This long-awaited exhibition displays the work of the master Samir Sayegh, in an astounding accumulation of artistry created over the past decade, in what is his largest exhibition to date. Several series are shown, from the confinement series created during Covid to the more general, but no less extraordinary, explorations of the Arabic alphabet. From the geometric to the freestyle, Sayegh shares a mesmerizing journey through colour, form and meaning, transporting the eye and heart from one dimension towards many. Here, the freestyle works garner a similar sense of equilibrium to the geometric, in a freedom that transcends their apparent differences. Even the newcomer to the genre can explore these works - a visual mastery in colour and form that delights and transforms, creating periods of peace and deep intensity that can transcend the written word while equally provoking deeper investigation.
For the painters and poets, Laura J. Braverman, Amy Todman and Afaf Zurayk, of Faith in the Forming painting and poetry share an equal weight, though not a weight that can be measured on a scale. Rather the balance is one of knowing what is already there, what is coming from within. A word can be placed beside every painting, but this is hardly the point. Rather, for some, the painting or poem might arrive alongside its neighbour, might suggest itself perplexedly. Indeed, the relationship of the poem to the painting may be unclear, perhaps must remain a little unknown, because the painting and the word, though related, reach toward singular spaces, both of which continue to unfold alongside one another.
