About

Deniz Beser (b. 1986) is a Vienna and Istanbul based visual artist, curator and independent publisher. He received his BA degree in Ceramics and Glass Design at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University and studied in Painting at University of Sevilla. He is the director of Open Studio Days İstanbul, Fanzineist Vienna Art Book & Zine Fair and FanzineIST – Zine Fest Of İstanbul. Besides, Beser is the co-founder of the publication & art collective Heyt be! Fanzin.

Beser has exhibited throughout Europe, Asia and Canada including shows at New Jörg, Vienna in Austria and Kunsthalle Zürich in Switzerland. His work has been reviewed in Canon Europe, Schwäbisch Tagblatt, The Bridge Magazine and featured in Artribune, renk magazin and Augustin. In 2021, Beser received a grant from READ (Goethe-Institut Skopje & Center for Balkan Cooperation – LOJA) for his solo exhibition and artist residency program in Tetovo, North Macedonia.

At the same time, Beser’s art works are in private collections in Austria, France, Germany, Kyrgyzstan and Turkey. Public Collections include British Library (England), Universität Bern Library (CH), Ocean Side Library (US) and the University of California (US).

Beser’s practice could be defined as working within a space between painting, zine, art book, photography, music, video, and ready-mades. All of this media is most often presented in the context of installations than as totally autonomous works. Since he is highly active in the zine and street art scene, his works are continually inspired by such aesthetic movements. Deniz Beser often focuses on the absurd products of post internet pop culture, chasing internet phenomena and their protagonists, as well as portraying the silent heroes of everyday life.

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Solo Exhibitions

2023 (Upcoming)

⦿ Waiting for Transformation, Wohlmut, Vienna, Austria (April, 2023)

2021    ⦿ Similarities Of Differences, CBC Loja, Tetovo, North Macedonia

2020    ⦿ Enter The Void, Farabi 15/4, Istanbul, Turkey

2018   ⦿ Deniz // Open Performance Space, Farabi 15/4, Istanbul, Turkey

2017    ⦿ Attention Wars, New Jörg, Vienna, Austria

2012    ⦿ This model is fitting like a glove!, Quicktime, Antalya, Turkey

2011    ⦿ The Letter Exhibition, Pasaj, İstanbul, Turkey

2011   ⦿ Some Of New Works, Gapgenç Festival, Gaziantep, Turkey

2009   ⦿ Bendeniz, Kucuk Beyoglu, İstanbul, Turkey

2009   ⦿ Bendeniz, Gapgenc Festival, Ptt Building, Mardin, Turkey

2008   ⦿ Spain-Turkey, Santralistanbul(E-3 Building), İstanbul, Turkey

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Selected Group Exhibitions / Fairs

2022

• Fanzineist Vienna Art Book & Zine Fair – Online Edition 2022
• New This Week Collection, saatchiart.com
• Mini Zine Archive From Turkey, Kijosk, Vienna, Austria
• Mauvaise impression, Galerie Art & Essai, Rennes, France
• Kreuzung /Junction, Wohlmut, Vienna, Austria
• Vienna Comix, Artist Alley, METAHall, Vienna, Austria

2021

• Bad Video Art Festival, Khodynka Gallery, Moscow, Russia
• Phx Zine Fest (online)
• San Francisco Zine Fest (online)
• In Between Project, The Dessous, Vienna, Austria
• Istanbul Comics & Art Festival, Müze Gazhane, Istanbul, Turkey
• Fanzineist Vienna Art Book & Zine Fair, Online Edition 2021, Virtual Art Book & Zine Exhibition on Fanzineist.com
• Boun Exhibition, Bogazici University, Istanbul, Turkey

2020

• Zine Matters: Self-Publishing from Prague to Vienna, Quatro Print Showroom, Vienna, Austria
• Tenderete: Self Publishing Graphic & Sound Festival, Centre Del Carme Cultura Contemporania, Valencia, Spain
• Zines of the Zone, Foto Galleriet Oslo, Oslo, Norway
• Muted Video Exhibition, Kunsthalle am Hamburger Platz, Berlin, Germany
• border_less Art Book Days, Dirimart Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey
• San Diego Zine Fest (online)
• Art against Corona. Kunst in der Coronakrise. An on-going online exhibition

