"My art is not something the viewer needs to 'grasp.' The role of the artwork is to 'grasp' the viewer. When we look at art, we agree to open our minds to receive it. Art makes us more sensitive. When an artist creates small details that draw us in, it’s because we’ve become a little more sensitive. Art, in its purest form, is an expression of the soul."
These are the words of Bahraini painter Salman Alnajem. A graduate of the Royal College of Art in London, he uses heavy industrial materials, such as steel, as a canvas to explore themes related to ancient civilizations, technology, religion, and mythology. Having exhibited his works in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, as well as the UK, France, and Italy, Alnajem draws inspiration from religious and symbolic references to create compositions that attempt to understand the wisdom of past civilizations to influence the present and future.
In his latest project, titled Cosmic Perspectives, Alnajem has produced a series of small and medium-sized paintings, vibrant with color and inspired by ancient sites such as the Pyramids or Stonehenge. He explores ancient symbols and the sophisticated knowledge of past civilizations in architecture, astronomy, and astrology, revealing intriguing links between cultures far apart in time and space. For him, these sites and symbols seem to share a universal language across ages. Alnajem describes his art as "abstract symbolism," combining elements of contemporary pop culture and antiquity to create simple yet harmonious compositions.