Pinar Aral is a Turkish American artist living in Chicago. She received her BA from the Institute of Industrial Design in Florence, Italy. Making everyday life better at home and eliminating waste was her goal in choosing this career. In her sculptural work, she explores the connection between the physical body and the subconscious mind. Each sculpture becomes a vessel to her emotions, memories, and experiences that shaped her identity as a woman, mother, and immigrant.

Clay has become indispensable to her after taking a workshop called “Shaping Clay, Shaping Life” facilitated by sculptor Corinne D. Peterson in 2015. The experience was both spiritual and healing. She collaborated with Corinne on many occasions after that, as her assistant during a two-year Cairn Project. In 2019 Corinne offered to share her studio with her at Lillstreet Art Center. Their partnership has been instrumental to both artists, stretching Corinne’s career longer and jump-starting Pinar’s, culminating in a show called “Truth Be Told” at Oliva Gallery in June 2023 where they showed their work together. ( Read more about it here:

https://shoutoutcolorado.com/meet-pinar-aral-visual-artist-sculptor/ )

Pinar considers herself as an experimental artist who likes to explore different methods and concepts. She is currently experimenting with a primitive firing method called “pit firing”.  Through her work, she seeks to evoke a sense of unity, transcending the boundaries of individual experience to connect with her audience at a deeper level. Pinar’s work has been shown at SOFA, Merchandise Mart and other reputable galleries in Chicago. (Woman Made Gallery, Bridgeport Art Center, Oliva Gallery, Alma Gallery, Evanston Art Center)