Mehmet Altug was born in the town of Mersin on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey. He is a master furniture craftsman and an artist. He now resides in Richmond, VA and owns and operates Cool Colors Gallery in Carytown. He has spent more than 25 years creating whimsical furniture which incorporates themes from his Turkish homeland and mythological imagery. Recently, he expanded his creative repertoire to include painting. Today, his paintings are part of the permanent collections of corporate buildings, galleries and residencies worldwide, and his original artwork is represented in several galleries. Altug is a restless artist who’s always creating new spaces and forms.
He captures color with shapes and lights in a constant search of exhibiting works that can talk by themselves with their own style. As he transitioned from furniture craft to painting, a two dimensional pathway was opened to him through colors and images in which he expresses a reverence for the ordinary. Altug creates many commissioned paintings for various installations. He has a dynamic personality probably because he grew up in an ideal environment that helped develop his artistic talent and creativity in the company of friends and fellow artists. Altug’s artistic rendering of simple objects compels his viewers to dance through his mixed up world in a state of awe and delight. In his paintings, he builds rich images upon textured surfaces and embellishes them with burnished colors of an exotic coast. His works are collected worldwide and have been exhibited in most prestigious galleries.
