Derya Geylani Vuruşan

Derya Geylani Vuruşan was born in 1990 in Istanbul, Turkey. She graduated from Anadolu University, Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Glass in 2013. During her undergraduate studies, she attended the E. Geppert Academy of Art and Design in Wrocław, Poland, between 2011 and 2012, where she expanded her technical skills and developed an international artistic perspective.
Her artistic practice centers on glass as both a material and a conceptual medium. Working with kiln casting, hot glass techniques, and flameworking, she produces contemporary and conceptual works that explore themes of memory, identity, fragility, and transformation. Her work investigates the tension between control and chance, permanence and vulnerability, positioning glass beyond its traditional role as a craft material and into the realm of critical contemporary art.
The geography she inhabits-rooted in the cultural and historical layers of Anatolia-has played a significant role in shaping her artistic vision. Influenced by the socio-political realities unfolding around her, she translates emotional responses to these events into three-dimensional forms through glass and auxiliary materials. Her works function as materialized reflections of personal and collective experience, where glass becomes a vessel for emotion, resistance, and transformation.
She has participated in numerous group exhibitions and international events in Norway, Poland, Italy, South Korea, France, Bulgaria, and Turkey. In 2013, her glass design Fear Chair received an award at the A' Design Award Competition. In the same year, she began her Master of Fine Arts studies at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Ceramics and Glass Design.
In 2014, she was selected for the European Glass Experience exhibitions held in Spain, Portugal, and Italy, contributing to her growing international presence. She completed her MFA in 2015 and continued her academic journey by starting her PhD at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University.
In 2016, she participated in The Glass Furnace Artist in Residence program in Istanbul, focusing on kiln casting techniques. In the same year, she gave a lecture at the Museum of Glass in Seattle, USA, titled "Improvement of Contemporary Turkish Glass Art" (31.12.2016), marking an important milestone in her international professional career.
One of her artworks is included in the permanent collection of the Glass Museum of Fundación Centro Nacional del Vidrio, La Granja, Spain. She completed her PhD at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Department of Ceramics and Glass Design, Istanbul.
Currently, she works as a Doctor Lecturer at Marmara University, Department of Glass and Ceramics. Alongside her academic role, she continues to actively produce conceptual and contemporary artworks, participate in exhibitions, and engage in interdisciplinary collaborations.
She is represented by pg art gallery, one of Turkey's leading contemporary art galleries, and collaborates with prominent brands and institutions. Through her practice, she aims to expand the expressive and conceptual boundaries of glass within contemporary art, emphasizing process, materiality, and critical inquiry.