Date/Time
Date - April 8, 2018
2:00 pm until 3:30 pm
Location
Katonah Museum of Art
134 Jay Street
Katonah, NY, 10536
Join me for an visit to the Katonah Museum of Art for their exhibition Long, Winding Journeys: Contemporary Art and the Islamic Tradition. We’ll begin with brunch at a nearby restaurant in Katonah or Bedford Village, then proceed to the Museum and join their public tour at 2:30 pm.
Cost: there will be no cost to the first 4 members to respond, I have complimentary guest passes. Limit for this visit is 5 people.
Please note: This group event is now full, but a wait list is available. Alternatively, if you would like to attend their Artist Talk on Saturday, 4/21 at 2:30 pm, I would recommend that – I plan to attend that as well.
LONG, WINDING JOURNEYS: CONTEMPORARY ART AND THE ISLAMIC TRADITION
February 25 – June 17, 2018
Ala Ebtekar, Zenith V, 2014, acrylic over cyanotype on canvas, four panels 60 1/4 x 30 1/4 in. each. © Ala Ebtekar. Courtesy of the artist and The Third Line, Dubai. Image courtesy of Katonah Museum of Art.
From the website: katonahmuseum.org
Shoja Azari, Icon #3, 2010, video portrait. © Shoja Azari. Courtesy of the artist and Leila Heller Gallery, New York. Image courtesy of Katonah Museum of Art
Long, Winding Journeys: Contemporary Art and the Islamic Tradition presents a focused look at a group of artists of Middle Eastern and South Asian descent whose work engages the diverse forms of Islamic visual tradition to explore religion, culture, and socio-political issues today. It takes its title from Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Ayad Akhtar’s essay, The Breath of Miraj, a response to artist Shahzia Sikander work, Portrait of the Artist. The text speaks to the manner in which Islam and its history can inspire creative life to become a “long, winding journey.” It simultaneously serves as a metaphor for the travel of a visual tradition through time and its ability to nimbly adapt to an ever-changing world.
Faig Ahmed, Impossible Viscosity, 2012, handmade wool carpet, 98 x 39 in. © Faig Ahmed. Courtesy of the artist and Sapar Contemporary. Collection of Beth Rudin DeWoody. Image courtesy of Katonah Museum of Art.
Long, Winding Journeys brings artists’ voices to the fore as they mine links between the seemingly distant past and contemporary experience. The works in the exhibition draw from centuries-old forms—such as calligraphy, miniature painting, geometric patterning, textiles, and architecture—that have come to define historical Islamic art. Employing this lineage, the artists explore the intersection of visual traditions and other kinds of inherited histories: the rich meaning and complex constraints of religious and cultural customs; rituals of spiritual practice; political upheaval and violent conflict; and diaspora’s effect on identity and belonging. Art of the past acts as a lens through which to view present-day experience.
Artists include Anila Agha, Faig Ahmed, Ammar Al Attar, Noor Ali Chagani, Khadim Ali, Shiva Ahmadi, Ghada Amer, Afruz Amighi, Nazgol Ansarinia, Nasser Al Salem, Fereydoun Ave, Shoja Azari, Ala Ebtekar, Monir Farmanfarmaian, Shadi Ghadirian, Babak Golkar, Susan Hefuna, Shirazeh Houshiary, Pouran Jinchi, Hayv Kahraman, Baseera Khan, Hassan Massoudy, Jordan Nassar, Shirin Neshat, Hadieh Shafie, Shahzia Sikander and Ayad Akhtar, Kurosh ValaNejad and Peter Brinson, and Imran Qureshi.
This exhibition is organized by Guest Curator, Elizabeth Rooklidge, with research assistance from curatorial intern, Caitlin Monachino, and Assistant Curator, Olga Dekalo.
Katonah Museum of Art, 134 Jay Street, Katonah, NY 10536