Çakmakli started his artistic profession during his undergrauate years as an architecture student in Istanbul, Turkey. Along with architectural drawings, graphic cartoons became a big part of his life. His first solo exhibition in 1974 consisted of his cartoon drawings whcih were exhibited at the Istanbul Technical University. His drawings focused on political, social, health and environmentally oriented subjects and this interest continued during his MA and PhD programs at Carnegie Mellon, M.I.T and U.C. Berkeley. Many of his works have been published in various newspapers, magazines, books and he has received many awards for them. “The World Monitor”, “The Oakland Tribune”, “Daily Californian” , “The Boston Globe” and "Cumhuriyet" amongst others, were some of the magazines and newspapers that published his work. His love and talent for drawing later took the form of painting and in 1983 he established his first atelier in Berkeley, CA and in 1990 opened his first artist- run center in Berkeley called Contrary Contemporary. While Çakmakli’s paintings are figuratively abstract utilizing acrylic on canvas, amongst other materials, in recent years we have seen him use different techniques and styles. In 1993 Çakmakli moved from Berkeley back to Istanbul and started to teach in the architecture department at The Istanbul Technical University. In the past, Çakmakli’s paintings have been exhibited in cities such as Hamburg, Pittsburgh, Ankara, Toronto, Istanbul, Calgary, Paris, Vasteras, Berkeley, San Francisco and Mexico City.

Oruç Çakmakli currently teaches art, design and architecture at the Istanbul Technical University in Istanbul, Turkey. He also conducts Spontaneous Creativity workshops in Turkey and abroad. To contact Oruç Çakmakli you can write to oruc@oruccakmakli.com