L’Eclectique has a crush for the artistic touch of the painter Shua’a Ali Al Muftah from Qatar. Focus on an artist who has lived in many countries and has many influences in her. She now speaks her truth with her abstract artworks that move us.
“Art signifies for her the freedom of translation and expression.”
Shua’a is a self-taught artist. She has a computer science degree from the UK in 1997. Art has been a passion since her childhood specifically abstract art. She lived abroad until the age of 22, after that moved back to her home country Qatar. Growing up in Somalia, Iraq, Austria, Tunisia and London has influenced her art style immensely. The influence from the diverse culture that she was exposed to in her early life has helped her find charm in abstraction from the rich cultures and surroundings. Her style has gradually developed over the years and has become what it is today. Art signifies for her the freedom of translation and expression. Her works focus on bold acrylic textures and spontaneous strokes. It reflects on imperfect and asymmetrical forms. It’s largely influenced by gestural art styles, also integrating inaccurate representations of inner feelings, thoughts and perceptions. Most works center around the absence of completeness and abstracted schemes. The final piece is the outcome that emerges from letting go.
“Painting for her is a form of tranquility and a healing process”
The experience of rich bold gestural strokes and colorful smudges create a stimulating and unplanned expressionist final composition. She enjoys the journey of a painting, by winning the struggle to make it just right and satisfying in every way possible by adding one more stroke or splash. Mostly abstract expressionist painters such as Joan Mitchell and Franz Kline have influenced her style greatly. Modern day artists such as Derick Smith and Yago Hortal are a great inspiration as well. The artwork has diverse sources of inspiration related to her surroundings, culture and community, by reinventing life experiences and forms into artworks. Painting for her is a form of tranquility and a healing process through the experimentation of different media and textures by dissolving all negative energy onto the final piece.