Soumati French / Algerian, b. 1987

Myriam Achour Soumati is a French-Algerian self-taught artist, painter and illustrator. As a dreamer and highly sensitive kid, drawing and painting was always her happy place. Growing up in Paris, she spent her summers in the beautiful French countryside of Charentes drawing, painting and absorbing the work of masters Van Gogh, Matisse and Cézanne. Decades spent imagining life, creating art, art creating life. After building a successful career in marketing, her calling to become an artist became too strong to ignore. So, in 2017 she jumped off the 9-5 corporate career track to ride her childhood dream, making a living and a life from art. In 2017 Soumati Studio was born - Soumati being the name of the Algerian tribe she's descended from. It started life as a slow fashion clothing brand and evolved into an online art & print shop and illustration services. Today she's creating, exhibiting and selling her paintings, a dream she never thought possible. Simple lines, vibrant and grounding colours, a strong sense of freedom and power are the key pillars of her work. Female empowerment, sisterhood and connection to nature have always been a great source of inspiration. They’re now firmly at the heart of her work. Embracing and activating her divine feminine has nurtured her art in all kinds of ways. From her creation process to subject matter. In a hectic, absurd and ever more connected/ disconnected world, she find meaning and comfort in Mother Nature and the Sacred Feminine. The simplicity and power of the “being” versus the “doing.” Being free to be who we truly are - diverse, bare and shameless - in harmony with each other and nature. This is the story of The Atlas Mountains Sisterhood, the series of paintings she exhibited at Open House Hackney, in London in November 2021 and at The Other Art Fair virtual edition in June 2022. Painting her women naked is a celebration of body diversity and positivity. As therapeutic as it is for her, she hopes to bring this healing energy to others through her art. She purposely keeps the faces of her women abstract to leave space for your imagination. Her intention is for you to connect to your own emotions and activate the divine feminine within you, whatever gender you choose to identify to. Her mission is to take you on a journey of beauty, aliveness and meaningfulness to help you connect to your heart, to feel empowered, unapologetic, present and free.

Instagram