Mehtap Baydu

Mehtap Baydu graduated from Hacettepe University, Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Sculpture in 2000. Continuing her graduate studies at Kassel University of Fine Arts, she graduated from the workshop of Dorothee von Windheim. Baydu earned the title of master student (Meisterschülerin) here, and won the Otto Braun scholarship, the UPK Art Award, and the Kunstpreis Kasseler scholarship in succession. Baydu’s works have been exhibited at Kunsthalle Fridericianum, Documenta-Halle Kassel and Tanas Berlin. Her first solo exhibition was opened at BERLIN ART PROJECTS in 2014, and in 2015, she was invited to the Beijing Biennial with her paper sculptures. She was among the artists of the Mardin Biennial in the same year. Her solo exhibitions continued in Ankara, Cologne, and London. In 2018, she participated in the group exhibition titled ‘Words Are Very Unnecessary’ at Arter Istanbul with her work ‘Cocoon’ preserved in the museum’s collection. In the same year, her solo exhibition ‘Friday’ opened at Edition Block, Berlin. The exhibition ‘In Pursuit of the Present’, which also included Baydu’s works from the IstanbulModern collection, continued for two years. Mehtap Baydu came to Istanbul in 2020 at the invitation of Kulturakademie Tarabya, where she prepared for the 2021 Ural Biennial and several group exhibitions organized by major art institutions in various cities in Germany. Between 2020 and 20201, Baydu’s works were shown at STUK Leuven, Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden, Kunstraum Bethanien Berlin, and Germanisches Nationalmuseum Nuremberg. In 2022, she held two consecutive major solo exhibitions; first at Galeri Nev and then at Städtische Galerie Nordhorn, where she was awarded the Art Prize. Mehtap Baydu, mostly known as a performance artist, continues to work in her studio in Berlin practicing installation, sculpture, and photography.