By The Artist

Working primarily in acrylic, Ziya creates detailed paintings that explore form, movement, and character through landscapes, wildlife, and portraiture. Her subjects often emerge from lived experiences—moments of stillness or interruption that invite closer looking rather than spectacle. Whether depicting birds gathered at the water’s edge or individuals rendered with care and depth, her work reflects an enduring commitment to realism as a means of attention and respect.

Ziya works fluently across multiple media, including acrylics, oils, pastels, watercolors, graphite, ink, and colored pencil, though acrylic remains her preferred medium for its brilliance and expressive range. She is drawn to large-scale formats and has developed a distinct practice painting on wood panels, allowing works to exist with a physical presence that blurs the boundary between image and object.

Her work has been exhibited nationally, including at Soul Basel (Art Basel Satellite Exhibition), ArtServe, Broward Art Guild, and the National Urban League Conference. She has been a juried resident artist at the Bakehouse Art Complex in Miami’s Wynwood Art District. Ziya’s paintings are held in private and institutional collections and have been featured in regional and national publications, including the Miami Herald and South Florida Times.

In addition to her studio practice, Ziya is the creator and host of The Living Gallery podcast, where she curates reflective conversations on art, realism, spirituality, and creative process. She is also dedicated to community education, facilitating art classes for seniors, adults, and children that emphasize creativity, presence, and personal expression at every stage of life

 

I gather these subtle moments in life and nature into works of art not to reflect my own genius, but the genius of God revealed within the living gallery we call creation.

 

I paint these moments because they calm and ground me. They teach me to breathe, to live with order and discipline, and to move with intention and purpose — in surrender to the natural gifts placed within us by God. Through this practice, painting becomes not only an act of creation, but a way of living attentively.