Samta Benyahia ( ar, صامته بن يحيى) born in Constantine, Algeria, in 1950, is an Algerian French artist, known for her

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Wester ...

Berber

Andalusian Andalusia is a region in Spain. Andalusian may also refer to: Animals *Andalusian chicken, a type of chicken *Andalusian donkey, breed of donkey *Andalusian hemipode, a buttonquail, one of a small family of birds *Andalusian horse, a breed of ho ...

geometrical patterns and

rosaceae Rosaceae (), the rose family, is a medium-sized family of flowering plants that includes 4,828 known species in 91 genera. The name is derived from the type genus ''Rosa''. Among the most species-rich genera are '' Alchemilla'' (270), '' Sorbu ...

, called ''fatima''. Benyahia studied at the

École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs The École nationale supérieure des Arts Décoratifs (ÉnsAD, also known as Arts Decos', École des Arts Décoratifs) is a public grande école of art and design of PSL Research University. The school is located in the Rue d'Ulm in Paris. Prof ...

, Paris from 1974 to 1980, and subsequently taught at the École supérieure des Beaux-Arts :fr:École des beaux-arts d'Alger in Algiers from 1980 to 1988. She moved to France in 1988 and received her

Master of Advanced Studies A Master of Advanced Studies or Master of Advanced Study (MAS, M.A.S., or MASt) is a postgraduate degree awarded in various countries. Master of Advanced Studies programs may be non-consecutive programs tailored for "specific groups of working pro ...

plastic arts Plastic arts are art forms which involve physical manipulation of a plastic medium by molding or modeling such as sculpture or ceramics. Less often the term may be used broadly for all the visual arts (such as painting, sculpture, film and p ...

from the

University of Paris VIII Paris 8 University Vincennes-Saint-Denis (french: Université Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis) is a public university in Paris, France. Once part of the historic University of Paris, it is now an autonomous public institution. It is one of the th ...

. She currently works and lives in Paris. In the past twenty years, Benyahia has participated in numerous group and solo art exhibitions in venues throughout the world, including the Dak’Art Biennale of

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in ...

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣� ...

(2004), the

Venice Biennial The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...

(2003), the

Modern Art Oxford Modern Art Oxford is an art gallery established in 1965 in Oxford, England. From 1965 to 2002, it was called The Museum of Modern Art, Oxford. The gallery presents exhibitions of modern and contemporary art. It has a national and internationa ...

, England (2003), and the Kulturhuset, Stockholm, Sweden (2004), the Spacex Gallery,

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal c ...

, UK (2001–2002), the Residency and Exhibition Art in General, New York City (1996), as well as at several European and worldwide galleries. Samta is the sister of painter and sculptor

Ahmed Benyahia Ahmed Benyahia ( ar, أحمد بن يحيى; born in Constantine, Algeria, on 11 May 1943) is an Algerian artist. He is a notable alumnus of the ''École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts'' of Paris, where as a student in the late 1960s he p ...

, student of

César Baldaccini César (born Cesare Baldaccini; 1 January 1921 – 6 December 1998), also occasionally referred to as César Baldaccini (), was a noted French sculptor. César was at the forefront of the Nouveau Réalisme movement with his radical compressi ...

at l'École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, and later a co-designer of the

César Award Cesar, César or Cèsar may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''César'' (film), a 1936 film directed by Marcel Pagnol * ''César'' (play), a play by Marcel Pagnolt * César Award, a French film award Places * Cesar, Portugal * Ce ...

trophy,

French cinema French cinema consists of the film industry and its film productions, whether made within the nation of France or by French film production companies abroad. It is the oldest and largest precursor of national cinemas in Europe; with primary infl ...

's equivalent of the American

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...

. She is the aunt of Algerian infographic artist and

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary an ...

Racim Benyahia Benyahia Racim Bey ( ar, بن يحيى رسيم باي; Born in Constantine, Algeria, in 1987) is an Algerian Digital Illustrator and Cartoonist. Racim Benyahia is the winner of the 1st Prize for the ''Best Poster'' at the 5th International Fest ...

Works

In the ''Architecture of the Veil'', Benyahia's work was described as acquiring its theme:

from the
Mashrabiya A ''mashrabiya'' or ''mashrabiyya'' ( ar, مشربية) is an architectural element which is characteristic of traditional architecture in the Islamic world and beyond. It is a type of projecting oriel window enclosed with carved wood lattice ...
, the openwork screens used in
Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on th ...

Islamic architecture Islamic architecture comprises the architectural styles of buildings associated with Islam. It encompasses both secular and religious styles from the early history of Islam to the present day. The Islamic world encompasses a wide geographic ...
to cover windows and balconies, allowing those inside—typically women—to view the outside world without being seen. The installation provides a beautiful and dynamic exploration of
gender Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures us ...
as well as the
dialectic Dialectic ( grc-gre, διαλεκτική, ''dialektikḗ''; related to dialogue; german: Dialektik), also known as the dialectical method, is a discourse between two or more people holding different points of view about a subject but wishing to ...
between interior and exterior, light and
shadow A shadow is a dark area where light from a light source is blocked by an opaque object. It occupies all of the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross section of a shadow is a two-dimensional silhouette ...
, concealment and
revelation In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entities. Background Inspiration – such as that bestowed by God on th ...
, and private versus public space.

What it is difficult to convey in words, however, is how beautiful and entrancing her work is. Seduced by colour and
pattern A pattern is a regularity in the world, in human-made design, or in abstract ideas. As such, the elements of a pattern repeat in a predictable manner. A geometric pattern is a kind of pattern formed of geometric shapes and typically repeated li ...
, the viewer is invited to negotiate the imagined boundaries within the contemporary space of the gallery whilst her use of traditional North African designs also explore the idea of
infinity Infinity is that which is boundless, endless, or larger than any natural number. It is often denoted by the infinity symbol . Since the time of the ancient Greeks, the philosophical nature of infinity was the subject of many discussions am ...
. Through the use of repetition, skilled designers from medieval
Arabia The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate. ...
as well as contemporary artists like Benyahia use complex yet familiar patterns to give an impression of endlessness, which is often associated with the Islamic conception of God. Shimmering like reflections of the sea, her piece is a stunning invitation to "lose oneself" in the overall decorative design.

References

External links

Samta Benyahia Official Website

Fowler Museum at UCLA

Nafas Art Magazine

Braintree Town Hall Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benyahia, Samta Algerian artists Living people 1950 births People from Constantine, Algeria Algerian women artists Algerian contemporary artists 20th-century Algerian artists 21st-century Algerian artists