Gizem Saka (born 9 April 1978,

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

) is a contemporary Turkish artist and an economist. She is a senior lecturer at the

Wharton School of Business The Wharton School ( ) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia. Established in 1881 through a donation from Joseph Wharton, a co-founder of Bethlehem Steel, the Wharton ...

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

, and a visiting lecturer at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, teaching art markets.

Biography

Born and raised in Istanbul,

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, Gizem Saka obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in economics from

Koç University Koç University () is a private non-profit research university in Istanbul, Turkey. It started education in temporary buildings in İstinye in 1993, and moved to its current Rumelifeneri campus near Sarıyer in 2000. Koç University is ranked hi ...

in 1999. She moved to the United States the same year. In 2008, she received her PhD in behavioral and experimental economics from

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

. While attending college, Saka started drawing and studied

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a ''potter'' is al ...

and sculptural form. In 2000, she started taking classes at the department of Art and Architecture at Cornell University. In 2005, she had her first solo exhibition in Montreal's Gallery Gora. Since 2005, she has been exhibiting in international venues. As a young athlete, Saka was the Turkish national champion in gymnastics and between 1989 and 1993, a member of the Turkish national gymnastics team.

Art

Saka's art has the decorative elements of the Middle East and the colors of the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

. Saka uses her background as a muse. Her main themes are women, reading, Ottoman period

Iznik tiles Iznik pottery, or Iznik ware, named after the town of İznik in Anatolia where it was made, is a decorated ceramic that was produced from the last quarter of the 15th century until the end of the 17th century. Turkish stylization is a reflection ...

and figures. In an interview, she mentioned that due to the large number of women in her family, she mainly observed feminine joys and sorrows. Her ongoing "Women" collection includes observations of women in everyday life, either having tea, or chatting with friends, kissing their lovers, reading books, having coffee, looking at mirrors. In the collection ''Istanbul Houses'', Saka depicts naive, primitive cityscapes of her hometown. Her collection "Read my Fortune" was a visual imagery of espresso cups with ground coffee, used in certain cultures as a vessel of fortunetelling. Her 2013 exhibit at Boston University consisted of large scale canvases depicting 16th century Ottoman sailing ships. Her new collection is titled ''Literature in Painting'' where she lines the canvas as if in a notebook, and writes favorite passages from literary works. Saka exhibits in local, not-for-profit venues, in international art fairs, galleries, and public spaces. Her paintings are in private collections all around the world.

Exhibitions

* Boston University, MA. * Berkshires Art Festival, MA. * Wellesley Free Library, MA * Paradise City Arts Festival, Northampton, MA * Besiktas City Hall, Istanbul * Cape Cod Arts Festival. Hyannis, Ma * New York International Art Expo. NY. * Lewiston Art Festival, NY * Art for Autism, PA * New York Art Expo, NY * New York Art Expo, NY * Bella Arte Gallery, PA * Lance Armstrong Foundation, TX * Palmer House Hilton, Chicago, IL * Gallery Gora, Montreal, * Gallery Bahariye, Istanbul Also exhibited at: * Benjamin Arts Gallery, Hagerstown, Maryland * Artpic, Los Angeles * Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania * Chez-Zee Gallery, Austin, Texas * Vermont Book Shop, Middlebury, VT * Lance Armstrong Foundation (Livestrong) fundraising gala, Austin, TX. * Prints Gallery: Urban Station, Istanbul

Academics

While a PhD student at Cornell University, Gizem Saka taught strategy at the

Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management The Cornell Johnson Graduate School of Management is the graduate business school of Cornell University, a private Ivy League research university in Ithaca, New York. Established in 1946, Johnson is one of six List of Ivy League business schools ...

; and

global economics International economics is concerned with the effects upon economic activity from international differences in productive resources and consumer preferences and the international institutions that affect them. It seeks to explain the patterns an ...

at the

Tepper School of Business The Tepper School of Business is the business school of Carnegie Mellon University. It is located in the university's campus in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The school offers degrees from the undergraduate through doctoral levels, in addition to ...

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became the Carnegie Institu ...

. Between 2008 and 2011, she taught

behavioral economics Behavioral economics is the study of the psychological (e.g. cognitive, behavioral, affective, social) factors involved in the decisions of individuals or institutions, and how these decisions deviate from those implied by traditional economi ...

and

experimental economics Experimental economics is the application of experimental methods to study economic questions. Data collected in experiments are used to estimate effect size, test the validity of economic theories, and illuminate market mechanisms. Economic expe ...

Middlebury College Middlebury College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont, United States. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalists, Middlebury w ...

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

. In the academic year 2011–12, she taught at

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a Private university, private Women's colleges in the United States, historically women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henr ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. Since 2011, she teaches business economics, art economics, and macroeconomics courses at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. Saka is interested in the intersection of art and economics, and teaches "Art Markets" at Harvard University. Her graduate thesis "Essays on Procrastination, Commitment and Fairness", was published as a book.Gizem Saka, "Essays in Procrastination, Commitment and Fairness", VDM Verlag, 2009, She wrote a blog for PsychologyToday.com on behavioral economics; and was a guest at

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

's Vermont Edition with

Jane Lindholm Jane Lindholm is the host for the Vermont Public Radio (VPR) newsmagazine ''Vermont Edition'', producer and host of ''But Why: A Podcast For Curious Kids'', and a photojournalist. She lives in Monkton, Vermont. Lindholm attended the Brooks Schoo ...

in 2011, "Exploring The Connection Between Altruism And Cheating". She received the Howard and Abby Milstein, and Ernest Liu Family teaching awards at Cornell University.

Presentations and public lectures

* 2013 – University of Pennsylvania, Neurosurgery Grand Rounds, "Consumer Judgment" lecture * 2013 – Wharton School of Business, Huntsman Program in International Studies and Business Preceptorial. "Can a $5 garage sale painting ever be worth $40 million? The irresistible economics of the art world" * 2012 – Davis Museum, MA "Exploring the relationship between economics and art through Sol LeWitt” * 2011 – Babson College, MBA Lecture in Behavioral Economics * 2011 – University of Vermont, Honors College, "The Pursuit of Knowledge: Disciplines, Universities, and Engagement,” Social Sciences Plenary Lecturer * 2010 – University of Cambridge, UK, Interdisciplinary Social Sciences Conference

References

External links

Gizem Saka's Official WebsiteGizem Saka's Academic Website Harvard

Gizem Saka's Academic Website UPENN
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saka, Gizem 1978 births Living people 21st-century Turkish women artists 21st-century American women artists Artists from Boston Turkish women painters Contemporary painters Turkish expatriates in the United States Koç University alumni Cornell University alumni American people of Turkish descent