Informations
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
Image: Maryam Najd, Day VII: Friday, The White Dome of Persia, from the series Seven Shades of Blood, 2024. Acrylic on canvas, 130 x 120 cm. Courtesy of the artist.