Maryam Najd

Maryam Najd (b. 1965, Tehran) lives and works in Antwerp. Her paintings bridge the gap between pure abstraction and thematic figuration, with reoccurring themes including the interplay between the corporeal and the spiritual, juxtaposing veiled femininity and nakedness, concealed beauty, and the visible and the invisible. Najd positions herself within the European tradition of portraiture and still life with an eastern perspective. Never far from her practice are the opposing forces of the conflict-laden context of the Middle East and the western ideal of freedom, and she fosters a critical discourse between these opposing worlds. Her empathetic portrayals of migrants and refugees transcend stereotypes, emphasising human dignity.

Maryam Najd left Tehran at the age of twenty-six to study and live in Belgium. Her work has been featured internationally, at institutions such as M HKA, Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp and Speed Art Museum, Louisville, Kentucky.

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