2019

• Phasebook: Prague Art Book & Zine Fair, CAMP Praha, Prague, Czechia
• Istanbul Comics & Art Festival, Ortaköy Yetimhanesi, Istanbul, Turkey
• Open Studio Days, Istanbul, Turkey
• Athens Art Book Fair, Stoa Kairi, Athens, Greece
• Crack – Rome Festival of Drawn and Printed Art, Forte Prenestino, Rome, Italy
• Feira da Alegria, Porto Fine Arts Academy, Porto, Portugal
• Druck Druck Druck, Galeri im Körnerpark, Berlin, Germany
• Fabrikraum #00, Künstlerhaus Wien, Vienna, Austria
• Fanzineist Vienna Art Book & Zine Fair, Nordbahnhalle, Vienna, Austria
• Miss Read: Berlin Art Book Fair, Haus der Kulturen Welt, Berlin, Germany
• Affluenza, Mantra Travel Cafe, Istanbul, Turkey

2018

• Vancouver Art Book Fair, Emily Carr University of Design & Art, Vancouver, Canada
• Volumes Independent Art Publishing Fair, Kunsthalle Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
• Phasebook: Prague Art Book & Zine Fair, CAMP Praha, Prague, Czechia
• Selection, MKM Besiktas Contemporary Art Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey
• All For Heidi, Kadıköy Mecra, Turkey
• Open Studio Days, 17 m2, Istanbul, Turkey
• Istanbul Comics and Art Festival, Club Quartier Moda, Istanbul, Turkey
• Crack – Rome Festival of Drawn and Printed Art, Forte Prenestino, Rome, Italy
• Akte 2: Das Gesetz des Gemeinwohls, Soho In Ottakring Festival, Altes Elektropathologisches Museum, Vienna, Austria
• Istanbul Photobook Festival, Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Istanbul, Turkey

2017

• Publishing As An Artistic Tool Box, Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna, Austria
• Kunst Kebab, U2 Museumsquartier Passage, Vienna, Austria
• Impresionante Graphic Arts Fair, MAC / Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, Santiago, Chile
• Gemeinwohl, Das T/abor, Vienna, Austria
• Open Studio Days, 17 m2, Istanbul, Turkey
• Istanbul Comics and Art Festival, Club Quartier Moda, İstanbul, Turkey
• Blumen am Arsch der Hölle, Shedhalle, Tübingen, Germany
• Hypermigrationculture: “My education is your cultivation!”, Semperdepot, Vienna, Austria
• Radical Love Happening #2, Kalvarienberggasse 19, Vienna, Austria
• Gutter Fest, Nau Bostik, Barcelona, Spain
• Nase Zine Release Party& Exhibition 02, Gstaltmyergasse 12/1, Vienna, Austria
• Glue Heads, Tasarım Atölyesi Kadıköy, İstanbul, Turkey
• Rethinking Heritage, Blok art space – Büyük Valide Han, İstanbul, Turkey
• FanzineIST- Zine Fest of Istanbul, Tasarım Atölyesi Kadıköy, İstanbul, Turkey
• Kunst Freitag, Kiesel, Medienhaus k42, Friedrichshafen, Germany
• Rundgang 2017 – Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien, Semperdepot, Vienna, Austria
• Once Upon A Pink, Puderraum, Berlin, Germany

2016

• Ein Anderes Land, VBKÖ, Vienna, Austria 
• Why Has Nobody Noticed This?, Bibak, Berlin, Germany
• Nase Zine Release Party& Exhibition 02, Gstaltmyergasse 12/1, Vienna, Austria
• Aporias, Friday Exit Gallery, Vienna, Austria
• Nase Zine Release Party& Exhibition, Gstaltmyergasse 12/1, Vienna, Austria
• mo.e Kunst Benefiz Auktion, mo.e, Vienna, Austria
• 17.Internationaler Comic-Salon Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany
• Athens Zine Fest, Exarchia, Athens, Greece
• Riga Zine Fest, Ģertrūdes iela 101a, Riga, Latvia
• FanzineIST- Zine Fest of Istanbul, Tasarım Atölyesi Kadıköy, İstanbul, Turkey
• The Newsstand, Pera 64, İstanbul, Turkey

