NARMIN KASSAM
Location:
Ottawa, ON, Canada
ARTIST BIO
Canadian artist Narmin Kassam creates art as a means of personal exploration, self-expression, and conveying a message. As a meditative practice, her artwork attempts to draw the viewer into an impactful experience of reflection and contemplation on the subject.
Taught by Gordon Harrison, she paints with an impressionistic style that has evolved into mixed media, including decorative and textured paper collages on wood panels. Her inner creative laboratory generates a unique interplay of light and colour with each piece. Narmin’s pieces invoke a sense of wonder and contemplation. Narmin is passionate about women’s empowerment and collaborative community art. Each subject in her pieces conveys something about the nature of humanity, the intricacies of human connection, and the complexities of our inner selves.
Narmin has exhibited her works in both public and private galleries in Canada, including the Manotick Art Gallery (Ottawa 2019), SEEN National Virtual Exhibition inspired by the Aga Khan Museum (Canada 2022), Roundhouse Centre (Vancouver 2022), and the Surrey Art Gallery (2023). The Women United Art Movement will showcase Narmin in a Solo Show in 2025. She has also led the execution of large-scale collaborative mural installations (Ottawa 2018, Toronto 2018, Calgary 2021). As well, Narmin's works have been featured in several international and national art publications. Narmin was longlisted for the 2024 Women United Art Prize in the Collage and Fibre Art category.
ARTIST STATEMENT
My name is Narmin Kassam, and I am an artist based in Ottawa, Canada. The works I am submitting are from my “Beautiful Voice” series which captures the unbreakable strength, solidarity and vibrant diversity of women through layered textures and colours. The series features a short film, an immersive installation, and mixed-media collage paintings. As an African-born woman and former refugee, I deeply connect with each figure in my paintings. The figures represent both beauty and the struggles inherent in their unsung stories of resilience. Their voices are expressed through their thoughts, styles, ethnicities, and shapes.
Creating these pieces honours women and underscores the importance of supporting women as leaders, professionals, mothers, sisters and partners. The layering of textured decorative papers, from Japan, India, and other regions, with paint mirrors layers of identity, strength, colour, and history within each figure. The strength of the wood panels I use complements this. The papers inspire my creativity, guiding the figures and compositions.
My layering technique is also evident in the skin tones and fabric patterns. The combination of paint and paper collaging gives the surfaces a tactile quality, making them engaging and connecting with the viewer reminding us of our collective role in honouring and uplifting women's voices. The clothing and head wraps are created to mimic traditional African fabrics and add depth to the artwork. The facial features and postures are impressionistic, focusing on form and expression through simplified shapes and bold lines. This creative process is meditative, helping me connect spiritually while navigating life’s challenges.
