Motoring art: Olgun Kordal

By Mick Walsh

| 1 Sep 2023

Classic & Sports Car – Motoring art: Olgun Kordal

Like many photographers, Olgun Kordal’s work stopped during the restrictions of lockdown, but the enforced confinement gave him a window to develop new ideas for a series of art prints.

A passion for bold colour combinations and a fascination for reflected images came together with his love of cars to produce a dramatic collection.

The designs are created entirely from scratch, starting with the building of a specific car in CGI before the construction of the backplate begins.

A striking backdrop reflects on the slippery bodywork of this Mercedes-Benz W165 Grand Prix racer

“It’s all very experimental,” explains Kordal.

“Sometimes I start with a sketch, but often the ideas pop up as I develop colours and backgrounds.

“In my photography work I’m often studying reflections and I love it when different views are twinned together.

“My older sister Sevil is a fashion designer and is always giving me ideas of bold colour combinations to try out.”

The ‘Sharknose’ BMW 3.0 CSL‘s cityscape-inspired backdrop is accentuated by the mirror-like reflection that Olgun Kordal uses to define his work

Growing up in Tamworth in a family that mixed both artistic and automotive interests, it’s not surprising that these influences took a while to find a direction.

“My father loves German cars,” Kordal continues.

“When I was born he picked up my mother and I from the hospital in his Porsche 928.

“He changed his cars all the time and I remember my primary school friends being impressed by his Mercedes 190E Cosworth.”

This Nefertiti image is a nod to Olgun’s other passion, for Egyptology

“My love of colour comes from my mother, a keen painter, while my sister continually introduces me to cool artistic things,” he continues.

From an early age Kordal was determined to be a car designer, despite advice from teachers that an artistic direction would be more natural.

Two months into the design course at Coventry, Kordal concluded he was indeed unsuited and switched to study visual communication at Birmingham City University.

“It was a fantastic course that encouraged lots of experimentation.”

The perfect car park? A group of Ferrari 275GTBs star in this print

After graduating in 2010, Kordal worked with photographer Mark Fagelson as an assistant before moving to magazines with Autocar and Classic & Sports Car.

“As a youngster I was fascinated by digital photography, starting with the gift in 2002 of an old Minolta point-and-shoot camera,” he says.

“Film never really interested me so I started playing with digital imagery.

“When my brother-in-law gave me Photoshop I became obsessive about its possibilities.”

The Lamborghini Miura’s shape informed the backdrop for this artwork

“Part of me will always be a failed designer,” he continues, “but my ‘Cars and Colour’ pictures are a fun way to combine all my interests and influences.”

Inspiration for Kordal comes from a wide range of sources, from Gustav Klimt or the Cubist art movement to the dramatic automotive photography of Agnieszka Doroszewicz.

As well as offering prints from his Cars and Colour series, Kordal is open to special commissions.

Projects have included a trio of artworks for an Aston Martin enthusiast featuring the DB5 and DBS, while a set of cut-up montages now hangs in Kia’s UK HQ.

Olgun Kordal says the pure and purposeful Porsche 550 Spyder “just looks right”. Pinks and greys were chosen to give the image a luxury, high-fashion feel

“Not all the cars are available as 3D models, so for specific subjects they have to be drawn,” says Kordal.

“One of my favourite cars is the Ferrari 456, which I’ve specially created for an artwork.

“There are so many fantastic cars that inspire me.

“The fabulous Bugatti Type 57 Atlantic is high on the list for a new work.”

For more, follow @carsandcolour on Instagram or see olgun.co.uk

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