"Red Sea Tengai I" Painting

Filiz Soyak is an interdisciplinary artist working in fiber, installation, illuminated sculptures, painting, clay, and sound. Through her work she explores our connection to nature, rhythms, and the subconscious worlds within. She pursues to create works that evoke a sense of peace and calm. Her work has been widely exhibited, collected internationally and is in museum and hotel collections since 2000. Mindfulness practices including meditation and breathwork are integral to her work and much of her work is created in synchronicity with the breath. Motherhood transformed her work to let go of excess, find beauty in less, and utilize non-toxic and sustainable materials. My work has evolved with me and changes as I do. It has cycled through many iterations and that journey represents my history. Most recently, the change is a product of motherhood and experience – I believe I can say more, with less. I spend a lot of time in nature and it is a constant influence on my work. Having young children has also made me consider the materials I use - shifting to using natural, safe, and non-toxic materials and dyes from foraged plants. Soyak was born in 1979 in Belgium to a Turkish father and Swedish mother. She spent her childhood in Japan, a time that continues to impress through her work, before moving to the United States. After several years in Boston, she spent time living in the Middle East and Caribbean before landing in New York.