Yasemin Kaçkar - Demirel

Born in Istanbul, Turkey in 1978, Yasemin Kaçkar-Demirel received her B.F.A. in painting from Mimar Sinan University of Fine Arts, where she ranked second among the graduating class of 2001. In 2003, she attended the summer studio residency program at the School of Visual Arts. Following her graduation from Northern Illinois University in 2004 with an M.F.A. in painting and a Museum Studies Certificate, she served as the director of the Nehring Center Gallery in DeKalb, Illinois. Yasemin Kaçkar-Demirel, whose work has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in Istanbul, New York, Washington D.C., Chicago, DeKalb, Bloomington, Oak Park and Fredericksburg, received the first prize at the Mimar Sinan University Ipek–Ahmet Merey Painting Competition in 2000, the Jack and Eleanor Olson Art Scholarship from Northern Illinois University in 2002–2003, and the first prize at the Emerging Illinois Artists Juried Exhibition in 2004. Her work and accomplishments have also been published in several newspapers and periodicals including New American Paintings. She presently works and resides in New York City.