Zahra Holm
Drawing and painting has been a part of Zahra Holm’s life ever since she was a little girl. From the very start she knew she would be working within a creative field but while growing up she never thought painting as a profession would be possible. Hence painting, to begin with, stayed a passion that she only dreamt of committing to full time when she later would be retired. Instead Zarah studied and grew a career within architecture and scenography working on movie and television sets. Eventually it was her need for a more personal creative outlet that convinced her to begin her career as a painter. It was a fantasy that turned into a need. Now painting is part of Zahra Holm’s core and nature.
Zarah Holm describes her artistry and aesthetics as colourful, feminine and free. She’s drawn to the female form for its beauty and complexity as well as its undeniably present body language. Because of this her pieces are a tribute to the very essence of femininity with focus on the more modern female, lifting questions of today’s beauty ideals, body shapes as well as exploring issues around gender. By using abstract shapes and curvaceous lines she expresses the feelings and tells the stories of the modern female. Her abstract expression opens up for a dialogue with the viewer who is left to freely interpret each piece to both see and feel what they want to.
Zahra is originally Swedish and Tunisian, and lives in Paris since many years. It's her combination of clean lines and bold colours that we fell for.
For The Ode To, Zarah Holm has created a unique series of pieces called “Portraits of Women”. It is a selection of paintings on paper created using oil and acrylics. The paintings are a continuity of her previous work but with an influence of the warmth and sun. During the lockdown in Paris, and weeks of staying inside, the lack of daylight on her skin made Zarah instead express her need for sun in her work while capturing the colours of sun, mixed with feelings of hope. Explore the full collection by Zahra Holm.
