Soraya Sikander

Soraya Sikander is a Pakistani painter, known for portraits, woodblock-inspired ink drawings and oil paintings of landscapes and floral still-life.

Biography

Sikander spent her childhood travelling and residing in various countries, including parts of Europe. In 2008, she graduated from Beaconhouse National University, Lahore, and launched her career with a group show of Indian and Pakistani art, held in Dubai.

Artist

In early 2009, the artist began a project that depicted the state-of-the-world in a recession

This resulted in a huge panel, oil on board, nearly 5 by 8 feet, in size that portrayed Adam Smith, a symbol of capitalism, leading on to a vague, shadowy silhouette and ultimately resulting in a skull. The panel titled ‘The story of recession’ was described by art critics as “timely”, “current”, “expresses the situation” and “gives the whole picture” (Recession on canvas, Business Recorder 22 August 09) and further: “Remarkable… In a series of quick fire portraits she demonstrates the gradual visual regression of the father of capitalism from solid Teutonic traditionalism to the ultimate inevitable finale represented by the empty skull. The gradual falling off is not quite Hegelian, as no conflict is discernible in the dialectic, but a gradual corrosion of an icon” (Interpreting the recession, Dawn Gallery, 23 August 09).

By October 2009, for an exhibition at National Art Gallery of Bangladesh, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, Sikander used a series of elongated figurines painted in cubist style, to draw attention to deconstruction.

For her new series, the artist derived inspiration from nature, particularly her balcony garden.

In February 2010, a solo exhibition followed, titled 'A floral symphony'. The exhibition that debuted at Unicorn Gallery was a statement against popular art, fascism as well as religious extremism. The entire bodies of work produced for this exhibition consisted of oil on canvas paintings, and ink on paper drawings, inspired by the Japanese art of woodblock print, of which the artist had made a personal study, particularly the printsof Japanese Manga Masters.

“She deals with current issues. Her selection of theme is timely as before when she did a series of paintings titled ‘recession”. This new approach of using the bright colours of nature as a messenger of non-violence was described as a “symbol of peace, promoting tolerance and non-violence in such volatile times.”

Reviews

  • 2009, 15 June – Art in Pakistan, Regional Times.
  • 2009, 15 June – Musawari ko urooj, Awam.
  • 2009, 19 July – Fun-e-Musawari, Muqadamma.
  • 2009, 22 August – Recession on canvas, Business Recorder.
  • 2009, 23 August – Interpreting the recession, Dawn Gallery.
  • 2009, 23 October – Exhibition: Emotions coloured, emotions captured, Star Weekend magazine.
  • 2009, 23 October – A meeting of minds, Arts & Entertainment, The Daily Star.
  • 2010, 10 January – Sapphic tales, Dawn Gallery.
  • 2010, 24 February – Soraya’s painting exhibition, The Leader.
  • 2010, 20 February – Celebrating nature not [...], Daily Times.
  • 2010, 14 March – Seeking solace in colours of spring, Business Recorder.
  • 2010, 26 March – Make flowers not war, Emerging artist, Nigaah Arts and Culture.
  • 2010, 2 April – Flower Power, The Pulse, Business Recorder.
  • 2010, 23 May - Rustic art, a piece of gold, Dawn Gallery.
  • 2010, 24 May - The Golden Collection pays homage to the country's soil, Daily Times.
  • 2010, 29 May - The Golden Collection of vivic scenic beauty, Business Recorder.

Exhibitions

  • 2008, 19 to 29 December – Group show, Kohinoor selection, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
  • 2009, 30 August to 11 September – Group show, Recession, Karachi, Pakistan.
  • 2009, 16 to 22 October – Group show, International Artists, National Art Gallery of Bangladesh, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
  • 2010, 19 to 26 February – Solo show, A floral symphony, Unicorn Gallery, Karachi, Pakistan.
  • 2010, 18 to 28 May - Group show, The Golden Collection, a landscapes and seascapes retrospective, Karachi, Pakistan.
  • 2010, 17 to 18 June - Solo show, An Ode to Nature, Grand Trunk Road Gallery, Singapore.
  • 2010, 04 to 9 October - Group show, ''Art without boundaries", NM Art Gallery, Total Arts Gallery, Dubai.