MUSTAFA ANLAS was born in 1965 in Dieburg, Germany to Turkish parents who had emigrated to the country two years prior. He takes the traditional art of calligraphy through simplified implementation, leaving his own minimalistic, three-dimensional mark on writing. His work is multi-layered, architectural, labyrinthine and ordered. It is through this minimal approach that he believes the maximum effect can be conveyed.
He views his work as both painting and construction, due to the precise and measured nature of his creative process, inspired by his love for architecture that was invigorated in Buchara and Samarkand. His favouritism for primary colours is intrinsically linked to his minimalistic technique, as are the materials he employs. Black represents all colours; white is the purest form of colour, whereas green has ties to religion.

Anlas spent his childhood in Izmir, Turkey, where he lived with his grandparents and attended school. It was at school that he learnt to read the Quran, committing it to memory in fourteen months. Coupled with his love for drawing from a young age, this would form the basis of his practice as an artist. His calligraphic creations are all based on words, phrases and motifs from the Quran that are abstracted into formal, sprawling designs in the manner of Kufic calligraphy. He read philosophy and cultural studies at the University of Marburg and established his first studio in Hamburg in 1999, later setting up studio in Istanbul in 2010. He is presently based in Munich, Germany.

Anlas’ work has been exhibited around the world in cities including Istanbul, Muscat, London, Abu Dhabi, Hamburg, Bremen and Cologne. His work is held in important private collections in the UK, Germany and the Middle East.