Laila Azra

(b. 1970, Indonesian)

Laila Azra is an Indonesian abstract painter based in Singapore. She graduated from Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) in Western Abstract Painting. The influences of Abstract Expressionism Techniques made famous in the 1940s by Jackson Pollock, Willem De Kooning, and Mark Rothko resonate in Azra’s Art Making.

Azra believes that life is a journey towards God. The shape of the journey depends on our path, and our existence consists of choices we make; this is the canvas of life given to humans. She conveys her belief through her distinct style of abstract expressionism combined with mixed media to create texture and enhance the audience’s visual experience. Her compositions are influenced by personal experience at a universal level. She infuses paint with emotional resonance; simultaneously, she restricts those emotions within the confines of her often indefinable and mysterious forms. She adapts a gestural painting method where she uses her hands and body movement to drip, splash, and scrape on a canvas often positioned flat on the floor. This method resulted in bold, rhythmic lines and texture-rich artworks characterized by the weaving and interweaving layers of acrylic paint and her other chosen mediums. As seen in her works, the movement symbolizes life itself; it can be smooth sailing or turbulent yet create harmonious overall results.

Azra has participated in many local and international exhibitions, including Indonesia, France, Malaysia, and Germany. In 2019, her work Feel like The Kardashians was featured at the Amsterdam Light Festival Edition #8. She has held several solo exhibitions, which include Sewindu: Laila Azra 2010-2018 at Element Art Space, Singapore (2018); Over, through and Under at Element Art Space and Eklektika at Balai Kartini, Indonesia (2014). In 2013, Laila Azra held her solo exhibition at D Gallerie with the title Contrary Passage.