Born in Ankara in 1985, Sonel completed his undergraduate education at Hacettepe University, Faculty of Fine Arts, Graphic Design Department with an honorary degree. In 2009, he succeeded in bringing to life his childhood interest in street art, by co-founding the street art collective (KÜF Project). The guerrilla street art actions they carried out with the collective between 2009 and 2014 were the subject of many news bulletins in the mainstream media. In 2014, he was accepted to the Sculpture Master’s Program at Hacettepe University Fine Arts Institute. Moving his workshop to Izmir-Darağaç in 2017, he continued to work both individually and with the neighborhood art collective.
Sonel's works have been exhibited in many national and international organizations such as Art Cologne, Berlin Art Week, Contemporary Istanbul, Sónar Festival, Investec Cape Town. He organized workshops on street art in many universities of Turkey, was invited to panels as a speaker, and directed sessions.
He introduced the first semi-digital Mural works in Turkey to the public audience at the mural festivals held in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir. He still continues his research on the meeting of new media art with street art.
In 2025, he was awarded the Artistic Excellence Award by the Bavarian State Ministry for Science and the Arts and was invited to participate in a one-year Artist-in-Residence program at Villa Concordia International Artists’ House in Bamberg, Germany.
/ CEM_SONEL
/ BIO.
/ EDU.
2014. Hacettepe University Institute of Fine Arts / Sculpture (Master)
2011. Malvern House Collage London / Foreign Language
2004 - 2008 Hacettepe University Faculity of Fine Arts / Graphic Design (Bachelor)
1999 - 2003 Dikmen Nevzat Ayaz Anatolian Vocational High School / Graphic Design
/ EXH.
2025
Investec Cape Town (Cape Town) RSA
CI Bloom (Istanbul) TR
Contemporary Istanbul (Istanbul) TR
Noise Media Art Fair (Istanbul) TR
Everybody Knows / Gallery G-Art (Istanbul) TR
Where the Pavement Ends / Anna Laudel Gallery (Istanbul) TR
2024
All the Good Memories are Stored / Duo Show with Ramazan Can at Anna Laudel Gallery (Istanbul) TR
SPARK Art Fair (Vienna) AT
Artshow (Istanbul) TR
Positions (Berlin) DE
Contemporary Istanbul (Istanbul) TR
9th Çanakkale Biennial (Çanakkale) TR
Sketch to Pixel Digital Art (Ankara) TR
2023
Binary / Solo Show at Anna Laudel Gallery (Düsseldorf) DE
Art Cologne / Duo show with Ramazan Can (Cologne) DE
Contemporary Istanbul Bloom (Istanbul) TR
Contemporary Istanbul (Istanbul) TR
Istanbul Digital Art Festival / AKM (Istanbul) TR
From Sketch to Pixel Digital Art / (Cappadocia) TR
Beyoğlu Culture Route Festival / Cercle d’Orient (Istanbul) TR
Art Istanbul Feshane / Beginning from the Middle (Istanbul) TR
Upcycle Istanbul (Istanbul) TR
Antalya Culture Route Festival (Antalya) TR
2022
One and Zero Makes Two / Solo Show at Anna Laudel Gallery (Istanbul) TR
Sónar Istanbul / AV Festival Zorlu PSM (Istanbul) TR
Art Weeks Akaretler VI (Istanbul) TR
Contemporary Istanbul Bloom (Istanbul) TR
48 Stunden Neukölln (Berlin) DE
Art Weeks Akaretler VII (Istanbul) TR
Berlin Art Week / Savvy Contemporary (Berlin) DE
Contemporary Istanbul (Istanbul) TR
Sketch to Pixel Digital Art / Siginak Art and Technology (Ankara) TR
Young Encounters / Cer Modem (Ankara) TR
2021
Volta Combo / Street Art Festival (Izmir) TR
Mural Izmir / Street Art Festival (Izmir) TR
Street Art Im Botschaftsgrarten / German Embassy (Ankara) TR
Sokaktaki Ankara / Street Art Festival (Ankara) TR
Cankaya Mural Festival / Street Art Festival (Ankara) TR
2020
Mural Izmir / Street Art Festival (Izmir) TR
Daragag 5 "Var" / Contemporary Art Exhibition in the Public Space (Izmir) TR
Mamut Art Project / Yapi Kredi Bomontiada (Istanbul) TR
2019
Those Who We Don't Speak Of / Hayy Open Space (Izmir) TR
Ankara Comic and Art Festival / Street art Festival (Ankara) TR
Volta / Street Art Festival (Izmir)
Daragag 4 "Lüzum" / Contemporary Art Exhibition in the Public Space (Izmir) TR
Istanbul Comic and Art Festival Street art Festival (Istanbul) TR
Illustrative / losca Art & Design (Ankara) TR
2018
Mekan Atölye / Cer Modern (Ankara) TR
Daragaç 3 / Contemporary Art Exhibition in the Public Space (Izmir) TR
2017
Mentor / Galeri Cankaya (Ankara) TR
2011
If Nature is Heaven, the City is Hell / Cer Modem (Ankara) TR