Defne Cemal (b. 1997, Istanbul) is a visual artist based in Istanbul, whose work is engaged with materiality and perception. The artist explores the relationship between paint, light, and surface by applying multiple layers of pigment. Her paintings achieve a subtle play between transparent and dense, line and plane, while interacting with the inherent dimensionality of the canvas. Cemal holds a BFA from New York University, and in addition to her practice, she continues to run Kiralık Depo, a 12m² exhibition space in Istanbul, since 2021.