The arena of the Sun 1954

“The Arena of the Sun,” by Princess Fahrelnissa Zeid is like stained glass, or maybe even a kaleidoscope in oil paint. It must have taken real guts to make this painting; guts, and probably, lots of time! Imagine the artist, Zeid, surrounded by all these little shapes and colors, wrestling with them, shifting them around, trying to make them fit just so. The colors are warm, but intense – reds, yellows, purples – creating this vibrating visual field, like you can almost feel the sun's energy radiating from the canvas. There’s a sense of dynamism to the painting that makes you wonder if she was inspired by the Futurists. I bet Zeid worked on this piece over days, weeks, maybe even months, each mark building upon the last. Each artist is in dialogue with art history, trying to find new ways of expressing themselves. With painting we all work together, across time, towards something really amazing.