Zahra Holm

Originally from Sweden and Tunisia, contemporary artist Zahra Holm lives and works in Paris, France.

Holm started drawing at a very young age and has become a self-taught painter, primarily working with oil paint. She obtained a diploma in Scenography and Set Design whilst studying and working for several years in the French cinema, theatre and television industries.

Holm is fascinated by the female form, the main subject of her work. Her bold use of colour and curvaceous lines create striking compositions that reflect the beauty and power of women. The forms suggest femininity, or what is conventionally considered female, almost close to abstraction. Her work is a tribute to the essence of femininity, and an invitation to rediscovering imperfection. This modern female focus brings forward a question of beauty ideals, body shapes and gender. She confronts through her art the society of today, where perfection is everywhere. The painter filters her personal experiences and questions herself through abstraction and simplification.

The artist reinforces: “The female form has always been an obvious subject for me. It appeals to me for its beauty, its complexity, and its fascinating body language. I want to tell a story, express its feelings. The body has too much to say, it's an endless subject."

In Holm's latest work, her link to nature is omnipresent. She believes that nature is part of our soul and body. Now more than ever, she feels the need to reconnect with nature. You can feel the sun, the sunset, the sea, sun-kissed skin. The result is a fusion between abstract landscapes and bodies, where landscapes were turned into bodies and bodies into landscapes. They represent the body in motion as much as what's happening inside the body, the mind.