About
Berk Kır
Born in Istanbul, Turkey
Lives & works in Istanbul, Turkey
Berk Kır (b. 1997, Istanbul) is a multifaceted practitioner who integrates the roles of art historian, researcher, and artist. His work engages with image theory, conceptual thought, and object-oriented ontology, focusing on the layered dynamics between the body, gender, and urban environments. For Kır, photography is not merely a tool for documentation, but an extension of his physical and intellectual presence—a medium through which he expresses long-term observation and spatial inquiry.
From 2019 to 2024, he served as a brand ambassador for Samsung Turkey, contributing to digital content development. In 2021, he was recognized as one of the 100 new generation talents in European photography by Guide to Unique Photography in Amsterdam. In 2022, he received the prestigious Young Talent of the Year award from the Association of Photography Organizations. He currently works as the photography editor at Unlimited Publications.
Kır’s practice blurs the boundaries between visual narration and research, investigating how objects and images shape perception, memory, and spatial identity. As a visible and seeing subject, he positions photography as an extension of his bodily experiences in urban life. Rather than capturing singular moments, his photographs serve as accumulations of temporal observation. Objects collected during his walking routes in various parts of the world—and their shifting meanings across geographies—form the core of his inquiry.
He explores photography not only as representation but as an object in itself. Deeply engaged with queer theory, his work resists fixed forms and norms, revealing subtle gestures of opposition in visual language. Photography, biographical in nature for Kır, becomes a lens through which he navigates both his surroundings and himself—always looking outward to understand the inner. His process is rooted in the fluidity of time, revealing layers that often remain invisible in everyday perception.
CV
Education
Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, History of Art
Kadir Has University, MSc Preserving of Cultural Heritage
Grants & Awards
2022 Association of Photography Organizations, Youth Talent of The Year
2022 Republic of Albania International FOKUS Awards, Candidate
2021 GUP Magazine, Fresh Eyes European Talent, Selected
2020 Pino Pascali Foundation Center of Contemporary Artists, Finalist
2017 Winner of the Fourth International Beşiktaş Photography Festival
Selected Group Exhibitions
2024 Kulturbunker Köln-Mülheim, Cologne, "Queerrealism - New Realms of Surrealism"
2024 Münchner Kammerspiele, Munich, "Off to Elsewhere"
2024 Arkas Sanat Izmir, "New Lands"
2023 Martch Art Project Istanbul, “It Doesn’t Matter Until It Does”
2022 Macedonia, Punctum Photography Festival
2022 artSümer Gallery Istanbul, “Brain Fog”
2022 Republic of Albania, International FOKUS Awards
2022 Nilüfer Municipality Bursa, “Look Up: Starry Horizons of a Limited Geography”
2022 Mixer Art Gallery Istanbul, “Things Change”
2021 Kasa Gallery Istanbul, “Weight of the World”
2021 Kahmann Gallery Rotterdam, "Fresh Eyes"
Solo Show
2024 Merdiven Art Space Istanbul, "Extimacy"
Publications
2025 Magazine / Art Unlimited 86th Edition Cover Photo
2025 Magazine / Art Unlimited 85th Edition Cover Photo
2024 Magazine / Art Unlimited 84th Edition Cover Photo
2024 Magazine / Art Unlimited 83rd Edition Cover Photo
2024 Magazine / Art Unlimited 82nd Edition Cover Photo
2024 Magazine / Art Unlimited 81st Edition Cover Photo
2024 Magazine / Art Unlimited 80th Edition Cover Photo
2024 Magazine / Art Unlimited 79th Edition Cover Photo
2023 Magazine / Art Unlimited 78th Edition Cover Photo
2023 Magazine / Art Unlimited 77th Edition Cover Photo
2023 Magazine / Art Unlimited 76th Edition Cover Photo
2023 Magazine / Art Unlimited 75th Edition Cover Photo
2023 Magazine / Art Unlimited 73rd Edition Cover Photo
2022 Catalogue / Republic of Albania International FOKUS Awards
2022 Magazine / Art Unlimited 72nd Edition Cover Photo
2022 Magazine / Art Unlimited 71st Edition Cover Photo
2022 Magazine / Art Unlimited 70th Edition Cover Photo
2022 Magazine / Art Unlimited 69th Edition Cover Photo
2021 Magazine / Art Unlimited 66th Edition Cover Photo
2021 Magazine / Kaos Q + , 10th Edition Cover Photo
2021 Photograph Book / GUP Magazine, New Generation European Photography
Residency
2024 Through The Window Project
2022 Ankara Queer Art Program
Alumni
2021 Swedish Research Institute
2019 Zero1: The Art and Technology Network