About Me

Through her figurative drawings and paintings, Rola Najm adds her voice to all the artists who use their work as a refuge and vehicle to express the stress and fear they live under. Najm’s work is not politically motivated; it is a lifeline to a tranquil space where she can explore memory and reflect on family, friends, and the beauty woven throughout her culture.

Najm, who is self-taught began exploring art at an early age and continued through college where she studied pharmacology. After earning her degree, she continued to develop her craft. Najm finds respite throughout the day and evening to create new work. “Resilience means going back to the canvas even after the bright colors of the past have lost their luster,” Najm says and points to a new figurative drawing. “I focus on the eyes because I believe the eyes express hope, wonder, and audacity of the human spirit—whether the body is able to do so.”

In other paintings, such as “Split Personality,” she reflects the turmoil in Lebanon, where political and religious factions are tearing once peaceful communities apart. In her home, as is the case with most families throughout Lebanon, the radio plays incessantly, feeding accounts of war that add to fears of uncertainty and unrest. Throughout it all, Najm makes art, putting her feelings onto paper, a testament to her life.

Of her subjects, Najm says she is exploring ideas that interest her. And she says she is most drawn to abstraction, impressionism, pop art, fauvism, and modernism. Ultimately, her paintings reflect an intensity of spirit and evolve out of a combination of memory and photographs. As she works, she allows the process of making art take control, even as war planes on bombing runs fly overhead.

Availability of materials and painting supplies is often an issue. Friends send supplies from other countries, but fighting and unstable truces make dependable deliveries an impossibility. Travel to Beirut or anywhere to find art supplies is also difficult to plan for the same reason. And yet, the desire to create remains a constant flame.

Economic uncertainties in Lebanon have led Najm to explore career paths other than her academic degree. But though daily life in Lebanon is unstable, it is from this vantage point that Najm quietly reflects the emotional depth of bearing witness to life in a war zone.