By: Dennis Davies
As I walked into the Parlor Room of the famed art club, Salmagundi, I was struck by the various pieces of work, thinking I had walked into the wrong exhibition. Could all of these pieces be the same artist, I thought. Then, as I walked throughout the exhibit, I started to feel a sense of calm, that I was looking at a personal point of view of a healing artist. A view that reflects the physical and spiritual experiences that bonds us together in our human experience.
Art heals is an overused cliché. The art of Aydan Suel Bayram would like to help that phrase through her art. Her work is vibrant, alive, and provocative. Bayram is an artist, an Ayurvedic practitioner, a Thai yoga bodywork therapist, a neurographics art teacher, and a psychologist game consultant. Healing is a central theme in all that she does and creates.
Bayram was born and raised in Azerbaijan, a former Soviet Republic nation that borders Iran, dating back as far back as the fourth century BC. In her art, one can feel the echoes of ancestors. Azerbaijan is a country with strong patriarchal norms, one where women are not encouraged to create art. A calling to follow her deepest impulses to create, Bayram came to New York to share her work and healing talents more broadly.
Abundance Flow, Vivid Dreams, Sun-Moon, and Eden are a few of her works that exemplify a large collection of mediums that demand attention. Or maybe not so much as attention as reflection, healing, inspiration. Her artworks symbolize a way of life, a calling, a worldview.
Ancestors, a large canvas created with acrylic, oil, and gold leaf, struck me as a Mother Universe figure. A cyclops feminine power that combines earth and space as its backdrop stands like a giant invader, coming to earth to either save or destroy.
Feminine, acrylic with golden leaf, wood and crafts materials, explodes off the canvas like a timeless, female genitalia pulsating with the beginning of creation.
Madame Gul, acrylic with golden leaf and artificial flowers, looks like the artist’s self-portrait of a feminine figure exuding power, beauty, and humor. A bouquet of flowers covers her head and eyes, but it seems that she sees things that most of us do not.
The power of the artist is often described to come from something beyond themselves, that the artist is a conduit for creation, healing. Aydan Suel Bayram embodies healing, transformation, and exploration. Her work is a reminder of the power of art and its necessity.
Bayram embodies a universal energy and spirit in her work. Her work flows like a dream in some pieces, and in others, she grasps and creates the moon and stars. And in others still, explodes with the furious energy of a pre-historic and futuristic woman, an artist announcing: I am here, and you will notice me. In that recognition and reflection, one may also find some comfort and healing. See for yourself.
Saturday, May 4, 2024
Published by: Khy Talara
