“We have art so that we shall not die of reality”. I strongly believe in this sentence by Nietzsche as it describes perfectly the foundation of my mind growing as an artist. I am Solmaz Lienhard, a sculptor who was fond of imagining and creating her imaginations since early ages. From mud castles to handmade dolls, I have imagined and build colorful forms and volumes.
I pursued my passion to the academic level and studied Handcrafts in
one of the best Art universities in Iran, while being supervised by masters with different styles.
After receiving my bachelor’s degree, I attended many courses and workshops in Iran and Armenia to expand my techniques and skills such as drawing, watercolor painting, miniature, calligraphy and batik printing. I learned to work with different materials like clay, wood and metals while I was trying to weave my first carpet. The
continues growth of ideas in my head being complemented with all these
skills and techniques made me an artist in which I could earn a living
with my art. From participating in solo and group exhibitions to
contracting city councils urban design departments for city sculptures, I established myself as a well-known artist in Iran. I even started interior design project and I was the idea developer as well as the executer for most of the projects.
It was almost the second phase of my professional life that I felt the curiosity to go beyond what my senses were used to take, and my mind was used to imagine. That’s why I started a big journey from Far east -e.g. Thailand, India, Nepal, Cambodia to the west – e.g.
Greece, Italy, France and Spain, to get to know other cultures and
perspectives, to polish my learnings and also get a more accurate
outlook towards art. In this journey I witnessed how art can be
different and similar at the same time, not only from country to
another, but also between individuals. Beside
all these experiences and learning along this journey, I grabbed one
more important piece which transformed my mind, my insights and my
attitude towards life, Meditation.
Practicing
meditation, yoga, Qigong, vipassana and Reiki along my journey had a
strong spiritual impact on my mind and soul, making me realize how
humans in a form of life are connected to each other and all eventually
to the essence of universe itself. It taught me the idea of living and
being at the moment, the timelessness and space lessness to achieve
profound stillness of oneself. Short after this trip, I expressed these
concepts in an exhibition in Tehran and later in Basel through two
collections: “Moment” and “Impact”. This collection is composed of
light, colorful volumes made of metal net that are planted next to each
other. The audience can have an impact on all pieces by touching a
hanging magnet on top of the set which describes the idea of spiritual
connections we have as individuals. The interactivity between the
audience and my art was such a great experience for me and for the
audience as well, in a way that I was sure I want to work more on the
interactive artworks in which the audience really gets engaged with the
artwork and deeply understands the idea behind it.
At
the end of 2018, I started a new life in Switzerland. The challenges of
starting over in a completely new environment and culture, as well as
all the new feelings, needs, agonies joys and happiness once more ringed
new bells in my creativity. This period coincided with coronavirus
pandemic, a unique event which affected everyone while once more showed
how connected the whole world is. All these have led me to the
conclusion that I would like to continue working on ideas beyond what is
seen by eyes and received by our limited senses. Ideas that enable us
to remember our spiritual side and reconnect to the energy of the
universe. “Impact” and “Moment” are two of my first artworks around this
idea.
Finally
in my latest collection called “Revive”, I was looking for the ways to
convey the idea of how inner peace can lead one to connect to the
ultimate source of universal energy and liberation. Through all the
spiritual experiences that I have had, I believe that this liberation
from all mundane brings lightness and timelessness. Through this
liberation the layers of energy or so-called Aura of individuals purify
and reaches the greatest shape and color of all time. This is when one
revives.
