Welcome to #BuroSpotlights, a platform dedicated to celebrating exceptional Middle Eastern talent.
At Buro247 Middle East, we are committed to showcasing and celebrating the extraordinary talent in the Arab world. With our column, #BuroSpotlights, we bring you stories of pioneering artists, innovative designers, tech trailblazers, cinematic visionaries, sports stars, and more.
This week, #BuroSpotlights Bahraini visual artist Mariam Dashti.
Walk into a room with Mariam Dashti’s work and the first thing you notice is movement. Not literal motion, but emotional momentum. Her canvases feel alive with color, urgency, and instinct, as if they were painted in one uninterrupted breath. There’s no sense of overthinking here, no rigid framework trying to control the outcome. What you see instead is intuition made visible, raw marks turning into stories, and emotion given space to exist without explanation.
Mariam Dashti is self-taught, and that independence shows. There is no academic stiffness or formula in her work. Instead, her canvases feel fluid and open. Growing up in Bahrain, Dashti always dreamed of becoming an artist, even when the path felt distant. The turning point came through a vivid dream of herself painting on a wall. When she woke up, something clicked. She picked up a brush and has not stopped since.
Dashti starts each piece with loose black lines, allowing her hand to move freely across the canvas without direction or reference. There is no final image in mind. She works first, observes later. As she steps back, shapes begin to emerge, figures take form, and narratives slowly reveal themselves. It is a process closer to discovery than execution.
Color plays a central role in her practice. Bold, expressive, and unapologetic, her palettes are mixed from scratch for every painting. She does not rely on fixed formulas or repeatable shades. Each color scheme is intuitive, built in the moment and almost impossible to replicate. Contrast is key, pushing intensity and emotion to the surface. Even when tones turn muddy or unexpected, Dashti embraces the outcome. Those accidents often lead to hues that feel singular and deeply personal.
Emotion fuels everything. Love, fear, joy, grief, and vulnerability all find their way onto the canvas, sometimes subtly, sometimes with force. Each painting begins from a different emotional state, which is why no two works feel alike. Some unfold with ease, others demand layers, revisions, and patience. Dashti sees this as part of the meaning. The process mirrors life itself, unpredictable, complex, and constantly revealing something new.
While her work is abstract, it is far from detached. Dashti does not aim to dictate what a viewer should feel. Instead, she invites response. Her paintings are meant to stir something personal, whether that is comfort, nostalgia, tension, or curiosity. When a viewer feels moved or prompted to reflect, she considers the work complete. Knowing when to stop, she admits, is one of the hardest parts. There is always more that could be added, but she trusts the moment when balance is reached.
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