Shara Born and Raised in Tehran-Iran in an artistic
family of art collectors, musicians, painters, poets, politician and writers.
"Primordial feminine stand at the center of my work, which is the "seer"
of an inner Self. My work is not about mental abstraction or my reaction to
outside world, but about poetic imagination of soul"
Ken Wilber brilliant philosopher said in his book- Marriage of sense & soul
"Soul art is not metaphoric or allegorical, it is a direct depiction of
the direct experience of the subtle level... it is not a painting of sensory
objects seen with the eye of flesh, and it is not a painting of conceptual objects
seen with the eye of mind, it is a painting of subtle objects seen with the
eye of contemplation."
That means that artist and critic and viewer a like must be alive to that higher
domain in order to participate in this art."
Shara is multi-disciplined experimental painter with studio in Kensington; Maryland
Exhibits nationally and internationally. Her primary interest is in mixed media
abstract painting.
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Press Release Gazette Wednesday, July 26, 2006 Women artists work abstraction in mixed media by Art Critic: Claudia Rousseau Recent paintings by Shara Banisadr of Kensington, born and raised in Teheran, are on view in the Visions Exhibition Space in the Bethesda North Marriott Hotel and Conference Center. The brainchild of the Public Arts Trust, with the support of the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County, the space, opened just last year, is ‘‘dedicated to exhibiting the diverse imagery and ideas of Montgomery County artists.” Unfortunately, it is really no more than a slightly modified hotel corridor, with some suspended halogen lighting and a hanging system along the walls. With its noble intent, and prime location, this could have been a great place to exhibit. Regrettably, however, no allowance was made in this area for a neutral décor against which art works should be seen. The red, blue and yellow carpet, with its intensely bright optical patterning, and the ochre patterned wallpaper are antithetical to this purpose. The problem has not gone unnoticed by those who worked hard to establish the space in the Conference Center, but the situation is, at least for the moment, difficult for both artists and viewers. These issues aside, Banisadr’s paintings, with their own bright colors and abstract compositions, hold their own even in these circumstances. These are mixed media works on masonite board, which the artist uses in a three-dimensional way, bending and warping the board so it projects from the wall. Generally speaking, Banisadr uses abstraction as a means to convey spiritual and philosophical content. Having escaped violence in her home country back in the early 1980s, she avoids specific references to Iranian religion or culture. Her work is more universal in intent, although her heavy use of gold leaf, even in an abstract context, is reminiscent of icons, and perhaps of Persian miniatures and calligraphy. The latter is the only hint one gets here of the artist’s Iranian heritage. Instead, these paintings allude to themes more immediately personal and poetic in feeling. This is primarily achieved via the conceptual character of her titles, and by occasional collaged words referring to themes about life and the journeys we all take through it. Titles like ‘‘Destinations of Mid-life,” ‘‘In the Middle of the Road of My Life,” or ‘‘To Feel the Road Ahead” connote the idea of spiritual evolution. Among the best works in the show is certainly ‘‘Crossing the Unknown,” from which the whole exhibit takes its title. Of modest size, like most in this exhibit (48 by 30 inches, with the exception of the two triptychs), the painting is notable for the brilliant blue color of the large cutout paper forms pasted to its surface. These are complemented by areas of golden brown house paint, canvas strips pasted on in layers and passages of gold leaf. Like other paintings in this exhibit, this work shows real understanding of late Cubist spatial vocabularies, making use of interwoven layers of pictorial space played off against flat, unframed masonite surfaces. Even more interesting with regard to sources in late Cubism is the work called ‘‘LIFE” — the capitals referring to the iconic heading of the famous magazine of that name that appears in the center of the canvas. Around it is a rather sensuous composition, reminiscent of Georges Braque in the late 1930s and ’40s, with a long black painted curve like a violin or a vase, collaged newspaper, stenciled numbers and other forms that surround the red rectangle carrying the white letters. This is the most figurative of all the works, and perhaps for that reason, the most compelling. I also liked the bright yellow tones of ‘‘To Dare to Live” which includes a wood panel atop the masonite board and a worked center that seems like a secret door, or opening. ‘‘Lonely Choices” shows rectangular layers of bright blues and pinks, with a highly glossy clear wood stain. Indeed, the variety and experimental nature of Banisadr’s technique constitutes some of the most engaging qualities of the exhibit as a whole.
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