SARA RIAZ KHAN

Artist's Statements

A MOMENT OF GRACE (2010)

This collection is an acknowledgement of Mercy; within its parameters fall incomprehensible questions and heart-bursting celebration. Light cannot banish the dark, there is no easy victory, but one can always choose which way to turn.

A fierce resolution to not give up hope fuels my current work. Faced with a personal family tragedy in 2007, I started painting again after a break of a year and a half and found my work had changed significantly. The move towards complete abstraction has not been arbitrary; the vocabulary of layered stains, unfettered washes, texture and mark-making gives honest expression to thoughts I cannot speak.

Nature and colour continue to be defining elements of my world view. Water, forest and stones are indicated both explicitly and implicitly. It would be simplistic to label the pieces positive or negative depending on colour schemes, they are products in part of self-examination, exploration, incomprehension and gratitude, they are concrete proofs of my belief in life.

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A MOMENT OF GRACE

(47 inches x 39.5 inches)
Oil on canvas
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AFTER THE STORM

(47 inches x 39.5 inches)
Oil on canvas
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A MOMENT OF GRACE XIII

(19 inches x 19 inches)
Oil on canvas
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A MOMENT OF GRACE XVI

(19 inches x 19 inches)
Oil on canvas
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A MOMENT OF GRACE XXV

(24 inches x 24 inches)
Oil on canvas
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A MOMENT OF GRACE XXVII

(24 inches x 24 inches)
Oil on canvas
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A MOMENT OF GRACE XXX

(31 inches x 29.5 inches)
Oil on canvas