Shahzia Sikander: A Kind of Slight and Pleasing Dislocation
Born and educated in Pakistan, the 28-year-old Sikander studied Persian and Indian miniature painting at the National College of Art, Lahore, before earning an MFA at the Rhode Island School of Design. