Iranian artist Afarin Sajedi crafts stirring portraits of women that explore their role in society and pull in iconography and notes from global cultures. In an upcoming show at Dorothy Circus Gallery, the first solo effort in the U.K. for the artist, she offers recent paintings. The show kicks off March 8 and runs through April 6.
“With a colourful palette, Afarin Sajedi intelligently addresses the relationship between women and the contemporary society, exploring their feelings and their identity,” the gallery says. “Her compositions focus on the inner strength of women, but also on the suffering for the burdens to bear. The women’s clown-like make-up style, expressive gaze, parted lips, and blushing cheeks reveal a strong inner conflict between fear and hope.”
See more of Sajedi’s work below.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BrvyoNJlvuN/
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bny90_0Fo2A/
South African artist Mary Sibande explores race, history, gender, and other social themes, her visceral mixed-media figures constructed from fiberglass, cotton, resin, and other materials. She uses a sculptural representation of herself, Sophie, to also look at her own family’s generational narrative. Her practice also includes photography, integrating the themes of her sculptures and installations.
Figures are subsumed in textured paint that drifts over the horizon like a thick fog in 