The Memory Before Memory., 2026

Zibeyda Seyidova  

Zibeyda Seyidova works with abstract painting as a space of inner experience. Her works do not seek to depict, narrate, or explain; instead, they create a condition of perception in which the viewer is invited to slow down and remain present. Her paintings operate through stillness, attention, and pause.

At the core of Seyidova's practice is an interest in liminal states – between form and its dissolution, between what is visible and what remains just out of reach. Light and shadow in her work are not positioned as opposites or carriers of conflict. Rather, they function as a continuous field in which neither can exist independently of the other. Light does not assert itself; it gently reveals depth. Shadow does not conceal; it sustains form, allowing it to remain open and unresolved.

Seiydova deliberately avoids fixed symbolism and narrative structures. Her compositions resist hierarchy or a singular focal point, encouraging the eye to move freely across the surface of the canvas. Texture, rhythm, and the density of paint become central elements of perception. The painted surface holds time within it: traces of the palette knife, layers of oil, and areas of removal register the memory of gesture and process.

A recurring presence in her work is the suggestion of fabric or drapery, not as a literal object, but as a state of matter. These forms evoke corporeality, shelter, and the fragile balance between exposure and protection. Materiality in Seyidova's paintings is neither decorative nor illustrative; it serves as a means of addressing the interior space of the human condition, that which resists language and definition.

Abstraction in Zibeyda Seyidova's practice is not an escape from reality, but a way of approaching its immaterial layer. Her paintings do not offer conclusions or prescribed readings. They exist as open fields of experience, inviting each viewer to construct meaning through silence, concentration, and presence.