I am Karya Levni, a painter in oils, based in Brussels.

Art came to me as it comes to all, in childhood, with crayons and creativity. It just never left me, as it leaves most.

It grew with me, and with the lessons of my family. I come from a family of doctors, who taught me to be systematic: research, dissect, discover, question. It is no surprise that I grew into a stubbornly methodical artist, with clean hands even after painting.

I was a STEM child in the arts. From a very young age I was copying anatomy books and old master paintings, and doing translation and editorial work for my master, the painter Rukiye Garip, in her atelier. I kept asking how the old masters did it, long before our industry, education and chemistry.

That is my method, at the very least. My heart and creativity are not as rigid. There, I am driven by admiration for other passionate people. Mediterranean and Anatolian culture is where I return to, and find the wonders of women, the courage of Türkiye's youth and the passion of scholars. I wish to capture their humanity in all of it: the good, the bad, the beautiful and the ugly.