Metin Yurdanur (born 1951) is a sculptor based in Turkey, who was awarded the title State Artist of Turkey.
Early years
Yurdanur was born in 1951 in Sivrihisar town of Eskişehir Province in Turkey. He spent his childhood until high school in his hometown. He was impressed by antique works of art, especially by the three-millennium old Phrygian reliefs, that inspired him for plastic arts.[1]
After finishing the high school, he enrolled as a boarding student in the Department of Arts at Gazi Institute for Education in Ankara, what is today the Faculty of Vocational Education at Gazi University. He was educated in arts and graduated in 1972 as a high school teacher for arts.[1]
He was appointed in Isparta, where in 1973 he made a monument of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the Republic. He then served as drawing teacher at a high school in Mihalıççık town in Eskişehir Province. In 1978, he was appointed as the sculpting teacher at his alma mater.[1]
In 1979 the city administration requested he create mockups, which later were realized sculptures like "Eller" (The Hands) in Abdi İpekçi Park,"Nasreddin Hoca Riding the Hittite Lion Backwards" at Railroad Station Square, "Dayanışma" (Solidarity) in Batıkent and "Balerinler" (The Ballet Dancers) in Kavaklıdere.[1][2][3]
Sculptor career
Statue of Nasreddin Hoca Riding Hittite Lion Backwards by Metin Yurdanur in Ankara.
In 1981, he left his teaching position and opened his own workshop. His first work was the sculpture of "Nasreddin Hoca shows the Center of the World" in his hometown.[1]
Metin Yurdanur became proficient in casting statues using conventional techniques.[2] Many monuments, statues and reliefs of Yurdanur are found throughout Turkey, mostly in Ankara. He also has works in several countries around the world.
In 2005, he opened his first individual open-air monument and statue exhibition in Ankara called I am Anatolia, I am the Republic, I am the People. At the exhibition, the polyester mock-ups of his larger-than-life statues and busts were shown, of people from Turkey's history such as Atatürk, İsmet İnönü, Abidin Dino, Karacaoğlan, Yaşar Kemal, Şerife Bacı, Muzaffer Sarısözen and others.[2]
In 2016, Yurdanur opened the first sculpture museum of Turkey in Sivrihisar.[4]
