Salma Arastu

salmaarastu.com

Multitudes, 2009

Acrylics, Pen and Ink on Canvas

48” x 48”

Artist Statement

This painting is from my series “Flow of Humanity” in which I am creating a body of work of through a continuous, lyrical line to express joy in the universal spirit that unites humanity. In my art, people are not given any identity and thus represent the entirety of humanity without differences.

I recreate these visions which show people in celebrations, visiting neighbors, family reunions, celebration of life, glow of unity and hope of the new earth. As Pana Columbus, my writer friend, once wrote for my catalog “In her work, the bodies are blended together. It isn’t clear where one begins, and one ends. Often all the figures are drawn with the same line. They are deliberately created as a whole, as a group, as an ensemble.

Salma Arastu is helping us create a world in which the magic of communion plays a central role. Her subjects include people who, whatever they do, they do together. They initiate each other, they celebrate together, they grieve together, they pray together.”

As Pana Columbus, my writer friend, once wrote for my catalog “In her work, the bodies are blended together. It isn’t clear where one begins, and one ends. Often all the figures are drawn with the same line. They are deliberately created as a whole, as a group, as an ensemble. The world Salma Arastu is helping us create is one in which the magic of communion plays a central role. Her subjects include people who, whatever they do, they do together. They initiate each other, they celebrate together, they grieve together, they pray together.”