Soraya Sikander

Soraya Sikander
Born Soraya Sikander
Nationality Pakistani
Occupation Visual artist
Years active 2008-present
Works Calligraphic landscape

Soraya Sikander is a Pakistani painter, known for woodblocks, ink drawings, silkscreen prints and oil on canvas landscape paintings of Karachi.

Early life

Born to an Indian Father and Pakistani Mother, Sikander spent her childhood travelling and residing in various countries, including parts of Europe. In 2008, she graduated from Beaconhouse National University, Lahore, and launched her career in a group show of Indian and Pakistani art, held in Dubai.

Artist

In early 2009, the artist began a project that depicted the state-of-the-world in a recession

This resulted in a huge panel, oil on board, nearly 5 by 8 feet, in size that portrayed Adam Smith, a symbol of capitalism, leading on to a vague, shadowy silhouette and ultimately resulting in a skull. The panel titled ‘The story of recession’ was described by art critics as "timely", "current", "expresses the situation" and "gives the whole picture" (Recession on canvas, Business Recorder 22 August 09) and further: "Remarkable… In a series of quick fire portraits she demonstrates the gradual visual regression of the father of capitalism from solid Teutonic traditionalism to the ultimate inevitable finale represented by the empty skull. The gradual falling off is not quite Hegelian, as no conflict is discernible in the dialectic, but a gradual corrosion of an icon" (Interpreting the recession, Dawn Gallery, 23 August 09).

By October 2009, for an exhibition at 'National Art Gallery of Bangladesh, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, Sikander used a series of elongated figurines painted in cubist style, to draw attention to deconstruction.

In February 2010, a solo exhibition followed, titled 'A floral symphony'. The exhibition that debuted at Unicorn Gallery used flowers as a metaphor. The entire bodies of work produced for this exhibition consisted of oil on canvas paintings, and ink on paper drawings, inspired by the Japanese art of woodblock print, of which the artist had made a personal study, particularly the printsof Japanese Manga Masters. The artist's work is described as socio-political art."She deals with current issues. Her selection of theme is timely as before when she did a series of paintings titled ‘recession".[1] This new approach of using the bright colours of nature as a messenger of non-violence was described as a "symbol of peace, promoting tolerance and non-violence in such volatile times.".[2]

Post Recession and Floral Symphony the artist launched a series titled 'Exotica', a journey in identity. The theme was inspired by Sikander's multi-cultural, multi-religious background. Exotica series was heavily influenced by Hindu mythology, and an interpretation of modern-day society.

Reviews

2011 – ‘Vitality and versatility’, The Nation London 2011 – ‘Question of peace, answer of art’, The Gulf Today 2011 – ‘At one with Nature’, Art & Culture, Khaleej Times 2010 – ‘The Golden Collection of vivid scenic beauty’, Business Recorder 2010 – ‘The Golden Collection pays homage to the country’s soil’, Daily Times 2010 – ‘Rustic art, a piece of gold’, Dawn Gallery 2010 – ‘Flower power’, The Pulse, Business Recorder 2010 – ‘Make flowers, not war’, Nigaah arts and culture from South Asia 2010 – ‘Seeking solace in colours of spring’, Business Recorder 2010 – ‘Celebrating nature, not terrorism’, Daily Times 2010 – ‘Soraya’s painting exhibition’, The Leader 2010 – ‘Sapphic Tales’, Dawn Gallery 2009 – ‘A meeting of minds’, Arts and Entertainment, The Daily Star 2009 – ‘Emotions coloured, emotions captured’, Star Weekend magazine 2009 – ‘Interpreting the recession’, Dawn Gallery 2009 – ‘Recession on canvas’, Business Recorder 2009 – ‘Fun-e-Musawari’, Muqadamma 2009 – ‘Musawari ko urooj’, Awam 2009 – ‘Art in Pakistan’, Regional Times 2009 – ‘A place in the sun’, Gulf News

Exhibitions

2010 – Solo show: An Ode to nature, Grand Trunk Road Art Gallery, Singapore 2010 – Solo show: A Floral symphony, Unicorn Gallery, Karachi Group exhibitions 2011 – Group show: Art from Pakistan, High Commission, London 2010 – Group show: Art without boundaries, NM Art Gallery, Dubai 2010 – Group show: The Golden collection, Unicorn Gallery, Karachi 2009 – Group show: International artists: a meeting of international minds, National Art Gallery of Bangladesh, Dhaka museum, Dhaka 2009 – Group show: Recession, Unicorn Gallery, Karachi Private viewings 2011 – Group show: NM Art Gallery, Dubai 2008 – Group show: Kohinoor selection, Unicorn Space, Dubai

References

  1. ↑ Seeking solace in colours of spring, Art facts, Business Recorder, 13 March 2010
  2. ↑ Make flowers, not war, emerging artist, Nigaah Arts and culture from South Asia, 26 March 2010
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