Nove Al-Zuhair's creative spirit is re-energizing the Riyadh art scene with her Boho Chic line of jewelry and her upcoming solo painting exhibition. Her one-off silver pieces combine a sense of art, design and craft and her vivid multimedia paintings, sheer torrents of color, are high in the “wow” factor.
Al-Zuhair’s interest in jewelry dates back to her teens.
“I have found it such a versatile medium to work with. I love sketching and using my hands to make things and you see the results instantly right in front of you,” she says.
Born in London to an English mother and Saudi father, Al-Zuhair grew up in Riyadh and studied fine arts at the International University of London. Undeterred by the competition, she believes that for a great jewelry designer, creative satisfaction supersedes all other considerations. She continually strives to be different and admits that she would be very disappointed if someone said her style were similar to another brand: “There’s so much to do that’s different. I don’t understand it when people want to copy another brand,” she explains.
Al-Zuhair makes silver jewels, not metal plated, studded with natural stones, with a sharp focus on the price and a unique design. Al-Zuhair’s choice of silver is a welcome return to a metal which was traditionally used for centuries in the Arabian Peninsula until the combined forces of wealth and the techniques of mass-production resulted in a marked preference for gold.
Precious metals are available in blocks, sheets or wires so one can either make molds of the desired shapes, then pour the melted metal into the molds or one can work with the sheets and wires which involve cutting and shaping. Al-Zuhair, who works from her home, uses the wiring technique to join, to support pendants, to make necklaces or to alternate with other decorative components.
Incidentally, a single ounce of silver can be drawn into a fine wire about 48 kilometers long. The silver used for jewelry is an alloy containing 80 percent silver and 20 percent copper because alloys of silver with copper are harder, tougher and more fusible than pure silver.
True to her Boho Chic style, Al-Zuhair does not like perfect shapes as she always looks for strange unusual things everywhere. One of her favorite stones is the labradorite, a remarkable stone which turns sea blue, gold and green in a bright light and becomes gray or dark green if viewed in a dim light. It is said to bring joy and good fortune; it also energizes and acts as a barrier against negative emotions.
After initially exhibiting in compounds and in her own home, the successful feedback gave her higher expectations.
“I hope to have my own workshop or buy a small factory; also I’d prefer to display my jewelry through an outlet rather than open my own store and concentrate on the design aspect, so this year I have some bigger plans in the pipeline which I'm very excited about, “says Al-Zuhair.
Another source of excitement is her solo exhibition which will be from June 6 through June 18 at the E.D. Artworks and Design: Nuage Gallery in Riyadh (www.ed-designs.com).
Entitled “Self-Reflections,” the collection of paintings is journey of self-discovery echoing the artist’s own spiritual flight from a world marred by conflicts, suffering and anger to a state of freedom and happiness. Al-Zuhair confesses that the whole idea of the exhibition is to make people think and question their feelings so they can instigate a self-liberating process within themselves.
She uses acrylics with glass, sand, silicone and is always ready to experiment with new textures.
“I paint on the floor and I use a big tapering knife with a lot of movement and I'm just all over the place. Each color reflects a certain feeling but I love red, purple and gold. And the use of glass and sand reflect the complexity of our thoughts,” she explains.
Al-Zuhair is particularly aware that her large-sized paintings can only appeal to people who fall in love with her art work. She believes that there should be a connection between the artist and the buyer. The desire to buy a painting should trigger an emotional response, telling you that you have found the right piece. A painting is not only a labor of love but it is also infused with the artist’s feelings and craftsmanship and this creates an intense bond between the owner and the painter.
“I paint big paintings so you have to place them in the biggest part of your home or wherever but you have to be very certain of how you feel about them,” she concluded.
For more information: [email protected]
