Natasha Shoro’s solo exhibition at Karachi's Koel Gallery included abstract mixed media and mixed media collage paintings to site specific installations which address topics from her life experiences of being a woman with multi-cultural influences.
Going through her artworks I felt that life is beautiful. No matter what comes and goes life is a gift of God and we must enjoy it and celebrate it. Not only our own life but also the lives of animals and plants that were sent here for us to think, gain knowledge, to discover and understand to be a good human being. This urge to know about these beings led Natasha into the world of art through which she shared her experiences and inspirations of life with the viewers through her creations.
Born in New York, the contemporary visual artist is based in Los Angeles, with her current show titled “Transcends Boundaries” being a result of her inspirations from her travels, inspired by the aerial cartographies in nature.
Natasha spent the first twelve years of her life travelling extensively as her father worked in the hotel management business. Living in the United States, Africa, Europe and Pakistan exposed Natasha to a wide range of languages and culture. This rich overlap of experience has had a profound influence on Natasha’s art making.
Graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design with honors and a distinction from Iowa State University, Natasha spent her undergraduate years developing a body of work on paper and canvas using translucent acrylic washes inspired by Abstract Expressionism.
Her work has evolved over the years and masters a variety of multi media techniques. Her passion for mark-making in drawing and painting encourages a journey of self-discovery and investigation of personal space and overlapping identity.
Inspired by every single aspect of nature, Natasha’s vibrant works covered water, sun, light, earth, breeze, spirit, dreams, identity, to say in a word- is all about life. That is why blue, yellow, brown and white dominated her works displaying her polite nature and the basic elements of life – water, sun, soil and breeze.
The titles of her paintings also show her experiences of life like a narrator telling a story to the viewers through her paintings. Such as “Blue Coral”, “Dive”, “Flow”, “Life”, “Lightening”, “Precious Life”, “Spiritual Identity” (Triptych), “Transcending Boundaries”, “Washed Ashore”, “Water Mirrors”, “Winter Breeze” and “Dream, Earth Skin” to name a few titles of her paintings.
Throughout her schooling here and abroad, Natasha continued to be recognized and awarded for her accomplishments in fine art, experimenting with a variety of mediums.
Natasha continues to exhibit internationally. Her work is represented by Posner Fine Art and Kevin Barry Fine Art Galleries in Los Angeles.
Receiving two grants, one for her honors project Riding the Waves and the other for a Focus Grant Painting on Fabrics, enabled Natasha to explore various processes.
Natasha competed in a regional art competition at the Brunnier Gallery and Museum in Ames, Iowa where her Ethnic series was honored as “best in show” at the Brunnier Gallery Museum.
'Natasha Shoro, The Essence of Being' is a book written and edited by Anushe Shoro with essays written by art historians Dr.Roberta Carasso, Marjorie Husain, Meher McArthur, and Dr. Joanna Roche.
The concept behind The Essence of Being is a product of Natasha’s drive in celebrating her roots and identity through art, and Anushe’s exploration of interconnectedness with her photography and creative writing. The mother-daughter collaboration foster their shared vision of ‘being’ through their art collected in the form of a book.
A catalogue accompanying the exhibition starts with a poem by Anushe which beautifully explained the exhibition title and Anushe’s inspiration. Titled “Being Transcends Boundaries” the poem says:
“The being
Is not I,
Not She,
Not He,
But we.
It embraces difference,
As it is rooted in our hearts.
It resonates in our prayers,
No matter where we aim our faithful darts.
It awakens within our potential
Which is up to us to use.
It is nor a game
Of win or lose.
It allows us to walk the path of being
A global citizen,
Showing us the variety of shoes,
From where we are able to see beauty
Of the vast directions we are given to choose.
It celebrates the human inside of each of us,
And teaches us the meaning of human.
The being binds us all,
And that is the essence.”