New York, NY- Space776 and Uncommon Beauty Gallery are pleased to present Revival, a solo exhibition of selected paintings by artist Michelle Sakhai. The exhibition is on view from October 22 to November 4, 2021, at Space776 Gallery New York. 

 

Michelle Sakhai's extensive world travels began at an early age and her mixed heritage, Japanese and Persian, has shaped her as an artist. She grew up traveling to Japan to visit her family every summer for twenty years.  She discovered the use of metal leaves on canvas and soon became a pioneer in this medium. Sakhai was also inspired by the culture and scenery of her grandparents’ hometown, Kashiwazaki, a tiny village by the sea, surrounded by vast mountains. This special place left an indelible impression that still feeds her imagination. Sakhai’s creative perception and talent were also nurtured by her Persian culture. The exposure to both traditions in her young life has impacted her artistic vision.

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With Revival, Sakhai introduces her latest body of works influenced by the pandemic. Revival is a celebration of the reawakening of the world into a new normal after months of hibernation at the high of the pandemic. Flowers are blooming again with bright colors as in New Love, and light is once again piercing through the trees as in Komorebi. Re-working the essence of Ukiyo-e woodblock prints and following her inner vision, Sakhai redefined each block into a large-scale oil painting combined with metal leaf. The works sublimate into lyrical and poetic moments depending on the light and the angle of the viewer.  Sakhai also borrows from the Japanese art of calligraphy, known as Shodō. In her own words: “I watch the flow of emotions within me and come through me and onto the canvas. The strokes can never be repeated since we can never go back in time; and yet we are always moving forward, infinitely growing, and evolving.”   

 

Sakhai’s paintings reflect her true being within each present moment. “As I evolve, my art evolves. The emotions that we all experience from moment to moment always lead back to joy. I have discovered that while painting, I am more consciously connected to my emotions. The muse is internal.”