Zanya Dahl
Dublin
Zanya is an Irish artist based in Dublin. Her work explores the theme of connection.
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About
Zanya is an emerging figurative painter, working primarily in oils on canvas.
Formerly a graphic designer, Zanya founded a multi-award-winning, design consultancy in 2003 called Artizan. As creative director, she conceptualised, designed, directed and executed creative digital solutions for numerous brands representing a broad range of industry sectors. In 2019, she felt a pull back to painting and wound up the company to enable her to paint full-time.
She has maintained her studio in Merrion Square where she paints daily and posts her work regularly to her Instagram account. She exhibited her work for the first time at Artsource in the RDS, Dublin November 2021 and was shortlisted for the RHA 191st annual exhibition. Zanya mixes her time between private commissions and painting themes that resonate with her emotionally. This could be in the form of self-portraiture to document a stage in her own personal evolution, using visual narrative to highlight a social issue or simply to capture a moment of connection.
If you are interested discussing a commission, just send an email to hellozanyadahl@gmail.com
Statement
My focus is around the theme of connection – the absence and discovery of it - how we with connect each other, with our environment and most importantly with our Self. My work seeks to draw attention to the truth of who we are – highlighting aspects of ourselves and our environment that we often overlook or don’t take the time to consider
I engage in self-portraiture to document stages of personal growth - moments when I experience a shift in my awareness. The challenge is to find a way to communicate my internal, felt experience into a visual output that can be understood and felt by the viewer.
The responsibility of being an artist is to bring as much authenticity to my work as I can. The more personal, present, and intentional I am, the more clearly this state of being transfers itself onto the canvas. The art then conveys more than an aesthetic – it carries an additional layer of feeling and emotion, which is felt by others when witnessed.
I paint from my studio in Merrion Sq. I work from photos I have taken or sourced online. I often use Photoshop to merge elements from different images to create a composition that conveys the vision or message I want to express. My digital expertise gives me the opportunity to create multiple versions of an idea in a short space of time. My choice in the final composition is guided by a gut feeling – an internal spark of energy. This image then becomes my reference when painting. My choice of paints, brushes and marks emerge during the process and are very much guided by instinct and the emotion/intention I wish to convey.