Syrian artist Sara Shamma’s artwork at London’s Dulwich Picture Gallery

Muhammad Yusuf, Features Writer

The prestigious Dulwich Picture Gallery in London is holding a solo exhibition by renowned artist Sara Shamma, titled Sara Shamma: Bold Spirits (Sept. 27 –Feb. 25, 2024). The museum, founded in 1811, is the first purpose-built public art gallery in the world. Dulwich has a wonderful collection of paintings by the Old Masters such as Rembrandt, Rubens, Canaletto, Lely, Poussin and similar luminaries. The collection is considered one of the most important such in Britain, and is permanently displayed inside Sir John Soane’s pioneer architectural masterpiece.

Architect Sir John Soane used an innovative and influential method of illumination for the Dulwich building. In addition to its permanent collection, Dulwich Picture Gallery regularly presents a programme of world class exhibitions by major artists from different eras, and exhibitions by famous contemporary artists. But this is the first time in its history that it is holding a solo exhibition by an artist of Arab origin. Shamma’s exhibition includes her new body of work that responds to specific paintings from the Gallery’s historic collection, interacting with them.

For this show, she has focused on female figures, channelling the spirits of the women, while also connecting them to episodes from her own life, with a view to retelling their stories for contemporary viewers. Each of Shamma’s paintings presents an interpretation of works by artists including Rembrandt van Rijn, Peter Lely, Anthony van Dyck and Peter Paul Rubens. She explores identity, death, motherhood and unexpected beauty in works that demonstrate her technical expertise as a painter, as well as her long-standing appreciation for and exploration of the works of the Old Masters.

However, this is the first time that the artist has directly responded to a collection of historic European paintings. It is to be noted that Dulwich Picture Gallery is hosting, in the same period, a major exhibition by celebrated Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640). It includes over 40 paintings by him, representing different women, including his two wives and daughter, portraits of wealthy women of his time, saints and mythological goddesses. The exhibition is titled Rubens and Women and the theme blends it with Shamma’s exhibition, opening the way for artistic dialogue and intellectual discussion between two art eras.

 Sara Shamma is based in London.

This could be a new and unique experience for visitors to the museum. To heighten the encounter, it was also decided that the two exhibitions will be opened at the same ceremony, on September 26, 2023. Shamma’s paintings will hang side by side among the paintings of great artists and Old Masters. The exhibition will last for five months so that the largest possible number of art experts and lovers can visit it. Sara Shamma: Bold Spirits is curated by Helen Hillyard, curator at Dulwich Picture Gallery. Shamma (b.1975) is a UK-based Syrian artist whose paintings are primarily figurative in style.

The importance of storytelling and narrative is paramount in her work and she has had a long-standing interest in the psychology associated with the suffering of individuals. She has made work on the subject of war, modern slavery and human trafficking. She is interested in the creative possibilities of paint, and her works often contrast hyperrealistic detail with thick bands of richly-textured colour that appear floating in the air.

Her practice explores themes of humanity and emotional connection and images of her children, her family and self-portraits often feature in her work. Shamma’s practice focuses on death and humanity expressed mainly through self-portraits and often features children painted in a life-like visceral way. She believes that death gives meaning to life, and rather than steering away from a subject that is increasingly taboo in contemporary culture, she considers the impact of grief and deep internal emotions. The Syrian conflict has a distinct impact on the way she portrays her subjects.

Working mainly from life and photographs, she uses oils to create a hyper realistic scene, using transparency lines and motion to portray a distant and deep void. She was born in Damascus, Syria, to a Syrian father and Lebanese mother. She graduated from the Painting Department of the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Damascus, in 1998, and taught at the Adham Ismail Fine Arts Institute in Damascus. She moved to London in 2016, where she currently lives and works. Dulwich Picture Gallery began life when Sir Francis Bourgeois RA bequeathed his collection of old masters “for the inspection of the public”.

Today, the Gallery is a vibrant cultural hub hosting some of the UK’s leading exhibitions alongside its Permanent Collection of Baroque masterpieces, while staging a wide-ranging programme of public events, practical art and community engagement. The Gallery’s design and architecture comprises a series of interlinked rooms lit by natural light through overhead skylights; this has been the primary influence on art gallery design ever since.

Soane designed the sky lights to illuminate the paintings indirectly - which led to architect Philip Johnson saying that “Soane has taught us how to display paintings”. The design was unrelated to traditional architectural practice or schools of architecture. Instead of constructing a facade with the stucco porticos favoured by many contemporary architects, Soane opted to use uninterrupted raw brick - a feature subsequently adopted by many 20th-century art galleries.

In 2023, the Gallery announced plans for a £4.6 million redevelopment, encompassing a new sculpture garden in the southern portion of the site and a new building for school and family activities.