Yağız Özgen (b. İstanbul, 1987) is an interdisciplinary artist working at the intersection of painting, digital culture, and analytical philosophy. Utilizing algorithms and digital metadata, he interrogates how we perceive and represent the world in an era of information density. Through a broad range of media —including large-scale installations, precision paintings, site-specifi c murals, and found objects— Özgen deconstructs both the historical and material processes of image-making.
At its core, the artist’s practice investigates the "linguistic structure" of art. Drawing from his experiences with the Defi nition of Art Group, which focuses on the logic and grammar of art, he treats the surface of the painting as a site for systematic inquiry. His work examines how the rigid logic of computer code and data sets can manifest as tangible, sensory experiences and the physical manifestation of the image-making process.
In developing his conceptual approach, Özgen draws extensively from his academic background. He completed his BFA (2009), MFA (2012), and PhD (2023) at the Marmara University Faculty of Fine Arts; his doctoral research focused on the problem of consistency within aesthetic systems and the linguistic frameworks that allow objects to exist within the context of art.
Exploring specifi c facets of representation, Özgen has held six solo exhibitions: C://Still_Life, Spectrum, Metadata, Astronomy Picture of the Day, Instructions, and Boyacı (Painter). His work has been featured in signifi cant group exhibitions such as Systems/Visibility, aRb, and the 28th Akbank Contemporary Artists Prize Exhibition. Following artist residencies at Borusan Contemporary (Istanbul), Landeshauptstadt Düsseldorf (Germany), and the Cité Internationale des Arts (Paris), he most recently completed an open studio residency at Fierman Gallery in New York (2026). He lives and works in İstanbul, where he also teaches courses on art theory.