Mari Gerekmezyan: The Legacy of a Pioneering Armenian Female Sculptor in Turkey

Mari Gerekmezyan (Մարի Կերեքմէզեան; 1913–1947) is recognized as one of the first female sculptors in Turkey and the first of Armenian descent. A student of Rudolf Belling at the Istanbul Fine Arts Academy, Gerekmezyan produced sculpted busts of prominent Turkish intellectuals. Her documented works include the Bust of Prof. Neşet Ömer (1943), Bust of Prof. Şekip Tunç (1943), and Bust of Yahya Kemal Beyatlı (1945). She received the Ankara Sculpture Exhibit Award in 1943 and first prize at the Ankara State Fine Arts Exhibit in 1945. A significant portion of her oeuvre is lost; surviving pieces are held in the Istanbul Museum of Painting and Sculpture (Resim ve Heykel Müzesi) and the private Eyüboğlu family collection, which includes her bust of the poet and painter Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu.
During her studies, Eyüboğlu developed a strong attachment to Gerekmezyan, painting her portraits and dedicating poems to her, most notably “Karadut.” While this relationship has influenced her posthumous portrayal, her professional role also included teaching art and Armenian language at several institutions in Istanbul, including the Getronagan Armenian High School.
Gerekmezyan’s contributions were historically minimized in the contemporary press due to her ethnic identity and gender. Her artistic legacy has been the subject of renewed scholarly and public interest, as evidenced by the 2012 retrospective exhibition at the Getronagan Armenian High School, which sought to refocus critical attention on her sculptural work apart from her association with Eyüboğlu.