fahrelnissa zeid exhibition - tate modern

Today I visited the Fahrelnissa Zeid exhibition at the Tate Modern. This exhibition seeks to illustrate the influence of historical events on Zeid's development as an artist. I could really see Zeid's obsession with colour and shape in all the paintings throughout her exhibition! I can understand her fascination with colour because I personally think it can say a lot about a piece of art; It can determine the mood, information about the artist, and many other aspects. I really like abstract art, therefore I really enjoyed this Fahrelnissa Zeid exhibition.

Zeid's life intersected with some of the most important events of the 20th century. She was born in Istanbul, and witnessed the birth of modern Turkey. When she was in Berlin, she experienced the rise of Nazi Germany. From 1947, Zeid’s practice became more complex and her work transitioned from figurative painting to abstraction. Zeid was influenced by the abstract styles from Paris and London in the post-war period. She uniquely fused her Persian, Byzantine, Cretan, and Oriental roots with concepts, styles and techniques of Modernism in her painterly practice. Fahrelnissa Zeid began drawing and painting at an early age, and was one of the first woman to study art in Turkey. She attended the Istanbul academy for fine arts later in her life. Fahrelnissa Zeid has a individual abstract style which was (and still is) widely recognised internationally in the 1940s and 1950s. In the 1960's, she looked at different media and changed her style but then returned back to portraiture. She also liked looking into art history, absorbing and reconfiguring from Ottoman, Byzantine and Persian art as well as from western painting traditions.

Some of my favourite pieces by Zeid are her portraits of people. This is because their gloomy image and how she brings her earlier abstract paintings and almost fuses them together. For example the image below... The woman's top has an abstract feel to it because of the warm bright orangey colours and triangular shapes. She has incorporated two kinds of paintings she creates to make one overall product. Also another singular piece of Zeid's work stood out of mesas this piece of work was called "London" (bottom right) - this is because it is still abstract looking, but not her 'normal' type of abstract. It's more gloomy and less colourful, which is quite different to the triangular paintings. I would really recommend going to see this exhibition, especially if you are into abstract art!! There is a vast array of different looking paintings, I personally find it interesting comparing them all! This exhibition on Fahrelnissa Zeid at the Tate Modern finishes on the 8th of October!!