20 year old Malak Mattar will be painting a new art piece as she talks to us about her techniques and what it was like being an artist while living under siege in Gaza and now, in isolation as coronavirus spreads around the world. So get yourself a cuppa, sit back and watch and learn as she paints a new art piece. We will also be hosting a Q&A with her.
Malak Mattar, age 20, is an artist of startling originality from the Gaza Strip who paints powerfully expressionist faces, figures, and semi-abstract designs. Currently residing in Istanbul, Malak first started painting at age 13, during the 51-day Israeli military assault on Gaza in 2014. Forced to stay inside for her own safety, she felt a compelling need to release all of her negative energy—fear, anxiety, and sheer terror. She started painting with art supplies from a government school, basic watercolours on paper. This opened up a world of self-expression for her. In the first two years, Mattar produced over 200 paintings.
Unable to leave Gaza due to restrictions of the Israeli occupation, Mattar showed her paintings to the world via social media, on Instagram and Facebook. On her fourteenth birthday, she began offering her paintings for sale in local exhibits. She also began selling and mailing paintings to buyers around the world. Within two years, Mattar’s artwork quickly began to garner interest from galleries beyond Palestine; her first international exhibition was in Bristol, UK, in 2017. Since then, her artwork has been featured in individual and group exhibitions in Jerusalem, France, Spain, Costa Rica, India, Germany, US and in the Art Under Siege exhibit held in the Rayburn House Office Building, US House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
So come and find out more about the wonderful Malak Mattar!
Malak also had an interview with Alaraby TV which you can watch.
