Cathy Tabbakh

Cathy Tabbakh is a London based painter with a passion for the mesmerising power of colour. She has been exhibited in both London and her native France, and holds degrees in Fashion Textile; major in Textile Design and minor in Fine Art (2011) and Art History and Archaeology (2017).

Developing her practice first with abstract, then later through portraiture, Tabbakh now focuses on colliding architectural and figurative scenes with a hint of surrealism. Through her use of simplified design and bold colours, she takes inspiration from existing imagery, holiday scenes, her surroundings such as bathroom or kitchen, her obsession with gardening and imaginative elements to create a dream like quality.

Tabbakh’s recent compositions combine fractured elements that often pair water, in particular waves and their infinite movement, with surrounding landscape details such as tiles, plants, a piece of furniture or the female figure. She achieves this through the use of a wide colour palette, however, fiery reds, warm blues and tropical yellows are systematically present to saturate and contrast the story. Tabbakh primarily works on canvas but also with paper and wood panels. This allows her an important sense of freedom to experiment with the various intensities of colour and how this colour reacts with the media at hand.