2015

• Rundgang 2015, Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, Vienna, Austria
• In Zines We Trust, Mo.e, Vienna, Austria
• Open Studio Days, 17 m2, Istanbul, Turkey
• Now we make our own TV, Odessa, Ukraine
• Underground. Revues alternatives, une sélection mondiale de 1960 à aujourd’hui, Cité internationale des arts, Paris, France
• Indie-Line, artSümer Gallery, İstanbul, Turkey
• Creative Bridges Lab Short Graphic Stories  , Goethe Institut, İstanbul, Turkey
• Amarcord, Tüyap Artist Art Fair, İstanbul, Turkey
• Portakal Çiçeği Plastic Arts Colony, 6th Year Exhibition, Port Art Gallery, Ankara Turkey
• Don Kişot Art Festival, Don Kişot Social Center, İstanbul, Turkey
• Support Gözde, Prizma, İstanbul, Turkey

2014

• Mülksüzleş!, Tüyap Art Fair, İstanbul, TR
• Ne Fest, Sofia, Bulgaria
• Open Studio Days, 17 m2, Istanbul, Turkey
• Come If You Dare! #resistmyheart, Piramid Sanat, İstanbul, Turkey
• Me, Art 212 Art& Culture Platform, Bodrum, Turkey

2013

• Revolution, Scotty-Enterprises Gallery, Berlin, Germany
• Art Has Wings, Arte İstanbul Gallery, İstanbul, Turkey
• Transformation des Geschehens, Shedhalle, Tübingen, Germany
• Heyt be! Fanzine in the Squat, Don Kısot Social Center, İstanbul, Turkey

2012

• The Reality Terror, Depo, Tophane, Istanbul, Turkey 
• Bio-Cultural Heritage and Identity, Kyrgyz National Museum of Fine Arts, Bishkek, Kyrgzstan
• ArtBosphorus Contemporary Art Fair, Haliç Congress Center, İstanbul, TR
• International Creative Youth Festival, Foundation of The First President of Kazakhstan, Almaty, Kazakhstan
• More Popular Than Jesus, Mahzen, Blois, France
• Art of Migration, Cezayir Gallery, İstanbul, Turkey
• Cockaigne, Pasaj, İstanbul, Turkey
• Brand it!, Rh Art Gallery, İstanbul, Turkey

2011

• Überlebenskunst – The Art of Survival, Störzbachstraße 7, Stuttgart, Germany
• Art on the Road Traveling Mail Art Exhibition, Tovarno Rog Socialni Center, Ljubljana, SIovenia
• Contemporary İstanbul Art Fair, İstanbul Congress Center, İstanbul, Turkey
• Fiction Project, Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, USA
• Pop Art Extended, Gallery LinArt, İstanbul, Turkey
• Signs of Our Times, Palach Galerija, Kružna 6, Rijeka, Crotia

2010

• Alif Art Young Artist´s Auction and Exhibition, Sofa Hotel, İstanbul, Turkey
• Young Masters – Master Youngs, Mkm Besiktaş Contemporary, Istanbul, Turkey

2009

• Magic Words, Stanica, Zilina, Slovakia
• “Painter of the Year” Finalists Exhibition, Rh Art Gallery, İstanbul, Turkey
• Mixed Exhibition, Akademililer Art Center, Istanbul, Turkey

2008

• Saint Henri Association, Toulouse, France
• Bu Gemi Nereye Gider?, 6th Contemporary Art Show, Piramid Sanat, Istanbul, Turkey
• I Dream of Movies That Haven’t Been Made Yet, The Hall, Istanbul, Turkey
• Cable in My Life, Prysmian Cable Factory, Bursa, Turkey

2007

• GroupArtIstanbul, Sala Barna Gallery, Barcelona, Spain
• 2nd Factory Days, Tershane, Tuzla, Istanbul, Turkey
• 1st Contemporary Artists Meeting, İlayda Art Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey
• 8 Art Setur Night Painting Exhibition, The Ritz Carlton Hotel, Istanbul, Turkey

2006

• İstanbul Defterdarları, Karşı Sanat Çalışmaları, Istanbul, Turkey

2005

• Zeytinli Sculpture Symposium, Balıkesir, Turkey

2004

• Gift to Humanity, Hagia Sophia Mosque, Istanbul, Turkey
• Nisantasi New Year Festival, Istanbul, Turkey

2003

• Istanbul of Colors, Yıldız Palace, Istanbul, Turkey
• Dream Machines, Rahmi Koç Museum, Istanbul, Turkey
• Istanbul of Colors 2, Topkapi Palace, Istanbul, Turkey

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