"We create our own world with the imprints of our experiences. We then hide and preserve this world behind meticulously woven walls. However, the universe is made up of the co-existence of all the cosmoses of all creations. When we succeed in breaking all the walls and shells, our naked and pure inner being comes out and unites with other beings. Then is the universe created. As our beauty, as pure and innocent as at the moment of birth, takes its place in the universe, that beauty will be reflected on us, rendering the world liveable and the universe reachable.
Let the light in…”
Somnur van der Kraan
I was born in Istanbul to an artist family. My father, mother, my grandfather also my mother’s grandfather were all artists. I studied painting at Mimar Sinan University in Istanbul between 1982 and 1987. While realizing the costumes and stage settings for an amateur theater group, I started working in Metin Deniz atelier in 1987. Here I received training on practiced stage settings and costumes, sculpture, and art direction. Then I went on to work professionally in these fields.
I was involved in the establishment and activity planning of the 1st Istanbul Biennial in 1989.
I moved from Istanbul to Bodrum where I began tutoring and organizing workshops for children and adults in 1990. I continued to give art lessons until I moved to the Netherlands in 2010
In 1994 I went to Germany to make costumes for the Karlsruhe Museum. Since 1999 I have held many solo exhibitions in Istanbul, Bodrum, the Netherlands and the USA. I also participated in many international group exhibitions. My two solo exhibitions in the USA were: in International Visions at the Gallery, Washington DC, in 2002, and in The Gallery at The Marmara, Manhattan in 2006. In 2006, I initiated the founding of a contemporary art group by the name” The Flying University” in Bodrum.
I sold my paintings through some online auctions in the Netherlands between 2014 and 2022.
My name is listed in the database of “Artprice” also listed in the database RKD Nederlands Instituut voor Kunstgeschiedenis (Netherlands Institute of Arthistory ) Before I have known as Somnur Kurt
While I continue my artistic activities, I also deal with alternative therapies, healthy living, nutritional medicine, art therapy, and yoga philosophy. I started to work in personal development group practices and workshops in Istanbul in 2002 and in Bodrum. In 2002, I began to work in art therapy, in which I have been interested since 1985. I was working in art and at the same time, she was interested in alternative therapies, yoga philosophy, how to live without illness, and art therapy. I participated in workshops about that. I worked on art therapy at her personal atelier in Bodrum between 2004- 2010.
In 2018, I started working online on life guidance, spiritual guidance, and guided meditations. You can still find relevant studies, meditations, and affirmations on the “MysiaLuna Light Sages” channel on YouTube.
Since 1994 I have been writing articles for various publications about art, women rights, animal rights, spirituality.
Recently, I started working on digital graphics, as digital art studies have become an area of interest, and it is exciting to progress in this field.
Currently I am living and working my home atelier in Greece.