Andrew Sookrah: Slowly, Quietly

Andrew Sookrah
 
Over his experience of the unprecedented times that the pandemic has presented, Andrew Sookrah has had to learn to find ways to embrace the mandatory and necessary isolation, and the effect of this towards his practice. This has involved changing the way in which Sookrah both thinks about and executes his work, and analyzing the role of the external factors that inform it. On these changes, Sookrah describes that “time seemed to slow down, and with it, my approach to my art; my entire being, my thought process, my brushstrokes seem to slow down too, to match time… I have found that my work has changed ever so slightly as a result of this calmer state of existence…”

Quieting the passionate social commentary often found within his work, Sookrah has focused on landscapes of past expeditions, allowing time for  past monologues to quietly grow to bear fruit in the future. Although his work presents a newfound sense of calm and freedom through his imagery, Sookrah’s work is informed by his study of the powerful influence of unquestioning belief over human decisions; sometimes followed by disastrous results.

Andrew Sookrah is an artist, designer, and art instructor currently based in Toronto, ON. Born in Guyana in 1956, Sookrah was recognized for his artistic expression from an early age, and at age 16, Sookrah began working as a designer and illustrator at Ace Advertisers (Georgetown, Guyana), later taking on the role of company art director. Immigrating to Canada in 1974, Sookrah attended multidisciplinary continuing education programs at the Ontario College of Art (OCA), George Brown College and Ryerson University. Equipped with a rich background in design, Sookrah’s paintings present a deep understanding of composition employing bold colour and confident raw brushwork, encapsulating the essence of the human spirit. ​