Ara Guler photo exhibit opens in New York

A photo exhibition featuring the works of renowned Turkish-Armenian photographer Ara Guler opened in New York on Monday.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is currently in New York for the 74th session of the UN General Assembly, opened the exhibition at the Alexander Hamilton Custom House.

"I hope that the works of Ara Guler, who has truly become a global brand in his profession, will reach the masses of different cultures and nations coming to New York from all over the world," said Erdogan.

Turkish pianist and composer Fahir Atakoglu gave a performance and Turkish Nobel chemistry laureate Aziz Sancar was also present at the inauguration.

Commending the exhibition ⁠— similar ones were held in Paris, London and Kyoto, Japan ⁠— Erdogan said culture and art serve as a global bridge in developing relations among societies.

"The great master, Ara Guler, made history with his lens. His works took a place in important museums and collections of the world and reached millions with his photographs regarding life," said Erdogan.

Ara Guler

Guler was born in Istanbul in 1928. Throughout his life, he acted as a global representative for Turkey in the world of art.

He worked as a photojournalist for Time LIFE magazine in 1956, for Paris Match in 1958 and also for German magazine Stern.

In 1962, Guler was awarded the Master of Leica title in Germany. He was featured in a special issue of Swiss Camera magazine, one of the world's leading photography publications.

He also photographed the images for Lord Kinross' 1971 book on the Hagia Sophia and the cover photo for a book marking the 90th birthday of Spanish artist Pablo Picasso.

His images on art and art history were published by Time LIFE, Horizon, Newsweek and Skira Publishing House.

Guler's photos of the works of famed Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan were published in the 1992 book "Sinan: Architect of Suleyman the Magnificent."

In 2002, he was awarded the Legion of Honor Order of Arts and Letters by the French government, and in 2009 he received La Medaille de la Ville de Paris from the Paris Municipality.

He passed away on October 17, 2018 at age 90.