PAINTINGS | Maysaloun Faraj

MAYSALOUN FARAJ Painting Selection

Colour, in all its spectrum, nuances, energy, meaning and significance, fascinates me and is crucial to my expression. In painting I bond with colour to sing the sublime and the sorrow of a ravaged homeland and a world misguided. With colour, I tap into a range of sensations, from despondency brought on by conflict and war, to defiance in the face of adversity, to sheer hope, humanity and joy!

Colour is the reason I paint!

My visual vocabulary is reduced to basic shapes; an ideal realm for harmony and order. Beyond the mechanics of measured arrangement, the colour compositions invite broader discussions in conscious dialogue with Kazimir Malevich’s Supermatisim, Piet Mondrian’s De Stijl and Sonia Delaunay’s Orphism to name but a few.

In the face of colossal destructive forces, my need to counter shadow with light is urgent and my colour choices are designed to exude nurturing light and renewed energy.

Given my architectural background, an equally important component is form. Somewhere inbetween colour and form I am able to visually express and share my viewpoint with the world and weave my own strand of humanity in that immense tapestry of humankind.

Ultimately, art is about who we are as human beings and how we perceive the world around us. My art is ever evolving, responding not only to worldly events, but also to what lies ‘beyond’, often pondering on ‘spirituality’ and the transience of human existence.

Maysaloun Faraj at the Mansouria Foundation Cité Internationale des Arts Paris 2016

Flying Without Wings VI Acrylic on gesso primed wood 170x170cm 2014

Tesselations Acrylic on canvas 160x140cm 2016

Flying Without Wings III Acrylic on gesso primed wood 121x151cm 2014

Flying Without Wings Acrylic on canvas 150x120x4cm 2017

And Sherezad Told Her Tales Acrylic on canvas 137x122cm 2016

Flying Without Wings II Acrylic on gesso primed wood 165x165cm 2014

Where I Found My Love Acrylic on canvas 120x100cm 2015

No Matter What Happens Now Acrylic on canvas 146x122x2cm 2015

Flying Without Wings IV Acrylic on gesso primed wood 153x153cm 2014

Huda Oil on canvas on board 50x40cm 2020

Khuloud Oil on canvas on board 50x40cm 2020

Kites: Fatima Acrylic on canvas 140x160cm 2020

‘Growing up between the USA (1950s-1960s), Baghdad (1970s) and London (since 1982) with intermittent bouts in Paris, deeply enriched my life experience and fundementaly contributed to shaping my output as a painter, ceramist and sculptor and as a person.”

Maysaloun Faraj’s visual vocabulary is colour and basic geometric form; an ideal realm for harmony and order. Amid an aesthetic informed by architectural discipline is a web of references bridging East and West, ancient and contemporary often pondering on ‘spirituality’ and the transience of human existence. Displaced by decades of war, her work also contemplates the intersection of place and identity and explores the dynamics between overarching societal concerns and the highly personal.

She is integral to the rise of interest in art from Iraq, with curatorial work including the first international showcase of modern and contemporary Iraqi art touring the UK and the USA (2000-3). Faraj is editor of the seminal publication Strokes of Genius: Contemporary Iraqi Art (Saqi Books 2001).

She co-founded Aya Gallery in London with her architect husband Ali Mousawi (2002-10) as a leading platform to promote and advance art from Iraq in particular and the Middle East in general. Faraj served as a judge for the first Arab Art and Culture Award in the UK (2008) and was art resident at the Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris (2015/17/18).

Her work is in noteworthy collections including the British Museum, the National Museum for Women in the Arts (USA), Barjeel Foundation (UAE), Rotterdam Werldmuseum (Netherlands), National Museum (Jordan), Aga Khan Foundation (UK & Canada) as well as private collections including Hussain Harba (Italy), Ibrahimi collection and Ali Husry (Jordan), Abdul Majid Briesh and the late Basil Rahim (UK) and important others. Maysaloun Faraj lives and works in London (since 1982).

Maysaloun Faraj at the Mansouria Foundation Cité Internationale des Arts Paris 2018