OPENING MAY 16

ALIA EL-BERMANI
PERENNIAL 

MAY 16 – JULY 11

STATEMENT

For this solo exhibition of my work presented during the abundant transition of spring to summer, I share both botanical works on copper as well as figurative paintings. Choosing to paint from life slows me, allows me to honor and give reverence to a series of moments both external and within. The slow time that direct observation requires is a balm for my soul in this heartbreaking world. It is my hope that the layers of paint and nuanced meaning within these works offer a similar sense of healing and stillness to others.

Alongside the botanicals and other figurative work is a collaborative body of portraits I’ve been lovingly calling ‘The Artists I Adore’. Each portrait depicts an artists for whom I hold deep respect and admiration. Each of these were also painted from life. Depending on the sitter, we shared anywhere from three to a dozen hours together to complete the oil painting on copper – my portion of the collaboration. I find this slow time together, where we share space, breath and stories the most compelling. It’s a quiet unfolding of connection. To truly see and be seen in this deep, earnest way feels like such a rare and generous gift made possible through direct observation.

I have chosen to paint these works on copper, a material with a long history as a substrate for oil painting since at least the 1400’s. As a precious earth metal, copper carries an inherent value mirrors the inherent value of each of my sitters. Further still, I have chosen to present these portraits as tondos (circular formats), which evokes medallions or currency – forms traditionally reserved for figures of some historic legacy or stature. Presenting these Artists in this format, within this visual language, and choosing to frame them in substantial Dutch ripple frames, re-values and further honors them.

ABOUT ALIA EL-BERMANI

Internationally recognized Arab American artist Alia El-Bermani received her training from Laguna College of Art and Design in Laguna Beach CA, where she also taught for several years upon graduating with a BFA in 2000. This talented figurative painter has had several solo exhibitions as well as her work featured in numerous group exhibitions across the country. Her paintings and drawings have been showcased in museums such as the Palm Springs Desert Museum in California, Customs House Museum in Tennessee, Anchorage Museum of History and Art in Alaska, the West Valley Art Museum in Arizona, the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art in Toronto and the Greenville Museum of Art in North Carolina. In 2015 her painting Paper Wishes was acquired by the Museu Europeu d’Art Modern (MEAM), in Barcelona, Spain for their permanent collection.

As a seasoned instructor who has taught at both the college and workshop level, El-Bermani opened her own teaching studio, Alia Fine Art Studios in Raleigh, NC in January 2017. There she currently teaches ongoing classes as well as hosts award winning visiting artist workshops. She has been honored as a guest lecturer at several universities including University of Illinois, East Carolina University, Meredith College, Laguna College of Art and Design and Texas A&M University as well as for the 2016 Symposium for Women in the Arts. Several articles and interviews have been featured in periodicals such as American Art Collector, Art Week, The Independent, the Savvy Painter Podcast, American Arts Quarterly and she has most recently been featured in the August 2024 issue of the Walter Magazine.