Su Barikan
Visual Artist | UX/UI Designer
Founder & editor in chief of Abstract state
Project Meratas
Company: Meratas
Fintech | Fundamentals project (9 weeks)
Role: UX/UI Designer
Mentor: Molly Chao (Senior Product Designer at Meta)
Involves: enhancing the user experience for Meratas's student loan platform. Which is rebranding as Career Bond
Deliverable: Presenting a research backed design to the client.
Project Abstract State
Company: Abstract State
Art & Publishing | Brand Designing Project (6 months)
Role: Founder & Creative Director
Involves: Creating and managing a contemporary art magazine covering artists, art advisors, dealers, and gallery owners through brand identity, editorial design, digital platform development, and content curation.
Deliverable: Quarterly published magazine in print and digital formats with comprehensive website and e-commerce platform. This is an ongoing role I'm still actively creating and promoting the magazine.
Project Earthwin / Current Project
Company: Earthwin
Environmental/Sustainability | Advanced UX Prototyping (7 weeks)
Role: UX/UI Designer
Involves: Designing a high fidelity prototype to enhance user experience of Earthwin's platform
Mentor: Sam Hancock (Director of Celestial)
Deliverable: Presenting a high fidelity prototype and handover report to the client.
Project Natura Solve
Company: Natura Solve
Environmental Solutions | Advanced research project (7 weeks)
Role: UX Researcher
Involves: Conducting a research analysis into the target audience of environmental platform Natura Solve to support its growth into global markets
Deliverable: you will present a formal research report to the client
About
Su Barikan is a multidisciplinary designer and founder who bridges contemporary art with digital experiences. Based in New York City, she combines her extensive background in visual arts with strategic design thinking to create meaningful experiences across digital and print media.Awarded Extraordinary Ability in Visual Arts and Design by the United States, Su brings exceptional talent and a unique perspective to design that combines artistic vision with strategic functionality.As Founder, Creative Director, and Editor-in-Chief of Abstract State, a contemporary art magazine, Su leads brand strategy, editorial design, and digital platform development. Her work demonstrates expertise in user-centered design, having built the magazine's complete digital ecosystem from concept to publication, featuring 50+ industry professionals across 4+ published issues.Su's design foundation spans multiple disciplines, including fashion design studies at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague (merit-based scholarship recipient), fine arts at Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam, and philosophy from Istanbul University. This diverse educational background informs her approach to design, where she applies both creative problem-solving and analytical thinking.Currently expanding her expertise in UX/UI design, Su has completed projects with fintech platform Meratas (Career Bond) and is working on environmental sustainability platform Earthwin. Her work focuses on creating intuitive experiences that resonate with users while achieving business objectives.With over 8 years of experience in design and business operations, including her role as Business Intake Specialist at global law firm Baker McKenzie, Su brings a comprehensive understanding of user needs, process optimization, and stakeholder management to every project.
Philosophy
2016 - 2022 Istanbul University
Istanbul, TurkeyFashion Design & Textile (Merit-based scholarship recipient)
2011 - 2013 The Royal Academy of Arts
The Hague, NetherlandsFine Arts
2010 - 2011 Gerrit Rietveld Academy,
Amsterdam, NetherlandsInterior Design
2004 Leonardo da Vinci Project Istituto per l'Arte e il Restauro Palazzo Spinelli
Florence, ItalyInterior Design
2003 - 2004 Pera Fine Arts Institute I
Istanbul, Turkey
Contact
Book an online call with me
Ocean Series
The Playground
I believe playing is in our nature however in the process of growing up we replace toys with people which leads us to forget the harmless games we used to play. Suppressing our nature makes adulthood robotic instead of being poetics. But, whenever we go near the ocean, we leave ourselves in the arms of nature to our playground where we play in it, at any age. I'm creating this playground in my paintings to remind you to be poetic, to play, to be harmless.
