Artist Statement

My name is Mehnaz Sultana and I’m 18 years old. I attend Foreign Language of Global Studies High School and currently a senior. I also take classes in Parson The New School for Design I started focusing on art starting my sophomore year in High School. My art teacher, Mr. Dufour, introduced me to the world of art. He inspired me to work hard and create new art works. I was able to experiment with new material such as charcoal, acrylic, oil pastel, watercolor and collage. I have been able to create art work in which I feel satisfied with since I know I put all of my thought and work into each and every piece because of Mr. Dufour’s encouragement.      

As an artist I feel like I am able to capture moments in my life and then create them through my art in order to remember them the way I want to. In a sense I feel like I tend to draw things the way my mind perceives them. In his class an artist I was introduced to Frida Kahlo, who has inspired me because of the way she presents herself in her portraits. She is not afraid to show the world how she sees herself. She encourages me to do portraits that are not beautiful but a depiction of how I actually appeal. I like to show my thoughts through the images I draw.

 I have tried to use different variety as possible. Overcoming challenges has become a second nature for me. Through the rigorous use of new mediums I have been able to explore the qualities in art that tend to be looked over. In my work I feel like I have been able to express my feelings and thoughts with every brush of paint or line erased. I try to depict my experiences in each of my pieces and give the viewer an insight as to what I have seen or done in my past or present. I am able to accomplish the work I have done so far with the help of the people and programs I have been a part of.

My portfolio is called kaleidoscope because each pieces of work represents me and my experiences. My art work reflects on my personality and I wanted to do several portraits showing different sides to me. I did this in series of four portraits and I have purposely placed this as my first portfolio pieces because this is something people don’t see right away someone wise and young to portrayed this in some of the pieces I look older. My first self portrait is a grey scale study. I wanted to show the colorless side of me and challenge myself, moving away from the usual colorful pieces. This is on a 16x20 canvas.

Reflecting on my work, I want to apply to Fine Arts because this way I can work in different variety since I am still not sure on what to do and I feel that going in to this major will help me explore and get the most out of it.