Doctor Tahera Saleh Delaye - Painter Sculptor
Madam Tahera Saleh Delaye was born in Kaboul (Afghanistan) on January 13th, 1956. Daughter of prefect and state accountant, Saleh Mohamed Khan, and Rahima Saleh his wife. Today, Tahera is both a fulfilled doctor and an artist (painter and sculptor).
Tahera attended the secondary school Zarghouna, in Kaboul where she was, by far, top of the class. She obtained with success the baccalauréat and got into the faculty of medicine in Kaboul. In 1973, as she was among the best students of the university, she was awarded a scholarship to pursue a medical career in Ukraine. There, she obtained her doctorate and specialized in gynaecology obstetric.
She arrived in France in 1984, Dr. Tahera Saleh Delaye worked in different hospitals; she specialized in the field of Doppler ultrasound examination, and later, in clinical cancer research and Hematology. She passed successfully the national competitive examinations of assistant practitioners and hospital doctors.
At present, Dr. Tahera Saleh Delaye lives in Montargis with her husband Jean Delaye who also works as a doctor. They have two children, Christian and Jean-Baptiste.
Since her childhood, Tahera has been developing a passion for art, and managed to reconcile this with her medical studies. Indeed, she graduated from the fine arts school of Gâtinais (Loiret). She quickly mastered the main techniques that were taught to her: red chalk drawing, pen-and-ink drawing, three pencils drawings, watercolours, and oil paintings…
However, Dr. Tahera Saleh Delaye did not confine herself to the classical art education she received, the urge of creativity gradually took hold of her and she started to develop her own experience by making personal research.
She went through different and successive stages. Her talent first makes her represent landscapes and scenes of her native country and progressively took shape in the abstract art, a relatively flexible discipline through which new possibilities can be comprehended. Eventually, the mastery of colours and shapes represented an additional and important stage in the development of her artistry.
By dint of personal work and research and with the use of diverse devices, Dr. Tahera Saleh Delaye developed new expressions in the field of painting. By combining different material (oil, acrylic, glycerol, cement, plaster, sizing/collage), she elaborated a new techniques so that to express inner sights and forces with different colours represented by specific forms (COLOUR EXPRESSION), which is a new artistic creation.
As she is originally from Orient, Tahera has been practising calligraphy since early childhood. Besides, she created a new calligraphic art that sets shapes in motion.
Dr. Tahera Saleh Delaye also obtained basic groundings in sculpture during her studies at the Gâtinais’s fine arts school, notions that she received in the studio of the school’s sculptor.
Dr. Tahera Saleh Delaye also took part in several exhibitions, both personal and collective, in regional showrooms as well as out of her region: in places such as the UNESCO in March 1998 and two years later in June 2000, Dijon in 1999, Greven (in Germany), or at the ‘Everarts Gallery’ in Paris (8 th) where she exhibited during the months of July and august 2000. In Paris, Tahera’s works of art have also been exhibited in the Luxembourg Senate-Orangery in august 2001. The most recent exhibitions took place in the art gallery of Valois, in the gardens of the Royal Palace in September 2001; in Barbizon for the ‘Lions Club’ competition in May 2002; and eventually, at the International Symposium in Brookline (USA, New Hampshire) in July 2002.
In addition, Dr Tahera Saleh Delaye is involved in different cultural associations: ‘Today’s Artists’ (“Artistes d’aujourd’hui” in Montargis), ‘Art and Creativities’ (“Art et créativité” in Amilly), Arts and Science Academy, (“Académie Art Sciences et Lettres” in Paris). She also works for humanitarian associations: ‘Bactriane’ (support to the women and children of Afghanistan), she is member of the board of directors in the association for Afghan children (a hospital in Kaboul). Tahera is a valued artist in her region and received different prizes from the mayor of Nargis in 1996 and from the Fine Arts school of Gâtinais in 1998. Tahera is nationally popular. She published many artworks in the International Art Guide ‘Le Sermadiras: Galleries and Artists’ (16 th edition), which appeared in “Who’s Who’ in International Art. She has different degrees from the Art and Science Academy, and from the ARTEC (“European Association for the Influence of Arts”). Moreover, she has been appointed correspondent academician by the International Academy ‘Greci Marino’ and ‘Il Marzocco’ (in Italy). Her popularity reached its peak when she received the silver medal and the gold canvas of the French republic in 2002 during the 25 th International Competition, organized by the “National Federation of French Culture” in Port-Fréjus.
THE UNESCO EXHIBITION (A Hospital in Kaboul):
Dr. Tahera Saleh Delaye organized an exhibition at the UNESCO (from the 4 th to 12 th of July, 2003) where she displayed about a hundred of her artworks in aid of the Afghan Children. She supported them by contributing to the building of a maternity hospital and a Children hospital in Kaboul.
The 6 th of June 2003, Tahera offered one of her painting entitled “La Flamme”. This work is now exhibited on a permanent basis the UNESCO.
The 9 th of July 2003, another work “L’Apogée de la Femme” is given and exhibited at the headquarters of the United Nations.
Tahera offered another work to an exhibition organized by the UNESCO within the framework of the “education week”. This artwork is entitled “Education for everyone” and is particularly dedicated to the concern of Afghan people’s education.
Permanent staff member of the Biomedical Technologies World Academy whose headquarters are located in UNESCO. Tahera is responsible for the Committee for Afghanistan, with a view to the development of techniques for health. This committee is also responsible for the training and improvement in both medical and paramedical services. To do so, Tahera Saleh Delaye went to Afghanistan in June 2005, and realized a first and temporary mission there, in order to take part in some assignments for the international humanitarian cooperation.