In Primrose Hill, a neighborhood long associated with London’s literary and creative scene, Palestinian-Jordanian artist Raya Kassisieh has been quietly turning stillness into movement. Her new exhibition, Stasis, opened at Gallery44 this October during Frieze Week, marking the end of her seven-week residency inside the gallery’s townhouse space. Half home, half studio, it became what she calls “one continuous space of thought and making.”
That sense of harmony spills into the works on view. Through oil and acrylic paintings, fibre sculptures, and works on paper, the 34-year-old explores rhythm and repetition and how thinking and creating can blur into one gesture. The result is a body of work that feels meditative yet alive, folding grief, rumination, and renewal into quiet motion.
During her time in Primrose Hill, Kassisieh found herself drawn to the area’s literary ghosts, especially the late American poet and author Sylvia Plath, whose writing infused several of the works on the view. The title itself, Stasis, captures that fragile pause between tension and release.
Born in Amman in 1991 and based between London and Amman, Kassisieh’s practice sits at the intersection of sculpture, textile, and narrative. Drawing from her Palestinian heritage and background in textiles, she explores the politics of the body through the manipulation of soft and hard materials, from silks and wools to copper and steel. Her works propose that the body itself is a pliable form, capable of transformation, dissolution, and renewal.
Her recent shows include the Islamic Art Biennale in Jeddah (2025), Hunna Art in Kuwait (2024), and exhibitions across London, Dubai, and Amman. Her residency is part of Gallery44’s ongoing mission to support emerging and underrepresented artists from the MENA region through mentorship and experimentation. Founded by Jino Murad, the gallery’s hybrid model— where artists live, work, and exhibit in a restored townhouse— invites an intimacy rarely found in the art world.
“Stasis” runs from 15–29 October 2025 at Gallery44, 44 Chalcott Road, Primrose Hill, London.
