BIO
Nissa Raad (Fakhrelnissa Raad) is a Jordanian artist - born in Amman in 1981. She was drawn to art at a very early age and has always been inspired by her late grandmother, the renowned Turkish artist Fahrelnissa Zeid. As a child, she was mesmerised by her paintings, which covered every visible surface- walls, ceilings and even floors. These colours and forms had a lasting effect on her approach to art throughout her life.
She graduated from Brown University in 2002 with a BA in history before receiving an MSc in urban development and design from UCL, London, in 2004- influencing the majority of her early works of urban landscapes- Middle Eastern/Mediterranean cities and towns in particular.
Nissa has had several sold-out solo exhibitions and have participated in numerous group exhibitions both locally and internationally, as well as contemporary art fairs in Dubai, Tokyo, Istanbul, Beirut, Paris, New York, Cairo and Madrid.
“ The artistic process
is much more important to me than the actual product -
the creation of the piece and how much of
yourself is poured into the work and
how much you receive in return as an artist
is far more significant than the final physical outcome.
The painting guides me and tells me what it wants in a
visual conversation where I
often approach the blank canvas with no predetermined plan and
paint impulsively. I surrender to spontaneity and create
layers of chaos through a series of random actions,
after which I re-examine what has emerged on the canvas.
I find myself searching for what is of value
and what is dispensable. This pleasantly challenging process is repeated several times,
layer after layer of chaos followed by “sanity”,
until the work tells me that it is
complete and I feel no more visual anxiety.
I reach a certain point in the process where
I find that I'm no longer in charge,
because I've created something that
has come alive,
and that something is now directing me
- and I surrender to the authority of my work.”
Using a variety of media, Nissa’s current works are of minimalist and boundless natural landscapes -expansive bursts of colour inspired by the valleys, mountains and skies of Jordan, and by distant views of Palestine.
Horizons, or "Ufuq" in Arabic, and what they symbolize both physically and metaphorically, guide her spontaneous paintings. They evoke a sense of peace, wonder and a curiosity of the unknown beyond the line.
