BERLIN.- The image of the artist has historically been steeped in myth—such as the classical idea of art as a calling, shaped by an inner necessity to create and an unconditional devotion to artistic expression. Today, this notion appears largely demystified. Creating art is a profession, a part of a larger system of production, marketing, and demand.

Yet Aicha Khorchid shows us that this mythwue. A life in art wasn’t something she had embraced from early childhood—she only started painting five years ago. And yet she embodies many of those romantic ideas that reality so often seems to disprove. It wasn’t an academy or a desire for recognition that made her an artist, but life itself. From this stems the necessity of her creative process—the inseparability of her experiences and their artistic expression.

Born in 1981 in Karachi, Pakistan, her family fled to France via Lebanon when she was still an infant. There, the family fell apart. What followed was an unstable life marked by upheaval. She grew up in various foster families, experienced violence and abuse, dropped out of school, and had to face the death of her mother shortly after they were reunited. A sense of calm came when a friend invited her to Mallorca, where she settled at the age of 27.

Around 2020, personal upheavals led her to confront her past, and through this, she found painting. Without academic training or prior experience, she began bringing her life to canvas. Boldly, she faces her past in large-format paintings—life-sized portraits, childhood locations, and memories.

It takes great strength and courage to work the heavy wooden panels—larger than the artist herself—and to engage with personal trauma on such an overwhelming scale. The deeply personal meaning of her work and process is evident in both composition and execution. While the settings in her paintings are often reduced situated between expressive brushwork, abstract color fields, and Art Nouveau-like ornamentation—the faces and skin of her subjects are rich in texture and complexity. They appear both coarse and rough, yet fragile like ancient parchment. Layer by layer, the artist enters into an intense exchange with the people she portrays through brush and paint. The result is raw, almost scarred, but deeply intimate.

Complementing this intense dialogue with the people in her paintings, another focus emerges in her work. As a bittersweet counterpoint, flowers and other ornaments delicately weave over tiles and tablecloths. A symbol of overcoming her past? A reminder to herself to always see the beauty as well?

For the first time, this exhibition also includes a person from Khorchid’s present. In Christophe, she portrays her life partner, showing how deeply art—beyond the exploration of her past—has become part of her life.

Reflecting on her time as an artist, Khorchid describes it as the happiest period of her life so far— a time of reconnecting with herself and freely expressing her emotions. There’s a twofold cause to rejoice then—both in the artist’s joy and in the power of her images, which encourage us to reflect on our past and our relationships with others.

Text by Jonas Sanden