Artist of the Month - Shurooq Amin

Lahd Gallery’s artist of the month for February is Shurooq Amin!  Multi-talented Shurooq is Kuwaiti/Syrian mixed-media interdisciplinary artist and an Anglophone poet, renowned for raising controversial questions via her raw images and taboo subject matter.  If this wasn't enough she is also a certified interior designer and a professor at Kuwait University.

The artist explores the polarity between the East and West through the depiction of high society women that dominate her canvases. Her work juxtaposes traditional with contemporary elements, which lends to subtle satire, yet the images do not profess to demean or criticise  nor to glorify and exaggerate.  They depict the girls in their embellished, fashionable state, an emblematic prototypical portrayal in which there tends to be a “sameness” of identity, expressing their individual sensual eroticism.

Unrelenting and inevitably controversial, Shurooq’s work explores the darker depths of society’s suppression and the fragility of human nature, in a critical analysis of a group of women who choose to live their lives on their own terms. Each of the paintings will finally be shot with a small Hornet bullet, from an M16 sniper gun, providing an allegory of society’s murder of a woman’s sensuality and passion.

For more information about Shurooq’s work please contact the gallery.

Suhair Sibai: Sweet Melancholy

Last night Lahd Gallery was proud to present the spectacular opening of it's new show "Sweet Melancholy" by Syrian artist Suhair Sibai!

A large gathering of art appreciators arrived at the gallery last night to enjoy and marvel at Suhair Sibai's splendid art works.  It was a warm and enjoyable evening, and we at Lahd Gallery were pleased to see so many familiar faces, and new ones also!

Suhair's large engaging canvases are filled with bright emotionally charged colours yet by contrast harbour a melancholic theme. By doing so she is not only drawing in the viewer, but alienating them also. Through this she is challenging the audience to think about self-identity, their inherent 'biases' and how we have got to our current situation.

Suhair uses the female form for her exploration into identity, and bold, striking, portraits are the result. She was artistically educated in the sprawling metropolis of Los Angeles with its rich and diverse multiculturalism, and Suhair believes that it is the level of diversity that many of us are exposed to that has the potential to cause discord, displacement and division of the self.

Suhair herself puts it:

‘Ideas and ideals are mingled and morphed; metaphors are understood and misunderstood according to context and audience; cultures cross and clash. All the while, the authentic Self – if there is one – is via distortion, alteration, and compromise, made and unmade, struggling for accessibility to popular culture’.

Truly it is this outlook on life combined with a bold visual style that makes Suhair Sibai's work a truly unique experience.

Sweet Melancholy is on till 6th March 2013.

Artist of the month: Nabeela Al Khayer

Bahraini artist Nabeela Al Khayer is Lahd Gallery’s artist of this month!  Nabeela is a passionate artist, dedicated to her work and constantly appraising her artistic skills and pushing her own boundaries in search of new ideas and modes of expression. Femininity is the driving force behind her work, and this can be seen in her choice of colours and subject.

Starting out in the fashion industry, she underwent a trying experience from initial reluctance to entering into the unknown. The pleasant harmony and impression emanating from the special characteristics of the subject scene and epoch of the beautiful portraits of Nabeela AI Khayer, frequently communicated in warm colours, lay open the nature of kind, feminine, deeply hidden emotions. The non-disjointed and occasionally, superimposed parts of the body together with the emergence of faces and the folds of dresses all attract attention and cause the viewer to confine their thoughts within the frames of Nabeela’s expressive portraits, anticipating the revelation of the what is hidden beyond.

For a list of available artworks by Nabeela Al Khayer please contact the gallery.

Christmas Sales 2012

Lahd Gallery is pleased to announce it's 2012 Christmas Sale! We will have a spectacular array of art on offer, from a variety of different contemporary artists. The sale will be on till 10th January 2013, don't miss it! Please contact the gallery for more information as to what is on offer.

Finally from all of us at Lahd Gallery we would like to wish you a very enjoyable holiday season and a wonderful New Year!

Affordable Art Fair Hampstead 2012

This years Affordable Art Fair Hampstead looks set to impress with exhibits from over 100 galleries, including an exciting collection from Lahd Gallery for the first time! 

