I'm Elcin Marasli Ball, born in Istanbul in 1989. I create moments of real-time uncertainty. My paintings resist easy reading - you might wonder: is this anxious or calm, smiling or grimacing? That instability is not a flaw but an invitation to look again.
I'm interested in the tension between appearance and emotion, grandiosity and deception. Through figurative, staged scenes, I create images in which meaning is never fully resolved. Sometimes playful, sometimes unsettling, the paintings invite viewers to question their first impressions and remain in uncertainty rather than rushing to conclusions.
I work under the name F2r (“fikir,” the Turkish word for “idea”). My studio is based in Leiden, the Netherlands.
I'm interested in the tension between appearance and emotion, grandiosity and deception. Through figurative, staged scenes, I create images in which meaning is never fully resolved. Sometimes playful, sometimes unsettling, the paintings invite viewers to question their first impressions and remain in uncertainty rather than rushing to conclusions.
I work under the name F2r (“fikir,” the Turkish word for “idea”). My studio is based in Leiden, the Netherlands.
Latest Events
2026 - 2027 – Toren van Babel, Group Exhibition, Stedelijk Museum Breda and Bijbels Museum, Breda, NL
2026 – Makersmomenten 2026, Group Exhibition - Kunstgarage Franx, Zoetermeer, NL
2026 – Kunstroute Leiden, Open Studios, Museum De Lakenhal, Leiden, NL
2026 – Feel The Love, Group Exhibition, Cat Eye Creative, Decatur, GA, USA
Education
2017 – Ph.D., Philosophy – Graduate School for Social Research, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
2013 – M.A., Visual and Critical Studies – School of the Art Institute of Chicago, IL, USA
2011 – B.F.A., Studio Arts – School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA, USA
2026 - 2027 – Toren van Babel, Group Exhibition, Stedelijk Museum Breda and Bijbels Museum, Breda, NL
2026 – Makersmomenten 2026, Group Exhibition - Kunstgarage Franx, Zoetermeer, NL
2026 – Kunstroute Leiden, Open Studios, Museum De Lakenhal, Leiden, NL
2026 – Feel The Love, Group Exhibition, Cat Eye Creative, Decatur, GA, USA
Education
2017 – Ph.D., Philosophy – Graduate School for Social Research, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
2013 – M.A., Visual and Critical Studies – School of the Art Institute of Chicago, IL, USA
2011 – B.F.A., Studio Arts – School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA, USA
Visit the Archive for a selection of earlier works from 2007–2017.
An extended list of exhibitions and publications is available for download below.
An extended list of exhibitions and publications is available for download below.
| elcinmarasliball_artist_cv.pdf |