Partou Zia
in the face of wonder

 

6TH DECEMBER 2008 - 28TH FEBRUARY 2009

                     

partou zia - In the beginning: 2008

 

 

 

 

 

A major exhibition of evocative paintings and drawings from 2003 till her untimely death in March 2008.

Partou Zia’s vigorous canvases draw the viewer into her dream-like memory using her own original form of language, evolving a personal mythology of motifs and symbols that include lovers, sleepers, dreamers and readers, set within suggestive interiors and luminous landscapes. This is the first time that these particular works have been brought together in one exhibition, embodying a maturing gift for unique storytelling and personal journeys of self discovery.

In scale her works range from a few inches to several feet high, with characteristic free brushwork and an immediately recognisable energetic handling of layers of paint. Her serious subject matter (self-portraits, landscapes, church and 17th-century Dutch-influenced domestic interiors) sometimes incorporate mischievous private elements. The show at The Exchange includes the two large and extraordinary paintings she produced during the final months of her life between October 2007 and March 2008.