Djochkoun Sami, born in Bulgaria in 1973, lives and works in Istanbul, Turkey. He earned both his BFA and MFA from the Faculty of Painting at Mimar Sinan University of Fine Arts, and his work has featured in numerous group exhibitions, literary and illustrated publications, and theatrical posters.
Sami’s paintings dwell in the interplay between memory and structure. Architectural fragments and echoes of history merge with the compositional rigor of formalist painting. His restrained palette reveals a drawing-centered process, bringing form and balance into sharp focus. In many works, he evokes the hushed drama of abandoned or forgotten spaces—anonymous, still, and free from overt political markings. In some pieces, he strips back historical reference altogether, replacing it with arrangements of natural matter—stones, organic remnants, unfilled voids—that suggest a timeless, non-linear sense of duration. His work quietly probes how the present day is shaped by the lingering shadows of the past—revealing ghosts that, though unseen, still shape our collective imagination.
Paintings
Drawings
CV & Exhibitions
A New Capital City, 2021, Oil on canvas, 114 x 146 cm
Dereliction, 2014, Oil on canvas, 97 x 130 cm
Deportation, 2021, Ink on paper, 70 x 100 cm
Destiny Chromosome, 2023, Mixed media on paper, 89 x 150 cm
Rupture, 2010, Ink on paper, 70 x 100 cm
Error Report, 2022, Mixed media on paper, 70 x 100 cm
Bidonville, 2006, Oil on canvas, 89 x 119 cm
Nacht und Nebel, 2024, Ink on paper, 100 x 140 cm
Bad Seed I ("Absentpaedia" series), 2010, Ink on paper, 27 x 35 cm
Archmemory II, 2015, Bistre ink on paper, 39 x 54 cm