UMMA presents first US survey of Burhan Doğançay's wall-inspired art
The University of Michigan Museum of Art (UMMA) is presenting 'Post No Bills', marking the inaugural exhibition in the U.S. dedicated to Turkish artist Burhan Doğançay's interest in urban walls. Born in 1929 and passing in 2013, Doğançay transitioned from a diplomatic career after discovering a wall plastered with posters on 86th Street in Manhattan in 1962. He left his consular role to produce mixed media art influenced by public walls from more than 100 cities globally. This exhibition showcases artworks that utilize raw materials from the streets and reflect the rough textures of aging urban surfaces, emphasizing public walls as venues for protest, dialogue, and self-expression in modern American cities.
Key facts
- Exhibition at UMMA is the first in the US to focus on Doğançay's wall-inspired works
- Doğançay was a Turkish diplomat who studied painting in Ankara and earned a PhD in economics from the University of Paris
- His artistic career began after seeing a torn-poster wall on 86th Street in Manhattan in 1962
- He traveled to over 100 cities over nearly 50 years documenting urban walls
- His mixed media artworks often incorporate raw materials from the street
- The exhibition includes the 1998 work 'Marsmack' (gouache and collage on paper)
- The works address public walls as sites of protest, debate, and self-expression
- Doğançay died in 2013
Entities
Artists
- Burhan Doğançay
Institutions
- University of Michigan Museum of Art
- UMMA
Locations
- Ankara
- Turkey
- University of Paris
- France
- New York City
- 86th Street
- Manhattan
- United States