Until 12 November 2024, Ayyam Gallery is hosting Istoria: A Retrospective Reimagining Middle Eastern Feminism with Leila Nseir. This exhibition features the works of internationally acclaimed Syrian artist Leila Nseir, celebrating her profound impact on both art and feminism. The show is supported by The Samawi Collection, the Barjeel Foundation, and additional contributors, including Syrian artist and curator Ahmad Kasha.
This retrospective creates a dialogue between past and present, tradition and transformation, examining the power of heritage and the ongoing quest for self-expression. Nseir’s mastery of colour, form, and narrative offers visitors to contemplate cultural identity and the human experience.
Deeply rooted in Middle Eastern culture, Nseir’s art engages with pressing social issues such as conflict, inequality, and gender oppression. Despite facing patriarchal barriers and personal health challenges, she remained a trailblazer in the art world. Early in her career, Nseir shifted from sculpture to painting and drawing because of societal pressures deeming sculpture “too masculine.” Following oil paint poisoning, the artist began exploring a full range of mediums, including acrylics, graphite, pastels, and monotype woodcut prints.
Nseir’s humanist-driven work merges intimacy with complexity, addressing both personal and collective struggles. Through Istoria (a narrative approach using figure composition), she explores themes of diaspora, migration, and the relationship between tradition and modernity. Female subjects of her paintings frequently represent Syria, serving as symbols of resilience, strength, and multifaceted identity.
By leaving her works untitled and undated, Nseir highlights their universal, timeless themes. Inspired by ancient Mesopotamian and Egyptian art, her work transcends traditional genre boundaries, challenging gender norms and the position of women in Arab society.
About the artist
Leila Nseir (b. 1941, Lattakia, Syria) was among the first female artists in Syria to achieve institutional recognition during the national art movement. She earned a government scholarship to study in Egypt and went to Cairo in 1961. In 1963, the artist graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts, where she studied oil painting. Later, she taught at the University of Damascus.
Nseir started her career during the peak of Syrian modernism. Her friendship with Louay Kayyali, a fellow Syrian artist, is reflected in shared themes such as life, death, human struggle, and the working-class experience. Nseir’s later artworks reflect the influence of her time in Egypt; in these pieces, she used Egyptian mythology to allegorise contemporary issues. Known for challenging cultural norms, Nseir frequently depicted women in her paintings in unorthodox portrayals: in the later stages of pregnancy or as workers.
An active participant in Syria’s evolving art scene, Nseir was a member of the Fine Arts Syndicate in Damascus in the 1970s. She contributed to conferences and pan-Arab art exhibitions and took part in sketching tours at refugee camps. In 1968 and 1999, Nseir, who displayed her creations in a plethora of exhibitions across the globe, was honoured by the Syrian Ministry of Culture in 1968 and 1999 for her contributions. Her works are part of public collections, including the National Museum of Damascus and the Barjeel Art Foundation (Sharjah), and multiple private collections across the Middle East, Asia, Europe, and North America.
To learn more about Istoria: A Retrospective Reimagining Middle Eastern Feminism with Leila Nseir, please go to the official web page of the show.
In addition, you might be interested in exploring “…I Kept The Night Vigil…”: Exploring Women’s Voices Across and Beyond the Middle East, an exhibition currently on display at Leila Heller Gallery. We also recommend that you view Fahrelnissa and the Institutes: Towards a Sky, one of the online exhibitions at the Cultural Foundation.
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