About

I graduated from the Mimar Sinan University of the Arts, Istanbul in 1983, where I attended Ozdemir Altan’s atelier. After graduation, I continued my design work in my own atelier. I consider my painting background to have positively impacted my work in different genres of art. I started jewelry design 25 years ago. Over time, I saw my designs evolve into sculpture and objets d’art. In this process,  the “dynamism” of the Italian futurist painter Giacomo Balla inspired me. I was influenced by the movement, velocity and repetition in his work. This, I believe , is reflected not only in my jewelry, but also in my objets d’art and my sculptures. It also forms a unity of discourse in my entire body of work within these different genres of art.

My earliest designs were influenced by the past Anatolian cultures; they portrayed intricate detail like the traditional miniatures. Yet, over time I have succeeded in creating a pure and personal style of expression of my own. The diversity of the materials I used also helped me develop this intensely personal style. The starting point of my jewelry was silver, followed by gold and precious stones. Currently, I prefer forms that combine silver and precious stones.

Ecer, active in both the national and international arena, summarizes the recent events she has participated in as follows:

My exhibition together with the Swiss jewelry designer Gilbert Albert is of primary importance to me. I was very happy to see my designs recognized as modern reflections of Gilbert Albert’s classic  designs. I am also proud to have been gicen the chance yodisplay my jewelry in IGT Jewelry Shopping Mall, the grand jewelry center in Manhattan.

The spring of 2017 was a hevtic time of crestion and achievement for me. In March, I co-sponsored an awards ceremony that took place in New York - “Women of Influence”, an event organized by Martell Cancer Foundation which supports research in breast and cervix cancer, acknowledge women who are prominent and successful in their fields. Among the participants were Facebook’s director Stephanie Latham,  Columbia Records executive Ayelet Schiffmanand  Emmy winner actress Susan Lucci. I was honored to see that my contribution to the auction, a necklace I designed with pearls, was purchased by Christie Roth, guest speaker and an executive of Novartis.

In April, the jewelry I displayed in the fair “MSA Forward” organized by Museum Store Association in Pittsburg was found “minimalist, romantic and poetic" by the jury and made it to the finals.

In May, I traveled across Atlantic; here my jewelry were displayed first in Kew Gardens, London and afterwards in Oxford.

In the Fall of 2017, Istanbul once more became my priority. I have been sculpturing  mainly bird, horse and female themed sculptures out of polyester and bronze for a decade now; in September, I participated in the annual Contemporary Istanbul Art Fair through Galeri Binyıl with my sculpture named “Women Are the Backbone of the World”. I was pleasantly surprised with the interest visitors showed in my sculpture by sharing it over Instagram, and I was favorably mentioned in the press as well. Overall, the positive feedback and the wide-spread recognition was very gratifying.

Recently, I took some of my designs out of my studio/gallery to  be exhibited at  Modul Istanbul Design Lab. Additionally, a collection of  my small objets d’art are on a display for some time at Erimtan Museum of Art and Archaeology in Ankara. I am happy to see the interest that the museum guests show in my pieces, especially in my brooches and the book marks.

To me, jewelry is more than a flash!

Every new year, Semra Ecer creates  a new jewelry collection for lovers of art and design. This year was no exception as she introduced her new collection to the elite of the Istanbul social scene in her Teşvikiye gallery.

To me, jewelry is more than a flash, it should also be functional. My designs are beyond current fashion trends, hence timeless. In my new year collection, “Geometry of  Rhythm”, I made use of gold, silver and precious stones, starting out with the concept of rhythm and using the interaction between geometric figures. I focused on reflecting the harmony of geometric figures we see all around us in everyday life. My guests at the launch included long-time clients, socialites, fashionistas, artists and friends.

With my new collection, I aim to continue my local and international efforts in the years to come. I strongly believe that doing one’s best in one area of art paves the ground for success in other areas of art.This requires a lot of effort. Enjoying what one does is also important. If one deeply feels what one creates, then it should be possible to convey it to audiences anywhere in the world.