Selin Balcı is a visual artist and biologist who creates works with

Petri dish A Petri dish (alternatively known as a Petri plate or cell-culture dish) is a shallow transparent lidded dish that biologists use to hold growth medium in which cells can be cultured,R. C. Dubey (2014): ''A Textbook Of Biotechnology For Class- ...

es filled with mold, fungi, and other organisms, and refers to her work as "a living studio." She has exhibited internationally in both group and solo exhibitions.

Education

Balcı earned her Bachelor of Science in Forestry at

Istanbul University Istanbul University, also known as University of Istanbul (), is a Public university, public research university located in Istanbul, Turkey. Founded by Mehmed II on May 30, 1453, a day after Fall of Constantinople, the conquest of Constantinop ...

, Turkey, in 2002, and went on to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Intermedia at

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia, United States. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Ins ...

in 2008. She received her Masters in Fine Arts from the

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD i ...

in 2012.

Recognition

Balcı has been recognized with several fellowships, including an Artist in Residence fellowship at the

Virginia Center for the Creative Arts The Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA) is a residential artist community in Amherst, Virginia, USA. Since 1971, VCCA has offered residencies of varying lengths with flexible scheduling for international artists, writers, and composers at ...

in Amherst, VA, and a

College Art Association The College Art Association of America (CAA) is the principal organization in the United States for professionals in the visual arts, from students to art historians to emeritus faculty. Founded in 1911, it "promotes these arts and their understan ...

Professional Development Fellowship. She was both a Hot Picks Artist (2012) and a Project Grant recipient (2014) at

Smack Mellon Smack Mellon is a non-profit arts organization located at 92 Plymouth Street, in Dumbo, Brooklyn. Smack Mellon supports emerging, under-recognized mid-career, and women artists through a highly regarded exhibition program, competitive studio res ...

in Brooklyn, NY, and has twice been named a finalist for the Trawick Prize at the Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards in Bethesda, MD for artists from the Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia area (2013 and 2015). Balcı has been featured in several solo and two-person shows in the Washington, DC area, as well as in Maryland and in Istanbul. In 2017, her work was included in the show "Contemporary Artists from Turkey," at the Biennale Arcipelago Mediterraneo in Palermo, Italy. Her work in "Under the Scope" at the Silber Art Gallery of

Goucher College Goucher College ( ') is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Towson, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1885 as a Nonsectarian, nonsecterian Women's colleges in the United States, ...

in Towson, MD, was the subject of a 2014

Washington City Paper The ''Washington City Paper'' is a U.S. alternative weekly newspaper serving the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area since 1981. The ''City Paper'' is distributed on Thursdays; its average circulation in 2006 was 85,588. The paper's editorial ...

article.

Technique

Balcı, trained in biology, finds her samples in tree bark and soil from her backyard, and sometimes collaborates with her plant pathologist husband for colorful natural material, and stores her specimens in the refrigerator in test tubes. In recent years, Balcı has moved from boards to framed works, and uses Yupo paper as a support, which can withstand the mold growth and emphasizes the texture of her medium. After sterilizing her Yupo paper, she coats it in potato dextrose agar to feed the colonies, and waits one to two months for her composition to grow. Although she has used the term "living" to describe her works, she no longer exhibits living specimens—instead she allows them to dry out and prevents new growth with a layer of acrylic. Along with boards and frames, she has recently exhibited her works in Petri dishes arranged in shapes such as a map of the world or on Yupo paper covered with watch glasses to magnify certain elements of the growths. Balcı studies how microorganisms behave and relate to one another before beginning new projects, and is interested in how their interactions reflect conflicts and boundaries in the human world.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balci, Selin Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Turkish contemporary artists Microbiologists Istanbul University alumni West Virginia University alumni University of Maryland, College Park alumni