Sewan Bakvis

Sewan Bakvis is a contemporary figurative artist whose work explores identity, displacement, and inner strength. Born with Armenian roots and raised in the Netherlands, her practice is shaped by the experience of existing between cultures, histories, and emotional landscapes.

Her paintings focus on the human figure as a carrier of memory. The women she portrays do not perform or explain themselves. They remain present, often silent, holding what cannot be seen. Through layered surfaces, fragile line work, and controlled areas of absence, Sewan creates images that exist between presence and disappearance.

Recurring elements in her work reference personal and collective heritage. Fragments of textile, symbolic forms, architectural traces, and quiet gestures. These layers do not illustrate identity, but suggest its complexity and (in)stability.

Working primarily with mixed media on canvas and paper, Sewan builds her surfaces gradually, allowing tension to remain visible. Her figures are neither idealized nor resolved. Strength in her work is not heroic, but persistent.

Her work is part of private collections and continues to develop within an international contemporary context.

Self taught artist. Masters in Communication and Information science.

Chongqing China, march 11th - april 14 2026