Marcelle

The new exhibition ‘In, At and Around’ shall be Soraya Sikander’s fourth solo show, and her first exhibition in Punjab. As I see it shall mainly comprise of landscapes, organic floral patterns and some landscape-into-seascape interpretative paintings inspired by the scenery of Karachi. For this new series, it is mentioned that Soraya Sikander painted in Karachi working on the beach, since March this year, mainly in oils on canvas. An artist statement and images from the new series have yet to be released. Watch this space for more Soraya Sikander related news, events and exhibitions announcements for 2014!

A Look At Soraya Sikander's Major Exhibitions and Public Showings Over the Years

• Recession (2009)
• National Art Gallery of Bangladesh Dhaka museum (2009)

An Ode to Nature (2010)

The Slade School of Fine Art University College London (2012)

In, at and around (2013), Baldia Arts Council (2013)

*ESSAYS on Soraya Sikander’s paintings by international scholars, critics, authors and historians including: Professor Gerda Roper, Dr. Akbar Naqvi, Juliet Highet, Marjorie Husain, Mohsin Jaffri, M.S. Kureshi, Manizhe Ali and more. OTHER WRITINGS AND RECENT COVERAGE: ADA, ISLAMIC ARTS JOURNAL, KHALEEJ TIMES, GULF NEWS, THE GULF TODAY, ISLAMIC ARTS MAGAZINE (EUROPE EDITION) THE INTERNATIONAL VISUAL ARTS MAGAZINE, DAWN, THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, TIMES OF INDIA, NEWSLINE, WOMENS OWN, GLAM, ETC

My work today is the result of several years of training, learning and experiencing, not only painting, but, the artistic process and its interaction with life. This process involves deep, spiritual perception and compassionate understanding of life and their application through the practice of art. I endeavor for the artistic process to encompass my spiritual, emotional, and intellectual being, leading to its continuous development and consequent expression for communication—I believe my art is meaningful only if it connects with people in terms of significant emotive communication.

Painting for me is a medium, a tool through which I express my deepest perceptions, feelings, and thoughts about what I see around me: the existing time, environment and the human state in relation to that. Hence, the major inspiration in my work is the human form, for, I find that nothing expresses or depicts the human state in relation to its environment more profoundly than the human form itself: in every face and figure I perceive an experiential saga wherein the sufferings, pleasures, joys, relationships and tragedies of human life are narrated. In other words, the human form is not just a physical form, a body, but an embodiment of the human conflicts, pressures, emotions, feelings, and thoughts; it’s a subtle yet very powerful statement on the cultural, social, and political times and human existence in relation to these.

Hence, as an artist what interests me is the silent communication that takes place between me and my subject. Therein, a plethora of feelings is communicated at an unsaid level, which, I strive to internalize and transfer onto my canvas, not as bold verbal statements but subtle emotive sensations for the viewer. Not restricting myself to a particular style, I tend to rely on intuition and my state of mind at the time I am painting. For me, it is important not to observe the human form and create an image with maximum likeness, but to capture and transfer onto my canvas the mood, the expression, the inner meaning of the situation.

Art, for me, like nature itself, is a creative and evolving process; I only strive to be a useful part of this process by continuing to learn it for what it is, discover it as it is and grow with it.