Belma Bozkurt meets art enthusiasts with her solo exhibition Lotus Gravitas after a two-year production period at Bakraç Art Gallery in Istanbul. The exhibition, which has been well received by art lovers, is hosted in the harem section of an old mansion located in Kozyatağı, on the Anatolian side of Istanbul. Lotus Gravitas will be open to visitors from March 1 to March 21, 2025. Comprising 27 artworks, the exhibition explores contemporary women’s quest for reality and perception in the modern world through the metaphor of the lotus flower. As an art therapy practitioner, Bozkurt strengthens her abstract works—created using her unique technique—with mindfulness and expressive methods, offering viewers a distinct story in each piece.
Coinciding with International Women’s Day, artist Belma Bozkurt shared her thoughts on women’s artistic journey during the exhibition. “While the struggle for women’s equal rights began with the strikes on March 8, 1857, from an art history perspective, we do not see female painters among the top 10 influential artists of movements like the Renaissance, which marked a rebirth. Even in more recent history, the limitations and obstacles faced by female painters remain striking.”
We invite women to this exhibition to reconnect with their deepest selves and transform, and men to gain a deeper understanding of themselves.
If the Lotus Gravitas archetype serves as a compass, women will bring wisdom, passion, creativity, grace, rebirth, fertility, and the power of intuition into their lives, healing both themselves and the world. Meanwhile, men can use the light of the lotus to discover themselves more profoundly.
Who is Belma Bozkurt?
Belma Bozkurt is an art therapy practitioner and a CTI-certified Co-Active professional coach who engages in voluntary work through art therapy coaching practices. Her works have been featured in numerous exhibitions and art fairs both in Turkey and abroad, including Varna, Tokyo Metropolitan Museum, and in Turkey at ArtAnkara, IAAF Istanbul, ArtContact, Antalya Contemporary Art Fair, and various galleries in Bodrum.
In May 2023, she held her solo exhibition “Shade of Branches”, showcasing 60 artworks. In January 2025, she presented another solo exhibition at GaleriM Art Gallery in Ankara, featuring approximately forty works.
Combining artistic production with mindfulness techniques, Bozkurt explores the essence of “being human and being a woman.” She expresses her artistic philosophy with the words: “Perfection is not a destination; what is truly unique and authentic is a deeply enjoyable journey in the present moment.” Through the timeless atmosphere she creates, she offers viewers a profound spiritual experience.
Belma Bozkurt’s Lotus Gravitas Manifesto
The lotus flower, symbolizing purification and rebirth, grows in muddy, swampy waters, yet manages to rise above harsh conditions and bloom in all its glory, captivating those who see it. Lotus Gravitas represents the reconciliation of the wise, creative, and victorious woman archetype with nature and her return to her wild power.
From the Amazon women to goddesses like Cybele, the reality that women—who have been subdued by modern life and the patriarchal system—seek is reborn through the Lotus Gravitas feminine archetype.
In today’s global world, across all cultures from West to East, women are subjected to an aesthetic ideal—one that promotes the expectation of beauty, much like in fairy tales. As women are exposed to these imposed standards, they drift away from their wild, natural beauty, gradually losing their freedom. In the Lotus Gravitas archetype, every woman is inherently unique and magnificent, just like a lotus flower.
A woman may not fit society’s expectations of being a proper lady—gentle, sweet, polite, beautiful, cheerful, outgoing, sensual, successful, a mother, a wife, a leader, invincible, or simply “perfect”—but she is still an essential, equal, and indispensable part of this world.
A woman is not merely a sculpture or a block of marble; she is earth, air, or water. She cannot be divided, nor can she be forced to change. Her fertility, creativity, and healing power are unstoppable. A woman is an energy—her body merely serves to protect, carry, and support her essence and spirit. Therefore, she exists beyond the visible, driven by her energy and passions. The Lotus Woman is open to spiritual emotions and thoughts, and she relentlessly nourishes herself through creation. When she hits rock bottom, she plants seeds; when she reaches her peak, she gathers her harvest—she is always the victorious one.
Even if the Lotus Woman’s psyche loses its way, she is born with the power to reignite her own light. When the swamp is ready, the lotus emerges—reminding us of self-love and the true value of a woman. She reaches the artist within herself and, in doing so, heals society.
As women, in order for our matriarchal power to beautify the world, we must focus on the essence of our spiritual being, the Lotus, and concentrate on the emotions, thoughts, and efforts that empower us. We should avoid falling into cycles of seeking approval, admiration, politeness, perfection, competition, and validation, which serve the modern world order and weaken us. The Lotus woman is authentic, unhurried, confident, full of joy, passionate, wise, and creative.
A woman, by organizing a personal exhibition, writing a manifesto, cannot change society as a whole. However, she can initiate change by foreseeing it. She achieves this by altering her own lotus gravitas, taking control of her body, spirit, joy, and most importantly, her value.
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