New SAND Art Editor Ruhi P. Amin joined the team with an exciting new vision and identity for the artistic direction of the journal. As a British-Indian artist, chef, and writer (in that order), Ruhi was born in London, spent four years in Paris studying Fine Arts, and has performed and had her work exhibited in multiple shows in Paris, London, Brussels, and Berlin. She is also the co-creator of Berlin-based artists’ and writers’ collective Slanted House.
Ruhi is inspired by a range of artists from 18th century masters to contemporary creators such as Tracy Emin, Rashid Johnson, Sophie Calle, Albert Oehlen, Yoko Ono, Mariechen Danz, and Joseph Beuys, particularly his blackboard drawings. “If I had to name one artist who will always hold a place in my heart, it’s Francisco Goya,” Ruhi says. ”His black and white drawings (especially the one of Don Quixote) are forever etched in my memory, some of the most beautiful artwork I’ve ever discovered.”
And she’s looking for a similar range in the work that artists submit to SAND. Ruhi says, “Sometimes I find that artwork is overly complicated and over-thought. There is a wonderful simplicity in executing a good idea through honesty.” She encourages SAND submitters to show her “something real and different – something I don’t know.” Conceptually, she’s open, whether the work is political, experimental, text and painting, or sketches, which she “LOVES” (in all caps). Ruhi “strongly” encourages “sculptors and performance artists to send in stills and images of their work” as well. “We need to see more of a variety of mediums,” she says, “and particularly performance, which in our current social and political climate is proving to be one of the most powerful”.
Ruhi is especially interested in artists whose stories are expressed through their art. “When looking for intriguing artwork,” she says, “I’m drawn to the background of the artist, more so than the aesthetic and materiality of the piece itself. If an artist is able to beautifully combine a conceptual structure with history and personality and choose their medium well, then I believe the piece will be a success.” It is also important to her that artists of color and artists from the LGBTQ+ communities are elevated since these stories are especially important to share and show.
SAND submissions of visual art, fiction, flash fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and translations are open until January 5th, 2020. All formats and mediums of visual art are accepted, including illustration, painting, printmaking, drawing, photography, and images of installments and performance art. Read our submissions guidelines and send in your very best work here.
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