CHELSEA ART: The New Thirty-Something Block ... - ARTisSpectrum

Anja SchüsslerDemonstrating, in tangible form, how individuals create andreinforce their own reality through the activity of interpretation,Anja Schüssler’s enigmatic images are like mirrors, subtlyand exactly responsive to the mind-set of the viewer. Encouragingeach individual to “experience his own fear, become aware ofhis own desire” and “find his own truth” in her paintings—as wellas in the world at large—Schüssler implicitly guides her audienceto examine responses to her art in light of their own interiorrealities and outward projections. Like Narcissus enraptured byhis own reflection, the viewer is confronted by an emotionallycompelling yet insoluble visual riddle, as in The Arrival. Here,a faceless female figure in bestial pose, uncannily reminiscent ofWilliam Blake’s Nebuchadnezzar, seeps inexplicable blacknessfrom her face and palms.What one sees in this intentional void might well be the true‘mirror image’ of the self, a projection of one’s own fantasy orshadow. Through the juxtaposition of soft colors, and strong, inkycontour lines, Schüssler highlights the binary nature of ordinaryconsciousness and the duality of existence. Casting models as noless than archetypal forces, she attempts to reconcile the rationaland intuitive, the seen and the unseen, the sacred and profane—through mythic representations of human paradox and contradiction.Like medieval scribes who believed that gazing into a mirrorThe Arrival Chalk and Graphite on Paper 19.5”x 27.5”as they wrote would ensure “that their sight may not be dimmed,”German artist, Anja Schüssler, uses the mirror of her own perceptionto alight dim corridors of consciousness where truths maybe obscured but exist nonetheless. Visionary artist and skilledengraver of hand-carved cameos, Anja Schüssler currently livesand works in Idar-Oberstein, Germany, famous for it’s design andmanufacturing of precious stones and jewelry.Website: http://www.as-artwork.deMohammed YasinSaddiqueFor a self-taught painter of just 30 years of age, MohammedYasin Saddique has generated an impressive body of artworkthat includes portraits, nudes, landscapes, and cityscapes. Mostof Saddique’s portraits are colorful, playful interpretations thatoften invoke the cubist tradition. Bold black boundary markersdemarcate both sections of his painting and sections of his subjects,which suggest both depth and texture. His subjects emergefrom the canvas as colorful patchwork quilts or paper machécomposites.Saddique’s portraits are arguably his most evocative works. Tothe sides of his subject’s head, Saddique will often include crosssectionsof his model’s profile. Here, Saddique experiments withanthropomorphic shapes. Some viewers, for example, mightdiscern an elephant’s face and trunk flanking Nadia’s face in hisportrait of the same name. Interestingly—perhaps even tellingly—Saddique’sown portrait and that of his wife are strikinglydifferent than his other portraits. The former are virtually blackand-whitecompositions. The faces of Saddique and his wiferesemble white mannequin heads faintly tinged by yellows andreds. They are as works in progress or model faces to be moldedsometime later into something new.Head of Naz Pastel on Paper 15”x 11”Saddique’s works can be found in private collections in variousEuropean countries, the United States, England, India, and Pakistan.Saddique lives and works in London and Pakistan.Website: http://www.eyeoftheart.com6 ArtisSpectrum