Salwa Zeidan’s beginnings trace back to Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, a landscape known for its quiet stretches of land and deep sense of history. That environment gave her an early awareness of space, form, and the subtle ways surroundings shape perception. But it was her years of travel that broadened her artistic view. Moving through different countries, she collected impressions—how people think, how they create, how art shifts meaning across borders. These experiences became the groundwork for her creative voice.
Her path eventually led her to Abu Dhabi. There, she opened a contemporary art gallery that reflects her belief in open exchange and cultural growth. The gallery has grown into a dependable space for regional artists—painters seeking a platform, sculptors refining their language, younger artists looking for their first opportunity. In balancing her own artistic practice with her role as a gallerist, Zeidan created a setting where ideas move freely and artists feel truly seen.
Eternal Whirl: Giving Shape to Motion
Her sculptural series Eternal Whirl took shape in 2009. It began as a simple interest in how spiral forms move through marble, but over time it became central to her work. Zeidan uses both black and white marble, treating each stone as a partner with its own temperament. White marble offers openness, light, and softness. Black marble brings depth, weight, and a sense of mystery. In both cases, she aims to carve forms that seem to breathe.
Marble, for her, is not static. She often talks about it as if it carries its own rhythm. Rounded edges, smooth curves, and flowing lines reveal a natural movement she responds to intuitively. The spiral grows directly out of this movement. It loops and stretches without breaks, creating a sense of continuity. Zeidan often says it feels like the stone already knows how it wants to move—she simply guides it.
The spiral holds meaning beyond its beauty. For her, it mirrors how life unfolds: progress mixed with setbacks, cycles that return, moments of expansion and contraction. The title Eternal Whirl hints at this constant shift. Even in marble—one of the most solid materials—she carves a reminder that nothing is truly still.
As the series evolved, she introduced another element: figures emerging from stone. She carves only the front surface of the marble, leaving the other three sides raw. The result is a striking contrast between untouched stone and the refined figure pushing forward from it. The rough surfaces speak of nature, age, and origin. The carved side shows intention—human effort bringing shape and meaning into the world.
Black marble heightens this contrast. The figure appears almost like a shadow rising from darkness, inviting the viewer to look deeper. Zeidan treats the carving as exploration rather than domination. She listens to the material, carving slowly, allowing the figure to reveal itself. The process feels archaeological—an uncovering rather than an imposition.
These sculptures echo the movement of personal growth. The spirals reflect emotional patterns. The half-formed figures show how people evolve while still holding pieces of who they were. They encourage viewers to pause and reflect on the motion within their own experiences.
Minimalist Paintings: Finding Stillness Through Reduction
In parallel with her sculptures, Zeidan has spent the last two decades creating minimalist black-and-white paintings, sometimes accented with delicate transparent color. After years of working with vivid, energetic palettes, she moved toward simplicity. This shift wasn’t about reducing expression—it was about clearing space.
These works feel like moments of silence. They offer calm, clean surfaces that slow the viewer’s pace. In a world full of noise and constant activity, her minimalist paintings act as brief escapes. They don’t ask for interpretation or narrative. Instead, they give room for the viewer’s thoughts to soften and settle.
Zeidan thinks of these paintings as openings—quiet invitations to pause. Their simplicity gives clarity. Their restraint creates room for personal reflection. They are not meant to overwhelm; they are meant to steady.
A Practice Grounded in Motion and Stillness
Across her sculptures and paintings, Zeidan returns to the same themes: movement, pause, emergence, transformation, and the dialogue between what is natural and what is shaped. Whether she is carving spirals into marble or laying down a single black line on canvas, her work encourages viewers to notice the cycles that define life—and to find meaning in both the movement forward and the quiet moments in between.
