"A Sliver of a Soul III" by WERIEM

Oil and metal leaf on panel. 12"x 12", unframed (16.5"x16.5" with frame).

WERIEM is a French and Tunisian artist based in the United States. Her detailed work draws inspiration from the performing arts. In 2024, she presented her first solo exhibition in Chicago. The same year, her work has been shown in Chicago and Los Angeles group shows, and she received the People’s Choice Award at the Bridgeport Art Center’s Annual Art Competition.
Following her second solo exhibition at the Epiphany Center for the Arts (Chicago, 2025; Newcity review), she continued to exhibit in the U.S. and abroad, participating in group shows in Portland (OR), Boise (ID), Los Angeles (CA), and Paris, France.
In 2026, she will present a new solo exhibition in Minneapolis and participate in an artist residency in New York City. She was also selected as a recipient of a one-year scholarship at the Palette & Chisel Academy of Fine Arts in Chicago.


From WERIEM:
"I use painting to examine how identity is constructed, performed, and perceived. Centering on archetypal figures and close-up gazes, my work isolates moments of psychological tension where vulnerability and control coexist.

Shaped by a former career in baroque costume design, I approach surface as structure. Ornament and meticulously rendered detail do not function as decoration; they both reveal and obstruct the figure, creating friction between exposure and concealment. Drawing on the emotional force of historical painting, I translate its intensity into present-day questions about how we present ourselves and how we are seen.

I create contemplative images that operate as both stage and mirror. Each composition invites viewers into their own inner theater, questioning how we perform ourselves and what remains unspoken beneath the surface."