A new artist studio opens in Lowertown

By Daniel Marlow

Hulya Guler Art Studio is now open at 206 Saint Patrick Street. The studio and gallery sit inside a charming heritage building, just steps from the National Gallery of Canada and the ByWard Market.

Hulya’s path to becoming a professional artist has been far from conventional. Born in Turkey, she immigrated to Ottawa at the age of twelve. She attended Lisgar Collegiate, where she nurtured a love for both art and science. Her grade eleven art teacher saw her potential and encouraged her to explore figure drawing, watercolour, oil painting, and sculpture. 

Despite her passion for art, Hulya chose to study physics. She completed her undergraduate degree at Princeton University and earned her PhD at the University of Hawaii, conducting research in elementary particle physics at a laboratory in Japan. She later did postdoctoral work at the CERN Laboratory in Geneva, before moving into the private sector in the United States. Over time, she realized the corporate world was not what she wanted. 

Returning to art, in her words, felt like a cool glass of water on a hot day. She began an intense period of self-training, painting traditional portraits, landscapes, and still lifes. Eventually, she felt drawn to create from imagination, as she had in her youth. She challenged herself to reproduce light and colour effects entirely from memory, without the use of reference photos. 

This artistic reawakening brought her back to Ottawa in 2023. Drawn to the vibrancy of Lowertown and the Market, Hulya feels this neighbourhood is the perfect place to establish her studio and gallery. She works mainly in oil, with additional pieces in watercolour and pen and ink. Her work depicts real-world subjects but isn’t tied to exact detail. It is rooted in lived experience, shaped by memory and imagination. 

Her latest work is on display at her gallery in Lowertown, which is currently open to visitors. Guests are welcome to enjoy the quiet space and, if they wish, chat with Hulya in English or French. For current studio hours, please visit hguler.ca, as the schedule may vary.