Interview with Michelle Sakhai
Photos courtesy of Michelle Sakhai and Alan Barnett

“Painting is the process of self-discovery.”
–Michelle Sakhai

Michelle Sakhai, a contemporary expressionist artist, discusses her creative process and what led her to incorporate gold and silver leaf into her artwork, becoming a pioneer in the medium.

Tell us about yourself and how you first became interested in art:
My family has always valued creativity and self-expression, so my interest in art started at a young age. As soon as I was able to hold a brush, I began painting and couldn’t stop, and I quickly realized that being a creator was an intrinsic part of me. Being half-Japanese and half-Iranian, my artistic identity is deeply intertwined with my mixed heritage, which has fueled my creative vision and artistic style. The cultures are quite different from each other but equally rich and impactful, so I’m grateful to have the vibrancy and individuality of both.

How specifically has your heritage influenced your work?
I was born and raised in New York, but growing up, I spent my summers visiting my grandparents in Kashiwazaki, Japan. For three months out of the year, I was immersed in the local culture and attended Japanese school, and we would also go on sailing adventures. All these experiences instilled in me a profound appreciation of the simplicity and depth of Japanese art and life.

While there, I also encountered historic Japanese zen paintings and shoji screens, which have gold leaf incorporated into their designs. Those always resonated with me because I found the gold to be powerful yet simplistic. Although I organically shifted to using gold and silver leaf on my own later in life, I know growing up around those designs had a deep impact on me and the evolution of my art.

How has your art changed throughout your life?
When I was thirteen, I transitioned from watercolors to oils. Then in high school, I became a landscape artist and painted en plein air, which is a French term meaning “in the open air”; I would basically take my paints with me wherever I went. I also began selling my work during that time. Following graduation, I studied abroad at a few different art schools in Barcelona, Spain, and Aix-en-Provence, France, where I continued painting outdoors and focused on the impressionistic style of painting.

After graduating from Hofstra University and later earning a master of fine arts from the Academy of Art University, my work slowly evolved, becoming less impressionistic and more abstract. I turned inward and became my own muse rather than searching for an outside subject. This was around the time I started incorporating gold leaf in my art. Working with it adds a unique dimension and reflective element to my paintings, creating a luminous and ethereal quality that brings together the old and the new. I love how a painting transforms with the changing light throughout the day—it never looks the same. I now include metal leaf in all my paintings, and it’s become what I’m known for.

Walk us through your creative process:
I begin with meditation, which allows me to better connect with my inner emotions. Before painting, I always have my canvases prepared, meaning I have already layered them with gold or silver leaf. This often takes me days to complete since I brush each leaf square onto the canvas one by one; it’s a long and sensitive process since the material is extremely fragile and can fall apart at any moment.

I will sometimes have a concept in mind of what I’d like to paint, but that mostly serves as a guide rather than a strict plan. More often than not, the painting evolves naturally as I let each stroke guide me to the next one. I like working with texture and constantly keep in mind the negative space of the metal leaf because it’s just as important to me as the paint strokes themselves.

What inspires you?
Living inspires me. I know that may sound cliché, but it’s true. All the suffering and all the joy that comes with living a human experience fuels my work. I paint from a soul level, and there’s really no right or wrong; each expression of emotion just is. By exposing my most vulnerable self in my creations, I want to dissolve the boundaries that separate us. My hope is that people who encounter my work will better connect with their own inner consciousness.

Tell us about some of your past and current exhibits:
My work has found homes in museums, private residences, galleries, universities, and institutions such as Montefiore Medical Center in New York. I also enjoy exhibiting in hotels since I find them to be the most interactive; for instance, I’ve appeared in the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco and the Miraval Resort & Spa in the Berkshires and Arizona as well as abroad at the Kamakura Park Hotel in Japan and El Hotel Pacha in Ibiza. And I had a solo exhibition in Korea at the Space776 gallery in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, last year. It was exciting since it was my first time showing there.

Beyond that, I was recently asked to exhibit in a new designer showroom in Cape Cod through KW Contemporary Art in Maine, where I have an ongoing show. Additionally, my work is displayed at Monica Graham Fine Art in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, and the Patrick Jones Gallery in Dallas, Texas.

For more info, visit michellesakhai.com