Sait Mingu

Hasan Bey held onto the hope for a long time that his son would become an architect and take over the firm he had built with his own hands. However, in the face of his son's persistent passion for painting, Hasan Bey couldn't prolong his insistence any further. Sait Mingü, on the other hand, put an end to his career in advertising, which began during his military service, with a decision to 'earn his living solely from painting.' Mingü, a collector of a five-thousand-piece comic book collection, incorporates influences from the comics he has read, movies he has watched, and his dreams into his works. His exhibition titled 'Fluid Expressions' at Mim&Antiques is his fourth solo exhibition, and it also features his digital works for the first time.

Your father is a well-known architect. He initially wanted you to become an architect as well, but it seems that things didn't unfold as he wished...

My father, Hasan Mingü, always hoped that I would continue his architectural firm with him as his successor, especially when he discovered my talent in childhood. However, he saw that my passion for drawing and painting had evolved from a mere hobby into a definite purpose. Despite initially opposing my decision to become a painter during my university years, he softened over time as he witnessed the paintings I created and the positive responses they received. Nevertheless, he still teases me from time to time, saying, "You should have become an architect." Nonetheless, you must have inherited your talent from him.Yes, although I believe I inherited my talent from my father, neither my expressions nor my lines align with architecture, static lines, or objects. My lines belong more to organic forms, human expressions, and figures. I have never had a desire to design spaces, objects, or structures. My drawing style has always been more focused on the human aspect. It has been this way since my childhood.

I DECIDED TO ONLY PAINT WHILE IN THE MILITARY

How was your educational journey?

Entering the Painting Department of Mimar Sinan University had started to take shape in my mind slowly when I started high school. I aimed to participate in the talent exams of only Mimar Sinan. However, I couldn't decide on which field to choose. While my friends were going to prep school, I was taking drawing lessons in the workshop of the painter Recep Türüng. He used to say, "With the way you draw, you can do anything you want, just have a solid charcoal, then add whatever you want on top of it." With the confidence he gave me, I focused particularly on basic art education. Eventually, I entered the Painting Department of Mimar Sinan. Towards the end of my education, I started to get bored with painting in the same style and ventured into different searches.

Your decision to make a living from painting has an interesting story. Can you tell us a bit about it?

After graduating, with the aim of trying something different, I knocked on the door of the Fine Arts/Saatchi&Saatchi Advertising Agency. I started as an intern in the advertising world that summer and continued for the next five years as an art director. Once you get into such a cycle, it's hard to get out. The idea of 'painting' that was always in the back of my mind was constantly postponed. Things changed when I had to go to the military. At that time, I stepped out of that routine and could look at my life from an outsider's perspective. I had plenty of time to question my life. Upon my return, I decided, "I will only paint from now on, and I won't know if I don't at least try." After that, I started painting with great hunger, trying to make up for the time that had passed. My luck also played a role. At the end of the first year, thanks to the Red Juniper in Alaçatı, which showed interest in the works accumulated in my portfolio, I opened my first exhibition, and then I signed a contract with the X-ist gallery with which I was in contact at that time.

A 5,000-Piece Comic Book Collection

I know you have a large comic book collection. How did this interest begin?

Thanks to my father, who sowed the first seeds. He used to buy many magazines, from the humor magazine Gırgır of that time to Zagor and Mister No published by Tay Publications. During the times when I couldn't read, I would just look at the pictures and create my own stories. Then it turned into a passion. I can say that I collected all the comic books published in Turkey since the first grade. My collection expanded even more by collecting issues of foreign comic books and those from earlier periods from second-hand dealers. But now, I buy and collect more selectively, eliminating unnecessary ones. We can talk about around five thousand pieces.

It seems that this interest has also influenced your works. What do you think?

Definitely, when I started holding a pen, I used to draw human figures from comic books continuously. My interest in movement, human anatomy, and expression started at a very young age thanks to these comic books. By the time I reached my early teens, I had started drawing the figures of Renaissance painters from my father's library.

Images Seem to Filter into My Brain

How do you structure your works? What prompts you to sit in front of the canvas?

We can describe it as instinctual. Since my early years, I have been curious about human expressions and movements, so I constantly observe people throughout the day. While talking to someone, their posture, sitting on the subway, the expressions and framing of actors while watching a movie—I instinctively draw them in my mind. Then these accumulate in my memory, forming an image. When I go to bed at night, it's as if images are filtering into my brain. I create a composition and say, 'I should paint a picture like this.'

Fluid Expressions

Due to my profession, I work very quickly. We can also describe my paintings as figurative expressionist. I enjoy struggling with the canvas and paper, conveying my emotions. I try to capture the expressions of my figures with spontaneous splashes, splatters, and dynamic lines. A splash on a character's face, for example, forms their cheekbone. That's why I use liquid paint as much as possible.

https://www.hurriyet.com.tr/kelebek/babasi-mimar-olmasini-istedi-o-resim-yapmayi-tercih-etti-20485651

Having opened his first exhibition in 2007 at the Red Juniper in Alaçatı, Izmir, and subsequently presenting to art lovers with the exhibitions 'DNIWER' (2008) and 'Nervous Breakdown' (2009), Painter Sait Mingü gathered his recent works under the series called Liquid Expressions. Mingü, who says, 'Sometimes I placed a photograph, sometimes a movie frame at the foundation of my sketches,' created his paintings using acrylic on canvas, ecoline on paper, and digital techniques. Approaching his works with a "figurative expressionist" understanding and engaging in interdisciplinary work, the artist focused on the instant movements and expressions of human figures, emphasizing dual human relationships and everyday situations. In this exhibition, Mingü also presented his works created with digital techniques for the first time. The artist's works will be on display at Mim Art & Antiques, founded by Hikmet Mizanoğlu and Ali Hatemi, until May 19th.

https://www.milliyet.com.tr/kultur-sanat/ressam-sait-mingu-den-yeni-sergi-1535846