The Boundless Artistry of Sila Şehrazat Yücel

Sila Şehrazat Yücel is a an artist of boundless talents based in Istanbul. Her background in landscape and interior architecture shapes her creative vision. With experience as an art director in cinema and theater, she has a deep passion for decor and costume design.

Her interest in Ottoman miniature art adds a unique touch to her work, which mainly features surreal imagery. This blend of influences helps her create striking pieces that encourage viewers to explore the connection between reality and imagination.

Yücel is known for her colorful and vibrant mixed media creations that celebrate the beauty of horses. With a unique approach, she combines various materials and techniques to produce aesthetic images that capture the essence of these majestic animals. Yucel enhances her artwork by incorporating geometric patterns and bold colors, infusing each piece with her distinctive artistic flair. Her work not only showcases her love for horses but also invites viewers to experience the dynamic interplay of form and color, creating a lively visual narrative that resonates with joy and energy.

Yücel’s art and designs are available on her ArtStar store: https://www.artstar.com/collections/sila-sehrazat-yucel

Polo Lifestyles’ editor-in-chief Josh Jakobitz found Yücel’s work on Pinterest, which connected him to her Instagram. He DM’d her about a feature to which she enthusiastically agreed and he was lucky enough to get to ask Yücel some questions.

Polo Lifestyles: When did you start expressing yourself artistically (at what age and how)?

SSY: Since childhood, I have always been immersed in creative activities: music, photography, art, crafts, and writing. Transforming existing things and adding my own touch to create something entirely new has always excited me. As I grew older, I kept creativity at the center of my life. I earned a bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture and a master’s degree in Interior Architecture; I worked as an art director in cinema, and I also practiced computer-aided architectural visualization.

Alongside these, I engaged in crafts such as herbarium-making and jewelry-making, painted in the style of Ottoman miniature art, and pursued photography. Over time, I began blending the knowledge and experiences from these diverse creative disciplines with my artistic vision, and AI software became a medium for me, a way to create original images that synthesize everything I have learned.

PL: What is your connection with horses?

SSY: I’ve always felt that horses hold something beyond their physical presence; a quiet strength, a kind of wisdom that seems to exist outside of time. When I look at them, I don’t just see animals; I sense a depth, a reminder of something essential that we often lose in modern life. In my work, I approach them less as subjects to capture and more as living symbols: representations of freedom, mystery, and our enduring connection with nature. Through their imagined forms, I try to explore that balance between what is real and what is dreamt, between the world we inhabit and the one we long for.

PL: What is your inspiration for your work?

SSY: Inspiration can come from anything at any moment. It may be folkloric motifs from different cultures, the works of classical and contemporary artists, films, songs, or fashion. Sometimes it appears in the smallest details of daily life, like a few objects casually placed in a basket, a fleeting color, or a texture that catches my eye. Everything has the potential to spark a new direction in my work.

PL: What is your process?

SSY: My process begins with an image that forms in my mind, which I translate into detailed words for the AI to interpret, a practice known as prompt engineering. The software transforms these descriptions into visuals, and I refine them through countless iterations until they capture the essence of my vision. From there, I curate, edit, and often rework the images digitally, sometimes pixel by pixel in Photoshop. The final works are printed on fine art paper as limited editions, giving them both a physical presence and a sense of permanence.

PL: What was your breakthrough moment when you thought, Ok people really like what I’m doing?

SSL: When I began sharing my works on Instagram, they quickly resonated with a wide international audience, and I sensed that the imagery I was shaping touched something shared and collective. Later, as my prints were collected internationally, and as I began receiving invitations to exhibitions along with collaboration offers from people across very different fields and geographies, this realization deepened into a true breakthrough for me.

PL: Do you show your work in galleries and if so where?

SSY: Yes, I have exhibited internationally in Turkey, Germany, Italy, Brazil, Argentina, and the United States, both in solo and group shows. Most recently, I had a solo exhibition at Park House Dallas, which ran throughout the summer and will conclude on September 15.

PL: How does geography tie into your work being from Turkey?

SSY: Living in Istanbul means living between continents, cultures, and histories. This in-between space, where East and West meet, deeply influences my visual language. The city’s layered textures, myths, and contrasts often appear in my work, even when abstracted.

PL: Where can we see more of your work?

SSY: You can find my latest works on Instagram (@silasehrazatyucel). Limited-edition fine art prints from my horse series are also available through ArtStar and can be accessed directly from my page: artstar.com/collections/sila-sehrazat-yucel

PL: Whom do you admire artistically?

SSY: My admiration spans centuries and mediums. I admire Hilma af Klint for her mystical abstraction, Ottoman miniature artists for their layered storytelling, Yayoi Kusama for her commitment to creating entire universes, and Schiaparelli for transforming fashion into a dreamlike spectacle.