Engin Varol

Engin Varol was born in Istanbul in 1949. He is the founder of the Katharsis movement in the field of painting. His father was a naval petty officer, and his mother was a housewife. After his education, he worked as a freelance accountant and ventured into trade. As his love for art became irresistible, he began to spend his savings on purchasing paintings and art pieces; at the same time, he researched the lives and works of painters who had made their mark on their eras. In a short time, he accumulated a significant collection of paintings. He began to provide financial opportunities for talented painters coming to Turkey from all over the world, helping them organize exhibitions and gain recognition, while observing their techniques and works. 

In 1993, he opened Varol Art Gallery. Among the painters he researched, he was particularly influenced by Vincent van Gogh and Leonardo da Vinci. However, research and assistance alone were no longer enough to satisfy his hunger for art. He began to create his first works. He created his paintings influenced by mysticism and surrealism in series, grouping them by attributing his works to the same events or individuals after traveling through the spiritual depths of the events and people that inspired him. Since the beginning of his artistic career, he has signed over 40,000 works. Catharsis, as it is in the context of art and aesthetics, is the outward expression of a catalyst effect that evokes strong emotional responses in the viewer in painting, shaking the viewer and offering them an inner journey by stimulating the senses.The artist pours all his works onto the canvas directly through his fingers, without using a brush. He defines the paintings he creates as 'more than just pictures, reflections of understanding time, emotions, and life; a timeless journey, an effort to make the unknown knowable.' The overlap of the truths depicted in his works with historical documents has resonated in the press in Turkey and abroad. He continues to practice art in his own studios in Istanbul and Bodrum.

EXHIBITIONS
2001 – Hızır Hıdırellez, Varol Art Gallery, Beyoğlu
2002 – Meryem Ana, Varol Varol Art Gallery, Beyoglu
2003 – Evrende Gezinti, Varol Art Gallery, Beyoğlu
2004 – Agatha Christie Sergiler Serisi, Pera Palas Hotel Exhibition Hall
2005 – Agatha Christie, 411 No.lu Oda’nın Sırrı, Beyoğlu Varol Art Gallery
2006 – B. Hun İmp. Atilla Katharsizmi, Varol Art Gallery, Beyoğlu
2007 – 101 No.lu Oda’nın Sırrı, Pera Palas Hotel Exhibition Hall, Beyoğlu
2008 – 101 No.lu Oda’nın Sırrı, Pera Palas Hotel Exhibition Hall, Beyoğlu
2009 – Osmanlı Padişahları, Varol Art Gallery, Kasımpaşa
2010 – Karia ve Mozole Sergisi, Bodrum Kale Varol Art Gallery
2010 – B. Hun İmp. Atilla Katharsizmi, Bodrum Oğuzalp Özen Varol Art Gallery
2011 – Pera Palas 101 No.lu Oda - Seccade’nin Sırrı, Bodrum
2012 – Padişahlar Sergisi, Bodrum
2013 – Kutsal Mezar Sergisi, İzmir Selçuk Museum
2014 – Oluşum Sergisi, Varol Art Gallery, Fener
2015 – Agatha Christie Sergisi, Varol Art Gallery, Fener
2016 – Evrende Gezintiler, Varol Art Gallery, Balat
2017 – Ünlü Ressamlar, Varol Art Gallery, Balat
2018 – Oluşum Sergisi, Varol Art Gallery, Balat
2019 – Cengiz Han ve Oğuz Kaan, Varol Art Gallery, Ayvansaray
2020 – Hıdırellez Resim Sergisi, Varol Art Gallery, Ayvansaray
2021 – Ünlü Ressamlar, Varol Art Gallery, Ayvansaray
2025 – Hıdırellez – Buluşma, Kaffa Miro Gallery, Balat