Maryam Najd

Maryam Najd

Rhapsody of the Unseen

03.09.2026 - 03.10.2026

Opening on Thursday, 3 September 2026 at 6 pm

Artist Statement:

Every day we are confronted with new wars, new conflicts and new reasons to divide people

from one another. We speak about nationality, race, religion and gender, yet less and less

about what it means to be human.

Although I work through painting, my practice is also a way of questioning the ideas and

discussions that have shaped our understanding of race, nationality, gender, identity and

belonging. These questions come not only from observation, but also from my own

experiences as a woman living in different societies. Rather than presenting answers, I try to

create images that leave space for thought, interpretation and dialogue.

For me, art is never only about aesthetics. It is a way of slowing down the way we look at the

world and at one another. Symbolism, allegory and ambiguity allow different meanings to

exist at the same time, making it possible to approach challenging subjects without reducing

them to simple statements. Art, for me, is not a therapeutic solution or an escape from these

realities but another way of engaging with them.

This exhibition brings together three bodies of work, each approaching these questions from

a different perspective. Together, they reflect on race, nationality, gender, identity,

suppression, censorship and the social and political structures that shape the world around

us. At the heart of all three projects lies the same question: Who we are as individuals and

how we are treated as human beings. how much of who we are belongs to us, and how much

has already been defined by the society? Are we as people free? And to what extent is our

freedom constrained by the society in which we live?

I do not expect these paintings to provide answers. Instead, they offer a space for

reflection—a space to look beyond familiar categories and reconsider the values and

boundaries that continue to shape our lives. Through painting, I have the possibility to

imagine and recreate what reality has failed to realise.

- Maryam Najd