Nevine Mahmoud
Meet the sculptor who wrings succulence from stone.
Nevine Mahmoud is ill, which means she’s enjoying a moment of rest. “I’m not very good at taking breaks,” she says. “I’d been feeling like I was getting sick for a while but I was ignoring the signs. The studio is my home, you know.” But Mahmoud’s Los Angeles studio is no ordinary studio, no ordinary home: It’s outdoors, and full of tools more associated with a mason’s yard than an artist’s loft. Mahmoud—who trained in London before flying west to pursue her studies at the University of Southern California—makes larger-than-life carvings that juxtapose the softness of flesh with the solidity of stone. Her work is gaining recognition following her triumphant 2018 solo show, Foreplay.
What in everyday life do you find the most sensual?
There are a lot of tactile...