MANHATTAN COLLECTION
Size 18x24" Oil/Mixed media Paintings
No:20 M
No:22 M
No:27 M
No:28 M
Size 8x8" Oil/Mixed media
Sold
No:2 M
No:3 M
No:4 M
No:7 M
No:8 M
Size 8x10" Oil/Mixed media
No:13 M
No:14 M
No:15 M
No:16 M
No:17 M
No:5 M
2025
14 FEB - 16 FEB Arte Genova (Genova Art Fair) , Genova GE, Italy28 MAR - 30 MAR, Vernice Art Fair, Forlì, Italy24 MAY - 7 JUN, Dialogues With Time, Mega Art & AroundArt, Corchiano, Italy
2024
12 JAN - 17 JAN, Dreams & Nightmares 2nd Edition, Boomer Gallery, London, UK9 FEB - 14 FEB, The Dark Side, First Edition, Boomer Gallery, London, UK8 MAR - 13 MAR, The Inner World, Boomer Gallery, London, UK2 APR - 17 APR, DREAMS & NIGHTMARES 3RD EDITION, Boomer Gallery, London, UK20 APR - 28 APR, A Window on International Contemporary Art - Crema 2024, TD Art Gallery, Crema, Italy25 MAY - 7 JUN, SINTESI XIII Harmonies and Divergences Istanbul, Turkey
INTERVIEW
https://www.artistcloseup.com/blog/interview-su-barikanPRESS17 APR, Collect Art, Book Edition30 APR, Collect Art, Special Edition1 MAY, Artistcloseup Magazine, Issue 612 MAY, Al- Tiba9 Magazine, Issue 1327 JUL, Artist Talk Magazine, Issue 26
2023
MAR
3 MAR - 13 MAR, Of Integration, Van Der Plas Gallery, New York, USA13 MAR - 13 APR, The Holy Art Gallery, London, UK26 MAR - 23 APR, Royal Blue Gallery, UKAPR15 APR - 22 APR, All the Colors of The Art, Mega Art Gallery, Corchiano, Italy29 APR - 29 MAY, Collect Art, Tbilisi, GeorgiaMAY- JUNE5 MAY - 10 MAY, Walking With Giants, Boomer Gallery, London, UK23 MAY - 23 JUN, Untitled, Monat Gallery & Artsper, Madrid, Spain24 MAY - 2 JUNE, International Contemporary Art, Mega Art & Mo. C. A. Gallery, Rome, Italy26 MAY - 4 JUNE, The Bridge, Van Der Plas Gallery, New York, USAJUNE
9 JUN - 14 JUN, Vogue 6th Edition, Boomer Gallery, London, UK9 JUN - 11 JUN, ArtsLibris Barcelona, Artist's Book Fair, Al- Tiba9, Barcelona, SpainJULY6 JUL - 12 JUL, 1st. Contemporary Art Exhibition, Mega Art & Studio D'Arte Larkina Loreta, Venice, Italy7 JUL - 12 JUL, The New Renaissance, Boomer Gallery, London, UK13 JUL - 19 JUL, 2nd. Contemporary Art Exhibition, Mega Art & Studio D'Arte Larkina Loreta, Venice, Italy
6 JUL - 12 JUL, 1st. Contemporary Art Exhibition, Mega Art & Studio D'Arte Larkina Loreta, Venice, Italy7 JUL - 12 JUL, The New Renaissance, Boomer Gallery, London, UK13 JUL - 19 JUL, 2nd. Contemporary Art Exhibition, Mega Art & Studio D'Arte Larkina Loreta, Venice, ItalyAUG11 AUG - 16 AUG, The New Artist | 5th Edition, Boomer Gallery, London, UK16 AUG - 31 AUG, Panorama, Monat Gallery, Spain25 AUG - 27 AUG, Monaco Art Fair, MonacoSEP8 SEP - 13 SEP, What is Art | 6th Edition, Boomer Gallery, London, UK15 SEP - 29 SEP, Contea Caravaggio Museum, Mega Art Gallery, Sicily, Italy23 SEP - 29 SEP, Sintesi 2023 - Contaminations in Contemporary Art, Crocetti
Museum, Rome, ItalyOCT13 OCT - 18 OCT, Dreams & Nightmares 1st Edition, Boomer Gallery, London, UKNOV8 NOV - 17 NOV, Spazio Arte Tolomeo, Milano, Italy10 NOV - 15 NOV, Why do you do it | 1st Edition, Boomer Gallery, London, UKDEC15 DEC - 20 DEC, The New Artist | 6th Edition, Boomer Gallery, London, UK