The Affordable Art Fair prides itself on its accessibility and friendly 
atmosphere, and caters for everyone from first time buyers to avid collectors.  Not only will there be a huge range of art to see but the event will also be packed full of activities including education programmes, workshops and talks.




Our confirmed artists so far are: 

Irini Gonou, a Greek artist whose work portrays elements of healing and protection within ancient traditions from different cultures. Gonou's work is created using raw materials, and brings the viewer back to ancient times of rituals and beliefs.





Hamid Naseer who through calligraphy looks for new inventive ways to represent colour through observing several works from the famous and renowned calligraphic artists. Hamid Naseer feels that the art of calligraphy has enabled him to connect to the unspoken secrets of life.









French artist Julien Breton, who has developed his own unique form of virtual calligraphy, based on a Latin-style alphabet and inspired by an Arabic and Eastern aesthetic. With a multi-cultural take on calligraphy, Breton’s work incorporates the cultural identity and style of East and West, often taking inspiration from western philosophy, hip hop and street art.



Nabeela Al Khayer, through her paintings she celebrates femininity. Al Khayer's use of warm colours and disjointed yet expressive portraits create a truly unique style.

From up and coming artists to some of the biggest names in contemporary art there really will be something for everyone, we hope you can attend!

AAF Hampstead will run from 1st - 4th November 2012, for more information or to book tickets please visit http://affordableartfair.com/hampstead/

Wadia Boutaba: A Moroccan Art Feast

Lahd Gallery is proud to present it's latest exhibition "A Moroccan Art Feast" by artist Wadia Boutaba.  Wadia was born in the U.K. to Moroccan parents, and her paintings depict her heritage and draw on the rich and diverse culture of Morocco. Her paintings are, as she herself describes, "full of colour", and they really are; packed full of vibrancy and bold strokes.

Wadia uses art as a means to express her dual heritage and the challenges from this she has faced since early childhood, and draws on potent memories and experiences from her life for her work. Her art shows that one does not have to be confined to the environment one was raised in, Wadia tries to live like a Moroccan, think like one, and 
even feel like one.

Wadia believes that art can bring people from all different cultures and backgrounds together, and this was really proven at the opening for the exhibition where a fantastic show of guests turned up to appreciate and celebrate her work.  The artist was there herself to meet those who had come to see her paintings and talk about her art. 


Speaking to Wadia she explains how memories, feelings and past experiences define her work, she doesn't know what she is going to paint until she begins to work on the canvas, but utilizes these subconscious thoughts to create her art.  Therefore her paintings aren't always of a specific person or memory, but a manifestation of her reminiscence.


"A Moroccan Art Feast" is running till the 12th December 2012, we hope you can come and see the exhibition!

We are delighted to announce that Lahd Gallery is participating in View 2012, a charity event dedicated to raising money for Marie Curie Cancer Care.  View 2012 will consist of two auctions including artwork generously donated by artists to aid Marie Curie.

This event is taking place at the prestigious Saatchi Gallery, London, that houses works by some of the biggest names in contemporary art. The Saatchi Gallery has kindly been working with Marie Curie to raise awareness of an incredibly important and beneficial charity.

Marie Curie Cancer Care is one of the foremost charities in aiding cancer sufferers, and the support of this charity is vital in providing quality care for those affected by the disease, and to fund research into treatments and ways to help prevent cancer from afflicting future generations. View 2012 in particular is also providing funding for Marie Curie's art strategy that aims to use art as a means of improving it's hospices.

At the event there will be a silent auction of contemporary art and a live auction of "money-can't-buy experiences." Lahd Gallery is very proud to be a member of the Marie Curie Art Event Committee, and several of our artists' work are being featured in the silent auction.  Our artists include Kuwaiti artist Shurooq Amin, Turkish sculptor Ugur Caki, French Arabic Calligrapher Julien Breton and Greek/Arabic mystical artist Irini Gonou.

Marie Curie Cancer Care View 2012 is being held at Saatchi Gallery, London at 7.30pm on Thursday 4th October 2012.

Alexander (2011) - Ugur Caki

The Sheltering Word (2010) - Irini Gonou

Aerial (2011) - Julien Breton