“Lasting Impressions: Baya Mahieddine” is on view at Sharjah Art Museum until 31 July 2021. It is an exhibition of more than 70 of an Algerian artist’s, Baya Mahieddine, works, including rare ones from her first-ever show in 1947.
“What is special about this exhibition is that it spans Baya’s practice from the 1940s to the 1990s, and therefore includes examples from various phases of her career, and also of the various subject matters she tackled,” clarifies co-curator Suheyla Takesh.
Baya’s painterly style is expressive, depicting female characters that sing and dance in ornamented dresses, accompanied by musical instruments, flowers, fish and birds in nature. Her art translates life and joy, expressed by a bold sense of colour and contour.
“What surprised me most about her practice was her confidence in what she was doing and how she did it. Despite all the years and what she went through, she did not let go of her deep-rooted sense of identity and self,” comments co-curator Alya Al Mulla.
Baya Mahieddine was an Algerian artist. Critics have classified her paintings as being surrealist, primitive, naïve, and modern. Her works are mainly paintings, although she did pottery as well, all completely self-taught. At the age of sixteen, Baya had her first exhibition in Paris, where she gained notice from renowned artists such as Picasso and André Breton, who described her as a “queen”. Her artworks were presented in different exhibitions in France and Algeria and have appeared on Algerian postage stamps.
To learn more, please visit the official webpage of Sharja Art Foundation.
