A leading light of Turkish painting, Fikret Muallâ is being remembered on the 102nd anniversary of his birth in a comprehensive exhibition at Istanbul Modern.

“Fikret Muallâ’s greatest wish was to witness a world of outstanding beauty. An optimistic world outlook... Fikret Muallâ found happiness in his own way; in a beautiful brush, paint, paper, a moment lived, a red tomato, a white cloud, a girl’s chestnut hair, the consciousness of reflecting the colorful world without deceit.” So wrote fellow-artist Abidin Dino about his dear friend. Known as a temperamental man with an aggressive, intractable and insubordinate personality, a man constantly plagued by troubles, Fikret Muallâ’s art forms a sharp contrast to his life. Some 243 works by Muallâ, “who painted with a yearning for happiness as if he were making love to the world”, assembled for the first time from 35 different collections, have recently gone on display at Istanbul Modern. Aiming to reverse the widespread view of the artist as an outsider who led a turbulent,