Tabari Artspace presents Moving Through The Ether, Iraqi artist Miramar Al Nayyar’s solo show featuring her newest collection of abstract figurative paintings that evoke a sense of organic forms. On display until the 30th of May, 2024, the exhibition invites one into a realm of recognition and constant metamorphosis.
In the artworks on view, Al Nayyar eschews representation to capture the essence of the desert’s natural formations lying within the natural movement. The latter is emphasised in the series title, Recordings, which suggest the artist’s capturing kinetic movement on canvas.
Engaging with Al Nayyar’s compositions, spectators embark on a journey of perception. Her paintings pulsate with kinetic energy, presenting organic yet unfamiliar formations. For the artist, connecting with these natural elements is almost a spiritual practice, engaging in a deep dialogue with the subconscious through the medium of nature.
Al Nayyar uses layers of translucent pigments to convey the weight and rhythm of human movement, adding depth to her two-dimensional canvases. In her compositions, organic and abstract forms merge, resonating with the rhythmic harmony that underpins movement found in nature.
About the artist
Miramar Al Nayyar (b. 1997) is an Iraqi self-taught artist, muralist, and activist who lives and works between Amman (Jordan) and Dubai. Born to a family of painters, she has been practising art since childhood, opting for the massive facades of buildings as her canvases.
In the works she produces in her studio, the artist delves into the relationship between the natural world, kinematic phenomena, temporality, and spatiality. Her recent practice focuses on an introspective exploration of the nude topographies of desert rock formations and their connection to the human body. Through her innovative methodology, Al Nayyar encapsulates and preserves the fleeting motion observed in desert landscapes. In the city, the artist creates gigantic portraits with expressive gestures often executed in a grayscale palette. The street walls allow her to tell stories of empowerment on a grand scale.
Al Nayyar’s unique approach incorporates a full range of painting techniques, such as, for example, oil glazing, the thin layering of wet-on-wet paint, and airbrushing. Through her art, she strives to encapsulate and share transformative experiences, guiding viewers beyond the limits of conventional reality.
Al Nayyar has displayed her art pieces in a number of shows and art events, such as Art Dubai (2024); Postmordial Soup (ICD Brookfield Place, Dubai, 2023); Dastaangoi Gallery (Islamabad, Pakistan, 2022); Qouz Arts Fest (Alserkal Avenue, Dubai, 2022); The First International Watercolour Jordan Forum (The Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts, Amman, 2018); Self Reflections (a solo exhibition at Fann wa Chai Cafe and Gallery, Amman, 2017); and others.
Al Nayyar participated in the Imaginary Drawings Workshop by Yvonne Buchheim in Amman in 2019. In 2020, she was an Artist-In-residence at Platform27 (Amman) and 7hills skateparkspace (Amman). In 2022, the artist undertook a residence at Wilderness as Archive (Tbilisi, Georgia).
In 2020, Al Nayyar was featured on the InStyle’s Badass 50 list honouring women change-makers from all over the world. In 2021, she received the Prince Claus Seed Award (The Netherlands) and took part in the Moving Mountains campaign by The North Face that produced apparel using her artworks to celebrate female empowerment and solidarity.
To get more information about Moving Through The Ether, please visit the official web page of the exhibition.
You might also be interested in visiting Living in a Burning House by Amir Khojasteh.
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