Today we’d like to introduce you to Shagufta Khan.
Hi Shagufta, excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I am grateful to VoyageLA for this interview! The reality is that my story as an artist encompasses many experiences. It’s a story of my passions, my struggles, my inspirations. And it begins during my adolescent years. Here is where the yearning to express myself through the visual arts was ignited.
Recognizing this desire, my father encouraged me to join our town’s art council; and it was there that I got my first formal training for three years. Unlike my abstract work today, my earlier art manifested realism, where landscapes and still-life dominated. Later, in college, I took part in various painting competitions and won a couple of intercollegiate awards as well. However, my art came to a halt in the early 1990s as I got married and moved across the globe to the United States. And it led to a period of silence for 27 years… Fast-forward to August 2019, during an internal struggle, I reverted to painting to find solace. During this time of self-rediscovery, all my repressed artistic energies erupted and poured onto the canvas again. Everyone needs that one thing that can be their key to channel whatever emotion they want to experience – this was mine. It’s quite empowering. To date, I have painted more than 500 pieces. I have also held a two-month exhibition at the Pacific Art Center of Monterey and am preparing for a fundraiser exhibition for a local not-for-profit organization.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It certainly hasn’t been a smooth road; and with respect to my art, there was no road! Let me explain! Moving to a completely new land took my time and attention away from art. The struggle to establish life anew took all my energy and kept me extremely busy. However, I did pursue a Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia University in New York and tried to learn more of the theoretical aspects of art. Towards this aim, I took courses in Photography and Masterpiece of Western Art which really kept me engaged. These helped me in exploring iconic artists of the Western civilization as well as discovering the different genres and various eras including their respective art movements. So even though I did not paint during these years, I kept my artistic streak alive in other ways.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am an abstract artist. My art’s prime focus is to capture the beauty and often complex emotions behind concepts ranging from nature, relationships, family and community, and the human identity – through a visual feast of colors and abstract forms. With influences and inspirations from impressionist art as well as pure abstractionism, I relay my life story combining various elements of both art genres. I primarily work with acrylic paint on canvas. My art has evolved in many ways from the time that I first started painting. Initially, I only created art with my fingers, hands, arms, knives. Over time, however, I began incorporating brushes of various kinds. Currently, you’ll find me experimenting with other texturing techniques such as the use of sponges, foil, colored sand, oil pastel crayons, and charcoal. It started out with simply, what I’d call, the spilling of artistic energy on canvas. It has since changed and matured into various themes such as art series’ on: Social Injustices; The Hearts series; The Skyline series and Cosmic-dust series to name a few. I have also begun recording my process to show the progression of any given piece. I’ve carried out a few psycho-therapeutic art sessions, too. I believe it to be a powerful way to help individuals connect internally and remove emotional blockages by expressing themselves on canvas in free form.
I plan on running regular online sessions soon to help provide a channel for people to interact or express themselves, especially seeing how vital it is in the time of Covid-19. From the feedback that I have received from my viewers, my art is known for its depiction of motion, emotions, and my inimitable impression of the world as I see it. I truly strive to create fluid imagery to express my uniquely organic process – my work, thus reflects my internal visions and external life experiences. I have an innate desire to create abstract art that can deeply resonate with my audience. I encourage my work to be freely interpreted in the way that it stirs the soul. I am most proud of creating art that touches my audience at a deeper level; brings them joy; makes them reflect; and invites them to create their own meaning – making the art their own! I am proud of my ability to convey exactly what I want to in an abstract form—that is a very gratifying experience as it’s not always easy to achieve that goal using abstraction. I am also proud that my art includes diverse topics of varying nature which broadens its appeal to differing audiences. Even though I’m still a novice to the scene of abstract art and have a lot to learn, I can proudly say that my art has left an impression on so many. The amount of tremendous encouragement I’ve received through my following on Facebook and Instagram is truly gratifying.
Considering the trajectory of my life as an artist since August 2019, I’m hopeful that I will continue to grow in this realm to a point where my local community will recognize my work and appreciate it; and at a point where using my art, I will be able to give back to my small-town community via charity exhibitions and others. I believe what makes my art unique is that I paint without a plan; I follow solely my instinct and depict my feelings, my impressions of the world around me, and my vision. I don’t confine myself or follow a specific theme. Instead, you’ll see a vast number of concepts have emerged from the art that I have been producing. On the contrary, my Cosmic-dust and Social injustice series were very deliberate as these were crucial subject matters I wanted to translate through my art. As someone who paints her own emotion in the moment, you will see the distinctive way in which I depict it. Take Sadness or Shehrbano for example. A piece portraying a seemingly beautiful and peaceful individual, you’ll soon find tragedy will present itself as you attempt to peel away the obvious. Or perhaps the fiery aggression behind the dripping paint off my canvas. Sharing my truth/story through my art is unique in itself – And I invite all to be a part of it!
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
There is always some degree of risk in everything you do in life. I do take risks but mostly calculated risks. I especially avoid risks that can bring harm to others than myself. However, there is adventure in risk-taking; I have bought stocks that had fallen–taking a risk on money; I have had adventures in nature which could have ended up in a disaster hence taking a fair amount of risk there. I have moved to completely new, unseen locations over the continents without knowing much about them; Recently, I have taken life-changing steps to reset the overall course of my life — that is the biggest risk I have taken, yet calculatedly!
Pricing:
- Prices of each piece varies – contact artist for a quote at Cell: 551-689-3600 or email: [email protected]
Contact Info:
- Facebook: https://www.
facebook.com/painterzcorner/ - On Instagram as abstractpaintersclub: https://
www.instagram.com/invites/ contact/?i=1g10gzmeblvr3&utm_ content=a43o7e3
