In June 2013 Devoted To… gallery near Leeds was a host to an exhibition by two UK based artists,
Anu Samarüütel and Sam Shendi. Sam works in the field of sculpture, Anu’s current work is
harder to define as it stands somewhere between fashion illustration, graphic art and painting.

First thing you notice is both artists’s love of colour in its purest, most positive and powerful
expression. In fact the work of both creators seems to emanate from the state of joy, playfulness
and happiness. Colour and line are very important elements in Anu Samarüütel's work, who believes
that colour is a carrier of information that talks directly to our subconscious mind, creating certain
emotions.

This artist-curated exhibition project named "SHE" focuses on female aspects of being human,
being a girl, woman, mother. There are also sculptures that marry female figure with
geometric elements, especially pyramid shape with its rich symbolism. Then there are works on
paper that focus on woman’s relationship with fashion, rendering the figures and clothing into a
simplified flat 2- dimensional forms, almost signs.

Anu says that every brush line made on her paintings is crucial- the correct trajectory, the thickness
of the line, the spontaneity.  All has to be perfect and look effortless, elegant and graceful throughout. 

Sam Shendi is influenced by the art and culture of his country of origin- Egypt. Anu Samarüütel
on the other hand, coming from the nordic country of Estonia finds Nordic minimal aesthetics very
close to her heart. 

When painting, she renders people and objects into a simplified form, almost a sign. She does not even  try to make her subjects appear 3-dimensional, the aim is to turn subjects into a concentrate- using   areas of colour, lines and proportion.

Anu has recently started a new series of works called Zoom-in series. They look like abstractions   but are actually close-ups of some previous works of hers. She often uses photography to archive  her work process. Through that she discovered that some close-up frames looked like compositions  of their own, so through that happy accident she started painting more Zoom-ins, consciously   selecting the best angles and croppings.