Dr. Rahşan Düren

Instagram: @rushworksofficial

Web Sites:

https://verwegenheit.com/

https://rushworks.net

http://rahsandurenhaydarpasa.com/

Dr. Rahşan Düren: At the Intersection of Art, Science, and the Human Mind

Dr. Rahşan Düren is a contemporary artist whose work stands at a rare and powerful intersection of art, neuroscience, medicine, and philosophy. Born in Flensburg, Germany, in 1975, and currently living and working in Istanbul, Düren has built a multidisciplinary artistic practice that reflects both her medical background as a psychiatrist and her deep engagement with abstract, reductionist, and conceptual art.

Since the year 2000, Dr. Düren has been professionally active as a painter and installation artist, participating in numerous national and international exhibitions. Her artistic language is informed not only by visual aesthetics, but also by scientific inquiry, especially in the fields of neurobiology, movement generation, trauma, and creativity. This unique synthesis positions her work within a contemporary discourse that challenges traditional boundaries between disciplines.

Early Life and Professional Background

Growing up between cultures and later settling in Istanbul, Dr. Rahşan Düren developed an early sensitivity to space, identity, and perception. Alongside her artistic pursuits, she completed her education in medicine, specializing in psychiatry. Rather than separating these two paths, she chose to integrate them, allowing her scientific knowledge to deeply inform her artistic vision.

Her background in psychiatry plays a crucial role in how she approaches art—not merely as visual expression, but as a reflection of cognitive processes, emotional states, and neurodynamic systems. This dual identity as both artist and medical doctor is central to her work and distinguishes her voice within contemporary art.

Artistic Practice and Evolution

Dr. Düren’s early artistic work focused primarily on painting, with a strong inclination toward abstract and reductionist forms. Over time, her practice expanded into installation art, landscape interventions, and spatial experiments that explore movement, perception, and emotional resonance.

Her debut as an installation artist in 2015 marked a pivotal moment in her career. That year, she presented her solo installation “E-motions” at the 14th Istanbul Art Biennale, curated under the theme “Tuzlu Su” (Saltwater). The work examined emotional movement, inner dynamics, and the invisible forces that shape human experience, reflecting her ongoing research into the neurobiology of behavior and creativity.

Following this milestone, she also participated in the exhibition “Extinctions”, further establishing her presence in the international contemporary art scene.

Conceptual Focus: Art Informed by Science

One of the defining characteristics of Dr. Rahşan Düren’s work is her integration of scientific insight into artistic creation. Drawing from neuroscience, medicine, technology, and engineering, her art often investigates how movement, emotion, and cognition are generated within the human brain.

Her interest in movement generation—both physical and emotional—translates into artworks that appear minimal on the surface but carry complex conceptual depth. Through reductionist visual language, she invites the viewer to engage not only visually, but intellectually and emotionally.

Key recurring themes in her work include:

• The neurodynamics of behavior

• Trauma and creativity

• The relationship between inner psychological states and external landscapes

• The tension between control and spontaneity

• The transformation of scientific data into poetic visual form

Landscape Installations and Spatial Interventions

Beyond the studio, Dr. Düren has developed a strong interest in landscape installations, using natural or urban environments as extensions of her conceptual framework. These works often blur the line between artwork and environment, encouraging viewers to experience space as a living, responsive system.

Her installations are not merely placed within a landscape; they are designed to interact with it, echoing natural rhythms, geological formations, and environmental forces. This approach reflects her broader philosophical interest in systems—whether neural, ecological, or social—and how they influence human perception.

Academic and Intellectual Contributions

In addition to her artistic production, Dr. Rahşan Düren is also an active lecturer and thinker, contributing to interdisciplinary dialogue between art and science. Her lectures cover a wide range of topics, including:

• Neurobiology of Creativity

• Pluralistic Approaches in Psychiatry

• Neurodynamics of Behavior

• Intersection of Art and Science

• Trauma and Creativity

Through these lectures, she shares insights from her clinical experience and artistic research, offering audiences a deeper understanding of how creativity emerges from complex neurological and psychological processes.

Atelier Haydarpaşa: A Multidisciplinary Platform

In 2016, Dr. Düren founded Atelier Haydarpaşa, a multidisciplinary collaborative platform based in Istanbul. The atelier brings together artists, musicians, engineers, architects, philosophers, and curators, fostering dialogue and experimentation across disciplines.

Atelier Haydarpaşa is not just a physical space, but a conceptual framework that reflects Dr. Düren’s belief in collective intelligence and interdisciplinary creation. It serves as a laboratory for new ideas, performances, installations, and research-based art projects.

International Presence and Contemporary Relevance

Dr. Rahşan Düren’s work has been featured in various national and international exhibitions, situating her within a global contemporary art context. Her ability to translate complex scientific concepts into accessible visual experiences has earned her recognition among curators, critics, and collectors interested in concept-driven and intellectually rigorous art.

In an era where boundaries between disciplines are increasingly fluid, Düren’s practice feels particularly relevant. Her work addresses contemporary concerns around mental health, perception, technology, and the human condition, while maintaining a refined and minimalist aesthetic.

Dr. Rahşan Düren represents a rare synthesis of artist, scientist, and thinker. Her work challenges viewers to reconsider the relationship between mind and matter, emotion and structure, intuition and knowledge. By integrating neuroscience and psychiatry into contemporary art, she creates a body of work that is both visually compelling and conceptually profound.

Living and working in Istanbul, yet operating within an international framework, Dr. Düren continues to expand the boundaries of contemporary art—offering new ways to understand creativity, movement, and the invisible forces that shape human experience.