Raniya mansoor “Working between symbolism and abstraction to give form to feeling and lived emotion.” "Feelings and emotions are passionate, uncharted and disorganised. In my practice, I attempt to capture that natural chaos with a minimal and polished finish. I come to the canvas with free flow, building each layer upon the last and informing the next. I find beauty in the rough marks and textures that pencils, paint and brush naturally create in this process and leave them uncovered. I like it when a work has given dignity to a specific fragment of my life. It may take weeks or months, but it is when I find clarity and inner resolution through the piece, that I know it is complete." Raniya is a Politics graduate and a self-taught contemporary artist from the Maldives. Her practice moves between two distinctive styles: symbolism in vivid ultramarine, where blue, form and texture explore themes of memory, identity, emotion and belonging; and abstract expressionism, where layers and marks search for balance, clarity and resolution. Both approaches are guided by an intuitive process, dignifying feeling and lived experience. Her work is rooted in her Maldivian heritage and a personal journey of wellness, channeling reflection through mixed mediums with a minimalist and structured finish. She is the co-founder of Oevaali Art Shop, a Maldivian studio dedicated to fine art and design.
Broad colour fields, layered oil surfaces, directional brushwork, irregular boundaries Medium-scale works developed in series, with each layer informing the next. Deep, rich, earthen tones in oil, on canvas. Layered, textural surfaces with subtle colour shifts.
2024, Abstractions in Acrylic 2025, Botanica Series 2025, Scarlet Eve Recent Works
Sea Forest, 2019 Reverie, 2020 Leave Her Wild, 2019 Storms of Life, 2020 Mosaic, 2019 Haven, 2019 Older Works Equinox, 2021 This free-flow body of work created between the equinoxes reflects significant changes in my life; a turning point. Amidst a global pandemic, isolated from family and away from the islands, I attempt in these pieces to bring structure to my chaos. To think deeply about what I'm choosing to leave behind, and what I'm curious to explore. It is about transition; and with it a search for balance, acceptance and inner alignment. Paper Studies - I Paper Studies - II Paper Studies - III Paper Studies - IV Paper Studies - V Meet Me at the Equinox This Way, My Dear Everything, In Time Works in Alcohol Inks & Resin, 2019 - 2021 Pigment in motion, with free-flowing textures.
Process & Studio Practice Slow, sustained studio sessions focused on layering and the gradual formation of colour. Surfaces are worked, set aside, and revisited. Working with oils, I often begin several pieces at once, spacing out time on each surface and allowing them to dry and rest before adding new layers. This process keeps the practice thoughtful, slow, and considered.
Exhibitions Group Exhibition | Mondoir Gallery, Dubai, 2025 This exhibition presents the works of two sisters, articulated through distinct yet interconnected visual languages. Held in dialogue, the paintings trace parallel journeys shaped by shared history, memory, and emotional proximity. The exhibition considers growth as a relational process, marked by closeness, distance, and continuity, and reflects on identity as something formed alongside others, through time and change. Cracks & Bloom Group Exhibition | Oevaali Art Gallery, Singapore, 2025 Terra E Mare reflects the lived reality of archipelagic existence, where nothing is entirely fixed, and everything is shaped by tide, time, and terrain. To live between earth and sea is to exist in a space of rootedness and drift. Featured artists explore how the ocean comes alive, how the land holds stories, and how both elements conspire to shape our identity, habitat, and way of life. Terra E Mare Group Exhibition | Oevaali Art Gallery, Maldives, 2019 Oevaali Art Shop’s 2019 exhibition Oceanic draws from the geography and marine life of the Maldives. Presented in acrylic, clay, and resin, the exhibition revisits and reinterprets works from the original Island Collection, marking a considered revival of early studio themes and forms. Oceanic Group Exhibition | Galería Azur, Madrid, 2021 Presented by Galería Azur, Madrid, the exhibition brings together artists from diverse geographic contexts whose works engage with themes of memory, imagination, and the persistence of wonder into adulthood. Through aesthetic contemplation, the exhibition revisits modes of perception commonly associated with childhood: sensory openness, narrative possibility, and emotional warmth, positioning them as enduring rather than lost. Constellations Group Exhibition | Oevaali Art Gallery, Maldives, 2018 Heritage through Folk, presented by Oevaali Art Shop, brings together works by over ten Maldivian artists, each engaging with folk narratives, tradition, and inherited symbolism. Through diverse visual languages, the exhibition reflects the complexity of Maldivian identity shaped by indigenous ancestry, oral history, and mysticism. Heritage Through Folk
In Maldivian folklore, the Dagas appears consistently as a place marking the boundary of the human world. In the narra... Read More At the Edge of the World: The Dagas in Maldivian Folklore This article records Mansoor’s journey into home fragrance, tracing its formation from early testing and lived use. Written as a pe... Read More Studio Practice: Home Fragrances Early Buddhist literature, whose earliest layers are generally dated to c. 5th–3rd century BCE and transmitted orally before... Read More The 4 Seas of Māla: Myth, Maritime Memory, and the Indian Ocean The significance of cowrie shells in early trade in these islands is stressed by the historian H. C. P. Bell, the anthropologist C.... Read More The Cowrie Islands Articles
On-Going I’m working on small to medium-scale deep-edge canvases, each at a different stage of progression. The palette is grounded in deep, rich earthy tones: brown, magenta, and sienna. Each studio session is spent building layers, allowing every surface to develop its own depth and character over time. Looking Ahead Looking ahead, I aim to explore a sustained body of abstract work in oil over the coming year. The intention is to spend extended time with each surface, allowing the paintings to build gradually.
Oevaali Art Gallery, Maldives / Singapore raniya@oevaaliartshop.com