Decor Ağustos Eylül 2021

Guest Artist
Our guest designer in this issue is from the land of
Mevlânâ. A lecturer, PhD. Hüseyin Öksüz, once the
Head of Traditional Turkish Arts at the Faculty of Fine
Arts and Design at Konya Chamber of Commerce,
Karatay University. He won 5 awards, including first
place in International calligraphy competitions. Three
pieces of Master Hüseyin, who has been teaching in the
Turkish Arts Department at Karatay University for 10
years, have been on display at the British Museum in
London.
A life awash with
‘calligraphy’ that
writing about it
cannot suffice
Hüseyin Öksüz: “When design appears
on the stage in the art of calligraphy,
words and ideas get overjoyed; prosodies
turn into true poems; paper, pen and ink
cannot wait…”
Will you please tell us about yourself?
I was born in Konya in 1944. I got Tuluth-Nesih lessons
(1968) from the world-renowned Calligrapher Hamid
Aytaç and Ta’lik lessons from Mustafa Uğur Derman
during my education at Pharmacy Faculty in Istanbul
in 1966; Thankfully, I got approbation through being
taught by those masters. I worked as a pharmacist in
Konya for 10 years. I received 5 awards, including the
world championship In the International Calligraphy
Competitions held every three years by the Organization
of the Islamic Conference (IRCICA).
I received various awards in the art of calligraphy at
the State Turkish Decorative Arts Competitions and
at various exhibitions held abroad. I held countless
exhibitions at home and abroad. I received certificates
and plates from various organizations. Three of my
pieces have been on display at the British Museum in
London. I prepared inscriptions of a lot of mosques in
Turkey and in various parts of the world (USA, Australia,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Netherlands and Germany).
In 2001, I was one of the pioneering founders of
the Faculty of Fine Arts within Selçuk University and
became a faculty member there. I was the Head of the
Traditional Turkish Arts Department for three years,
where I trained world-famous calligraphers.
I received Distinguished Service Award presented by
the Grand National Assembly of Turkey in 2010; Culture
and Arts Grand Award from the Ministry of Culture and
Tourism in 2012; I was named as an Honorary Member
of Atatürk Cultural Center, which is under the Atatürk
Culture, Language and History Higher Institution in
2019. In 2013, I became a lecturer and Head of Traditional
Turkish Arts Department at the Faculty of Fine Arts
and Design of Konya Chamber of Commerce, Karatay
University. I am still holding the position there.
Can you please tell us about the Traditional Turkish
Arts Department at your university?
The major tasks of the Department of Traditional
Turkish Arts are the practical teachings of handicrafts
that altogether form the Turkish culture, our nation’s
20 DECOR • August - September 2021