Madiha Siraj creates intensely colorful installations that overstimulate the senses. Through the accumulation of cheap, commonplace materials, her works become veritable visual spectacles. “Oyster EB-124,” for instance, invited viewers to enter a room lined floor-to-ceiling with rainbow paint swatches that form pixelated-looking patterns. The patterns become disrupted at certain points in the room where the paint swatches’ shapes lose their regularity.
In another previous work, “5x5x5,” Siraj laid out dozens of miniature, five-by-five-inch clay sculptures, which viewers were allowed to purchase for $5 and take home, subsequently altering the work with each transaction. She seems to be interested in cultivating environments that give viewers hands-on experiences.
“Currently I am working on a series of works that revolve around a concept of patterns that are preordained and can exist and be built upon beyond the artist’s lifetime,” she wrote in an email to Hi-Fructose. “Yet, the work is crafted very meticulously which is representative of the hand of the artist. Therefore the work is both an outcome of personal aesthetics and a preordained structure.”
“Oyster EB-124,” 2011:
“Oyster EB-12,” 2011:
“5x5x5”:
It’s no surprise that Saudi Arabia-born, Arizona-based artist/teacher 
Boston based artist 
Diana Al-Hadid’s ghostly sculptures, which take influence from historical architecture, mythology, and beyond, are currently inhabiting both a gallery at Frist Art Museum and outdoor gardens at Cheekwood in concurrent exhibitions in Nashville. “Subliminations” collects varying types of work from the artist, with both figurative sculpture and wall reliefs. Above and below interior photos are by John Schweikert.
At Tacit Contemporary Art in Melbourne, Australia, artist