Artist to Watch

When Okan Arabacioglu came here from Turkey to attend MICA, he first saw the city via an Amtrak train. But now, 10 years later, Arabacioglu has fallen in love with Baltimore and made a name for himself as an illustrator. “When I was in Turkey, I learned a very traditional style of painting,” he says. “But my mentor at MICA, Warren Linn, showed me that it can be done in different ways.” Arabacioglu’s work is a reflection of both classical paintings and his newfound love of layering. “I love textures,” he says. “I find papers on the street and scan them, so now I have a huge texture library.” His digital and handmade collages became so popular that he worked for Nike, Tim Robbins and the WTF Festival, Sonic Youth, a Swedish venue, and several magazines and bands. And this month, he has his first one-man show at the Metro Gallery. Running through March 17, the show features at least eight pieces of his work. And just like his collages, Arabacioglu has a few layers of emotion about the show. “I’m nervous and happy and excited and tired,” he says. “All wrapped up into one.”