Sara Gaqa
Sara Gaqa was born in 1980 in a small town called Geldern in the very west of Germany where she spent most of her childhood. She also lived in Teheran/Iran for a couple of years where her father is originally from. Growing up, she always had a keen interest in art and design, and started painting on canvas at the age of 14.
In 2000 Sara decided to study Natural Science and finished her masters in Biology in 2006. She met her husband while traveling through South Africa, and finally decided to move to South Africa in 2008 at which point she left the field of Science and decided to follow her passion. Since 2015 she has been actively concentrating on her work as an artist. Today she resides with her family in Hout Bay, near Cape Town.
As a completely self-taught artist, she draws inspiration from all that surrounds her. She is especially fascinated with the African culture and its people, and this influences her art, as does her insight into the African heritage and myths gained through her marriage into the Xhosa culture. The magic of Africa is combined with the gold of the Orient as well as the European love for simplicity and non-colour.
Her art does not dominate a room but rather harmonises with the environment, while still sending out a powerful message to the careful observer. Soft colours and textures model the artwork’s different developmental stages from draft sketch to detailed finish, and yet each stage complements the other. Sara’s portraits are meant to speak to the observer, communicating a feeling, a moment in time, a memory.
Sara prefers to work with oil, sometimes in combination with other media. Using brushes and the pallet knife, she tries to find a fine balance between naturalistic and abstract elements.
