Through August, Asheville Gallery of Art (AGA) will host Simple Moment, an exhibition of human figure works by Sahar Fakhoury. A reception for the artist will be held Friday, August 2, from 5–8 p.m. at the gallery. Fakhoury, who holds a BFA from UNCAsheville, discovered her love of figure drawing early in her art career. “From the first year I started taking art classes, the teacher brought in a live model,” she says. “I found myself in love with the challenge that I faced to get the features and the position correct.” After mastering the physical side of this art form, she moved on to capturing the emotional and expressive side of the human condition. “Getting to that point made the painting have more meaning for me,” she says. Even if she isn’t working on a self-portrait, Fakhoury feels that figure painting allows her to express herself and convey life’s complexities.
The artist begins with a loose sketch, contour drawing the figure. “Once I am set on the composition, I prepare my canvas with a light, warm color background, then a drawing on the canvas using pencil or thin oil paint with a small brush,” she says. Using oil paints in middling tones, Fakhoury works on the figure and the background at the same time, adding layers of darks and lights until she achieves the desired result.
“For Simple Moment, I chose a theme that might shed some hope and light while still portraying present reality,” she says. “I try to create a vision of our world that seeks to make connections and enhance truthfulness and understanding. I hope that the viewers will take a moment to listen to the stillness of time, imagining the story behind that figure in a painting, and narrate their own.”
AGA is at 82 Patton Avenue in Asheville. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. For information visit AshevilleGallery-of-Art.com or go to the gallery Facebook page.
