Ibrahim Gokmen’s paintings are built around repetition, intuition, and subtle shifts in mood. When a compositional structure feels right, he returns to it, using the same visual language to tell different stories. This approach creates a quiet sense of continuity across Occupied Stillness, where each work feels connected to the next, like scenes unfolding within the same emotional space. Some paintings come together effortlessly, while others demand time and precision, especially when multiple elements depend on one another, slowing the process and deepening the attention to detail.

Pop culture and music play a central role in shaping Gokmen’s figures and the atmospheres they inhabit, drawing from music videos, photographs, and sounds that resonate with him personally. Despite moments of tension or discomfort, the works are marked by calmness and stillness, driven by a search for balance within the composition. This shared sensibility extends into his ceramic works, which translate the painted figures into three-dimensional form. More tactile and craft oriented, these pieces act as physical extensions of the paintings, expanding the exhibition’s world beyond the canvas.