Background
Sara Shamma was born on November 26, 1975, in Damascus, Syria, to a Syrian father and Lebanese mother, who was the owner of a private art gallery.
Damascus University, Damascus, Syria
In 1998 Sara Shamma received a Bachelor of Arts degree in painting from the Faculty of Fine Arts at Damascus University.
Sara Shamma
Sara Shamma stands beside a work of hers.
Sara Shamma stands beside a work of hers.
Sara Shamma
Damascus University, Damascus, Syria
In 1998 Sara Shamma received a Bachelor of Arts degree in painting from the Faculty of Fine Arts at Damascus University.
Sara Shamma
Sara Shamma stands beside a work of hers.
Sara Shamma stands beside a work of hers.
Sara Shamma stands beside a work of hers.
Sara Shamma
2008
2009
2011
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2015
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2018
Sara Shamma was born on November 26, 1975, in Damascus, Syria, to a Syrian father and Lebanese mother, who was the owner of a private art gallery.
In 1998 Sara Shamma received a Bachelor of Arts degree in painting from the Faculty of Fine Arts at Damascus University.
From 1997 to 2000 Sara Shamma taught at Adham Ismail Fine Arts Institute in Damascus, Syria, and alongside her practice has always had a strong dedication to sharing her knowledge with the next generation of artists. In 2004 she was a member of the jury of graduation show at ESMOD Fashion Institute in Damascus, Syria. In 2006 she was a member of the jury for the Annual Exhibition for Syrian Artists held by the Ministry of Culture in Damascus. In 2016 she moved to London under the auspices of an Exceptional Talent Visa where she currently lives and works.
One technique for which Shamma has become renown involves scoring the canvas with a blade-cutter, a signature gesture with which she finalizes numerous paintings. These scarifications dramatically underscore myriad tensions with which her work engages. Her phantasms look back at viewers in a manner, not unlike Sumerian temple figurines, representing some of the oldest examples of Western civilization's cultural heritage, on view in Damascus. Equally disconcerting, her surrogate human forms with exaggerated eyes and bodily gestures are designed not just for being seen, but also for looking.
Shamma has participated in a number of solo and group exhibitions including "London", Art Sawa Gallery (Dubai, 2017); World Civil War Portraits, The Old Truman Brewery (London, 2015); Diaspora, Art Sawa Gallery (Dubai, 2014); Q, Royal College of Art (London, 2013); Birth, Art House (Damascus, 2011); Love, 360 MALL (Kuwait, 2009); The Royal Society of Portrait Painters Annual Exhibition, The Mall Galleries (London, 2013), etc.
Sara Shamma is one of the most famous Syria’s painters. In 2001 she received first prize in Latakia Biennial. In 2004, she was short-listed for the prestigious and competitive BP Portrait Award presented by the National Portrait Gallery (NPG) in London, her work subsequently touring the United Kingdom (Exeter, Bristol, Wales, and Aberdeen). In 2010 Shamma painted President Bashar Hafez al-Assad’s British born wife, Asma. Both Assad and his wife have attended her exhibitions.
Shamma's works can be found in public collections: Presidential Palace, Ministry of Culture, National Museum, British Council, Spanish Cultural Center, Damascus, Syria as well as in private collections in: Austria, Canada, Ecuador, Egypt, France, Germany, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, the Netherland, Qatar, Spain, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
Castle
2016Child's drawing
2015Double Motherhood
In a box
2014Incognito 1
2015Incognito 3
2015Incognito 4
2015Q6
2011Q9
2011Satisfaction 2
2016Self portrait
2017Self portrait
2016Space
2017Untitled
2008Untitled
2009Untitled
2012Untitled
2013Untitled
Alien Two Heads
Alien
Untitled
2018Self portrait
2018Monster
2017Sara Shamma’s practice focuses on death and humanity expressed mainly through self-portraits and children painted in a life-like visceral way. Her works can be divided into series that reflect often prolonged periods of research, sometimes extending over years. Shamma 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 that Shamma portrays her subjects. Working mainly from life and photographs, the artist uses oils to create a hyper-realistic scene, using transparency lines and motion to portray a distant and deep void.
Shamma believes in helping others and has been supporting the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) since 2010, during which time she produced Fighting Hunger, sold by Christie’s Dubai in 2012 with all proceeds going to the WFP.
