Although having famous friends, he depicted ordinary people including sailors, shepherd families, and his companions in taverns and cafes. He was a prolific portraitist of cats and goats. Mythology and archaeology, particularly Byzantine mosaics, Turkish carpets and Ottoman architecture were key influences in Craxton’s work.įor nearly 50 years, Craxton created many of his best works in an Ottoman studio on his adopted island of Crete, Chania. His powerful compositions in linear colour reflect a subtle and highly personal symbolism as well as a sensual life in the sun. Rooted in travels to Greece and Türkiye, Craxton’s affection for Aegean culture and landscape shaped his adult work. A frequent visitor and an admirer of Istanbul, Craxton’s revelatory exhibition invites art lovers to explore his art and life in the lands he loved best.Ĭraxton’s early influences include Picasso and Miró, and at the age of 14 he had studied An Allegory (Fábula) by El Greco, forever his favourite artist. Nicholas Moore’s photographs show scenes from his 1985 trip to Istanbul with John Craxton. First travelling to Aegean in 1954, McCabe’s photography focuses on its landscape and people, providing a close parallel with the art of John Craxton. In addition to loaned works, Meşher’s John Craxton: Drawn to Light exhibition features 44 artworks from the Ömer Koç Collection, whose holding of Craxton works is second only to the John Craxton Estate. Photographs by the American photographer Robert McCabe and the London-born painter Nicholas Moore also enrich the John Craxton: Drawn to Light exhibition. The window display features an example of the vintage motorbikes the artist loved to ride. The exhibition charts a joyful creative life moving from war-time darkness into light and from monochrome to brilliant colour.

John Craxton: Drawn to Light , curated by Ian Collins, friend and the biographer of the artist, brings together a diverse selection of works spanning the artist’s long career.įeaturing nearly 200 works, the exhibition offers a wide-ranging presentation of Craxton’s artworks including a monumental tapestry, paintings, drawings, prints, book designs and personal effects. Meşher will have the honour of exhibiting the biggest and the most comprehensive display of Craxton’s artworks ever to be showcased.

The late British artist’s first solo exhibition in Türkiye will run April 5–July 23, 2023. Meşher, Istanbul’s leading multidisciplinary art space, is to celebrate the life and work of the painter and designer John Craxton (1922–2009).

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