Biography
Ilhan Ozan specializes in global modern and contemporary art, with an emphasis on Turkey, that he pursues through exhibition histories. His dissertation research examines Turkey’s participation in international art biennials during the Cold War, covering the period from 1955 to 1987. He completed his MA in History of Art and Archaeology at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, as a Fulbright scholar (2016-18). His MA thesis “Unfolding Abstraction: Regionalism and Diplomacy in the Fifth Tehran Biennial (1966),” advised by Finbarr Barry Flood, was marked with distinction. Ozan previously worked in Research and Programs at SALT, Istanbul where he contributed to a number of research and exhibition projects in curatorial capacity.
Education Details
PhD, History of Art and Architecture, University of Pittsburgh, 2018 – present
MA, History of Art and Archaeology, Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, 2018
MA, Philosophy and Social Thought, Istanbul Bilgi University, 2012
BA, Sociology, Marmara University, 2009
Selected Presentations
“Cold War Reflections in the Fifth Tehran Biennial (1966),” presented at Global Histories Conference, Freie Universität and Humboldt-Universität, Berlin, Germany, June 2019.
“Art, Regionalism, Diplomacy in the Fifth Tehran Biennial (1966),” presented at Art in the Periphery International Conference, Institute of Art History - IHA/NOVA FCSH and Institute for Contemporary History - IHC/NOVA FCSH, Lisbon, Portugal, March 2019.
“Abstraction: Modernization Challenged, Representation Dismantled,” presented at Abstraction Unframed: Fourth Annual Conference of the Association for Modern and Contemporary Art of the Arab World, Turkey and Iran (AMCA), NYU Abu Dhabi and Barjeel Art Foundation, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, May 2016.
Selected Publications
Artist entries to Modernisms: Iranian, Turkish, and Indian Highlights from NYU's Abby Weed Grey Collection, ed. Lynn Gumpert, 135-190. Munich: Grey Art Gallery, NYU and Hirmer Publishers, 2019.
“Shifting Curatorial Articulations in the Carnegie International” and “A Conversation with Ilhan Ozan and Ingrid Schaffner.” In Reports from Inside the Carnegie International, eds. Liz Park and Erin Peters, 9-14. Pittsburgh, PA: Carnegie Museum of Art, 2019.
“Visualizing Research: Turkey’s Participation in International Biennials,” Voices in Contemporary Art (VoCA), 2018.
“Differentiating Curatorial Practices in Turkey: The Political Dimension of Art Documentation.” In Open Systems: READER: Tomorrow is not Promised!, ed. Gülsen Bal, 73-77. Saarbrücken, Germany: Lap Lambert Academic Publishing, 2017.
“Reframing Art and Culture in Contemporary Institutional Practices: The Case of Istanbul”, ArteEast, 2015.
Selected Awards
Dean’s Summer Research Fund for Graduate Studies, University of Pittsburgh, 2020
Jewish Studies Graduate Studies Travel Grant, University of Pittsburgh, 2019
Dietrich Summer Research Fund Grant, University of Pittsburgh, 2019
Dean’s Research Travel Fund, University of Pittsburgh, 2019
The Shelby White and Leon Levy Travel Grant, New York University, 2017
Fulbright MA Grant, 2016 – 2018
The Getty Foundation Grant for the attendance to International Committee for Museums and Collections of Modern Art’s (CIMAM) Annual Conference in Tokyo, Japan, 2015
SAHA Association Grant for the participation in Curatorial Intensive by Independent Curators International (ICI) in Marrakesh, Morocco, 2015
Professional Memberships
International Committee for Museums and Collections of Modern Art (CIMAM), 2015 – present
Association for Modern and Contemporary Art of the Arab World, Iran, and Turkey (AMCA), 2015 – present
Society of Contemporary Art Historians (SCAH), 2020 – present