the basis of colour and light paintings. I try to capture the power of light, and colours support this. By utilising the texture on the fabrics and the texture in the background, the expressive power of the figure is enhanced.

6.  Congratulations on being featured as Art Star by The Arts to Hearts Project! How do you think opportunities like this help elevate your career and open new doors for your creative journey?  

This is a bright door that has opened for me. Thanks to this, I will connect with many artists and art institutions, and the paintings will reach a wider audience. I want to thank the jury that selected me. This is a long road, and you opened this door for me as a crucial one on this path. I will reach more artists and art circles, and it gives me strength.

Ahmet Rüştü Doğan’s paintings capture fragments of daily life, shaped by his early years in İzmir and the stories that unfold in quiet, familiar places. From fishermen to ferries, from crowded city corners to moments of stillness, his work gives space to things often overlooked.

Through decades of teaching and painting, he’s shown how a lifetime of paying attention—both to the world and to the craft—can lead to something lasting. His journey reminds us that staying curious, committed, and open to change can shape a path that’s both steady and full of discovery.

To learn more about Ahmet, click the following links to visit her profile.

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