Sharifah Zuriah Aljeffri

She was hailed in the 70s as the first Malay to credibly paint in Chinese brush. Today, Sharifah Zuriah Aljeffri wields her unique art to express the inner truth of nature and religion.
Himanshu Bhatt, New Sunday Times, July 22, 2007

LANDSCAPES are landscapes in art, but in Sharifah Zuriah Aljeffri's accomplished strokes, they are gentle poetic reminders of the beauty and sanctity of existence, of truth and tranquility, hope and healing. From the awkward opened whorl of a lotus flower with a dignified stem in its mudflat "habitat" to the cascading crescendo of waterfalls, her expressive strokes are a study of contrast --- bold and tender, sensuous and evoking spirituality as in a prayer, with an innocence of purpose and spirit at odds with the sophisticated technique.
Ooi Kok Chuan, Art Writer/Critic, May 1, 2005

In this exhibition Colours of the Wind, we see a body of work that is preoccupied with nature and conservation, where nature is a metaphor for what could be termed "social conservation". After the Storm is a series that urges consideration of not only natural or man-made destruction, but also the cost of physical or emotional assaults on human life.
Helen Stacey, artist and art educator, South Australia, March 2002

Drawing inspiration from the song "Colours of the Wind", Sharifah used the metaphor for Nature to describe how man destroys the environment to gain revenge and control. Sharifah's need to find such a metaphor was not just artistic conceit; it was essential. It is no surprise that her paintings have always been a lend of spirituality, human rights and nature.
Niluksi Koswanage, Sunday Star, March 17, 2002

In Colours of the Wind, Zuriah has plumped into poetic qualities of the simple things around us which we take for granted. Imbued with innocence, she is just as fascinated and enamoured with "a new shoot of a plant, a new bloom, the changing colours of the leaves, the lofty mountains, the gushing water and the fluffy clouds." Her works brim with the refreshing vitality of life, with resonance of earth-splattered colours.
Ooi Kok Chuen, New Straits Times, March 16, 2002

Without fear, without forethought, she etches the temper of the time and hearkens to that inner guidance that consistently speaks to her. Sharifah Zuriah breaks with realism and enters with great faith into the abstract. For how can anything so sacred like life and death, the eternal cycling of constant motion, be communicated in real words?
The force that drives her art is like the force that bears a wasp to lay her eggs on a grasshopper she has stung unconscious, so that her children when they hatch can feed on the grasshopper without killing it. Sharifah Zuriah listens to the same silence and answers to the call of yet another divine direction to chart new bearings for her journeying. Her art and her life merge as ONE. She remains faithful to the call, this silent singular communion with the cosmos.
Chu Li, writer, November 1992

In a stark departure from the nature paintings that made her famous, Malaysian human rights activist Sharifah Zuriah Aljeffri's most recent work depicts the horrors of war in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
John Hassel, Ashbury Park Sunday Press, December 12, 1992

Her Canadian autumn collection is quite exquisite; flamed-coloured trees interspersed with different shades of green against a blue sky.
Brigitte Rozario, The Star, February 13, 1991

She seems to have a silent and secret covenant with nature. A devotee's pledge to journey to its heart. A lover's passion to gaze upon its face. And a believer's eye that penetrates the opacity of doubt. Sharifah Zuriah sees existence as the great scene of which she is simultaneously a part, the observer, and the protagonist. The boundaries between herself, her writings, her missions, and her paintings are soft and fluid. The seeker and the sought weave beautifully through each other's being. Prof Dr Gulzar Haider, Carlton University, Ottawa, Canada, 1990

With her new works, she moves away from the straightjacket confines of Chinese brush painting; she first gained prominence as the first Malay artist of the Chinese art genre. Her new works imbued with a fresh directness, show of diligence at capturing the beauty of an incipient and multi-faceted process of decaying called autumn.
Ooi Kok Chuen, New Sunday Times, July 1, 1990

Indeed, Sharifah Zuriah reflects the beauty and grace of the natural environment that surrounds her. Her paintings not only mirror the down-to-earth nobility of her environment, but also rekindles in the viewer a sense of passion for nature.
Merryl Wyn Davies, Arts & The Islamic World, No 19, Autumn-Winter 1990

Sharifah Zuriah Aljeffri first made headline news in 1978 as the first Malay woman artist to hold a Chinese Art Exhibition. Her current works reflect a more matured expression in both her style and brush-strokes. She expresses well her perceptions, thoughts, and feelings into her work. Form henceforth, she should cultivate her artistic inclination with greater determination, purity and courage. With an unbending will she must pursue her creative instincts with an alert mind, flexible hand, and sharp perception towards art.
Anthony Yap Hing Sum, Director, Sum Art Gallery, 1982

The presence of Sharifah Zuriah Aljeffri in the Malaysian art scene is something we should be proud of. Besides expanding the number of artists in this country, I feel that Sharifah Zuriah is an asset to the local painting world and especially to the Malay painting circle. She is special because she is the first Malay woman artist to appreciate and create Chinese brush paintings. In fact it would not be wrong to say that she created history by being the first Malay to indulge in Chinese brush painting.
Raja Zahabuddin Raja Yaakob, Dewan Budaya, November 1982 (Translated by Ainon Abu Bakar)

A first by a Malay artist.
Syed Ahmad Jamal, New Straits Time, July 30, 1978