Tallal Shammout

Lives and works in Vienna, Austria

Artist statement

My work beginn with a small sheet of paper in a small space. it begins with intimacy. I work across painting and printmaking, and much of my practice centers on a process that bridges the two: enlarging color negatives of my ink wash paintings. A small, spontaneous gesture - made quickly, intuitively, without correction - becomes magnified into something monumental. In that enlargement, every tremor of the hand, every hesitation, every moment of confidence is exposed. The intimate becomes public. My practice is intuitive and spontaneous by necessity. I deliberately avoid forced approaches. That is why I begin with smaller formats - they permit risk, they invite mistake, and they keep the dialogue between myself and the work open and alive. The themes that surface in my work are : work, fear, strength, and endurance. I am drawn to sports and to painting alike because both demand a sustained confrontation with one's own limits. The athlete and the painter both work, both fail, both get up again. Repetition, discipline, and exhaustion become a kind of meditation. Ultimately, my work is an ongoing observation of oneself.

Artwork