Nigel Ip

‘Eyes are the window to the soul.’

This frequently cited proverb has obscure origins across human civilisation, from as early as the writings of the Roman philosopher Cicero to William Shakespeare’s King Richard III. While it may seem like a lofty concept, body language studies have proven that dilated pupils are involuntary indicators of a person’s interest towards another person. So, what does it feel like to gaze into the eyes of Müslüm Teke’s paintings?

Teke is a Turkish artist who depicts the human face as a site of psychological depth and inner reflection. His expressive paintings typically consist of layered, tilted faces with occasional passages of cursive text on the side. These texts have no literal meaning as they are non-existent sentences; they cannot be read but are instead the artist’s emotional outpouring in response to the painting.

Set within a square format, the faces are generic and pure, providing a calming, neutral space for viewers to reflect internally and on their own terms. For Teke, faces are landscapes that reveal themselves more clearly over time. To my eyes, compositions like You Were Simply Not There (2026) have the appearance of investigative head studies drawn in Renaissance sketchbooks, but with the symbolist tendencies of artists like Austin Osman Spare.

Graduating from the Painting Teaching Department of Van Yüzüncü Yıl University in Van, Turkey. Teke was inspired by comic books as a child – especially Conan the Barbarian, Spiderman, and Superman – reinterpreting them from his own perspective. He also appreciated the graphic qualities of their imagery, translating this mindset into painting in oils and acrylics. As a result, his brushstrokes serve as traces of personal thoughts and emotions transmitted via gesture, texture, and colour.

He recalls that, as a child, he spent long hours observing the emptiness of the sky, while also feeling closely connected to the soil beneath him. This relationship between concreteness and infinity helped shape his approach to figuration and abstraction, where familiarity finds new life in new perspectives.

For an artist who paints so many eyes, Teke is drawn to the unseen. Contemplating a work like Days (2026), the subject’s piercing gaze invokes inquiry about the silent spaces, absences, and voids in one’s lived experience. In others, one occasionally finds a confluence of eyes, such as Life (2026), while Some Moments from Yesterday (2026) emphasises downcast facial expressions. The aesthetic experience can be one of silent judgement or meditative reflection.

Overall, Teke appears to be an inquisitive artist concerned with the human condition. He has had a prolific international exhibition history over the past two decades, recently holding two solo shows in London at Versus Arts and Gallery Marquess. He is due to open another exhibition at Cadde 160 Gallery in Istanbul from 15 May 2026.

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Discover Müslüm Teke’s work on Instagram.