Author: Lizzy Vartanian Collier

Lizzy Vartanian Collier is a London-based writer and curator. She is the founder of Gallery Girl - a London-based curatorial platform and website dedicated to modern and contemporary art from across the globe. Her work is primarily focused on supporting emerging female artists from the Middle East and the Caucasus. She has written for Canvas Magazine, Harper's Bazaar Arabia, Ibraaz, Jdeed Magazine, Suitcase and Vice Arabia among other publications. Her exhibitions in London and Armenia have been featured in Vogue Arabia, The Art Newspaper, The Art Gorgeous and numerous other news outlets. Gallery Girl has also spoken in the UK, UAE and Belgium about the contemporary art scene in the MENA region, and is planning further events in London and Amman.

Mustafa Hulusi @ Pi Artworks

May 1, 2019.Reading time 5 minutes.

Scattered across the floor of Cyprus Realism at Pi Artworks are a series of dried-up pomegranates that have been painted gold. The orbs rest upon pieces of crumpled up newspaper, which are covered in photographs of rotting fruit. The decaying images contrast with the pomegranates resting above them, as they glisten in golden splendour, with […]

Anthea Hamilton @ Thomas Dane Gallery

April 25, 2019.Reading time 7 minutes.

Cecil Vyse – one-time fiancé of protagonist Miss Lucy Honeychurch in E.M. Forster’s A Room with a View (1908) – is a pretentious character that perceives himself as a sensitive intellectual, resulting in a sense of obstinate self-awareness and an exaggerated style. In an exhibition filled with butterflies, boots, nudity and tartan, Vyse’s skewed mode […]

Gallery Girl meets AVAH Collective

April 17, 2019.Reading time 8 minutes.

The modern day nation of Afghanistan is located in a geography with a long historical and cultural significance both locally and internationally. Yet how many of Gallery Girl’s readers know anything about Afghan art? I’m guessing that if any, there are very few who do. Most probably think of Afghanistan and immediately make associations with […]

Augustine Paredes @ Campus Art Dubai

April 10, 2019.Reading time 6 minutes.

Leaving home to be a migrant worker in a different country is like cooking Adobo. Different ingredients in one pot, boiled and simmered – simultaneously stirred in different directions and ways, peppered with additional spices – until finally cooked through and ready to be served – Augustine Paredes At this year’s Art Dubai photography based […]

The Thousand and One Nights @ Artual

April 2, 2019.Reading time 5 minutes.

The tale of the One Thousand and One Nights is synonymous with the Middle East. In the story, King Shahryar marries a string of women, murdering them after just one night after discovering that his first wife was unfaithful to him. When his vizier could no longer find any women, his daughter Scheherazade offers herself […]

Gallery Girl meets Ripsy May

March 27, 2019.Reading time 8 minutes.

“This person could really do with a necklace or some boobs” – Ripsy May Artist, musician and zine-creator Ripsy May could be described as a triple threat. Her artwork enchants with the endearing yet mischievous energies her child-like characters emit, while her silky smooth voice provides the basis for songs that touch on love and […]

Hayv Kahraman @ De La Warr

March 19, 2019.Reading time 13 minutes.

“And here I am, calling myself part of you but I can’t read you. Am I betraying you? How can I love you if I abandon you? I dwell in between the us and them… Naked, with ruby lips and cadmium cheeks, she gives you what you desire because she knows you like it. She’s […]