Press & Media Kit
Nine paintings. One debut. A Turkish-born artist's first exhibition in Auckland — dreamlike portraits of women crowned by birds, veiled by gardens, keeping the wind's secrets.
An imaginative debut.
Defne Akyay Altug is a Turkish-born artist based in Auckland, presenting her work publicly for the first time. After many years devoted to flamenco dancing, painting became her second great passion — and since 2022, a daily practice. Working in acrylic, oil, and gouache, and in one case lace worked directly into the canvas, she builds imaginative portraits in layers, exploring identity, emotion, and the hidden layers of the human experience.
Her paintings are not observed. They are invented — expressive, symbolic, and dreamlike, inviting viewers to look beyond appearances and discover their own meanings. Shaped by her heritage and by living in Turkey, Paris, and now New Zealand, her work reflects a journey across cultures. Every face is a habitat, a weather system, an argument the sitter is having with herself.
- Emerging artist debut. A first solo exhibition after four years of daily practice — the arc from flamenco floor to painter's studio.
- Cross-cultural voice. Turkish heritage, years in Paris, now Auckland — three visual traditions colliding in one body of work.
- Materiality and surprise. Real lace worked into the canvas; oil, acrylic, gouache in the same painting; layers deliberately allowed to show through.
- Women, refusal, interiority. Half of the sitters meet your eye; half have closed theirs — the artist's stated interest in what women choose to reveal, and what they keep.
First coverage pending
High-resolution images of any of the nine works — plus artist portrait, studio shots, and exhibition installation photography — are available for editorial use. Please email with your publication, deadline, and preferred file size.