Over the course of several months, curator Pinar Goodstone and artist Nilgün Gümüş worked in close collaboration to bring gaze to life a striking collection of portraits dedicated to the resilience, intellect, and inner world of women. Painted in silence, often late into the night, these works are both deeply intimate and universally resonant, conjuring themes of rebirth, justice, memory, and reflection.

Through her brush, Gümüş invited twelve visionary women into her studio, each one selected for the way she challenged societal norms, defied expectations, and helped shape the cultural and emotional landscape of womanhood. From poets and writers to sculptors, models, and activists, the series features Tezer Özlü, Simone de Beauvoir, Sylvia Plath, Ingeborg Bachmann, Forough Farrokhzad, Maya Angelou, Virginia Woolf, Camille Claudel, Nilgün Marmara, Vanessa Bell, Waris Dirie, and Kate Moss. These women form a luminous chorus of strength, rebellion, vulnerability, and transformation.

Each portrait is a vessel for stories, struggles, and defiance. As viewers, we don’t merely observe them; we stand before mirrors, confronting the many selves we carry. Inspired by Sylvia Plath’s quiet affirmation “I am, I am, I am” Gazebecomes not just an exhibition, but a call to presence. A reminder that to look, to be seen, and to gaze back is a radical act. Proceeds from the exhibition were donated to TEGV Vakfı in support of educational equity and empowerment.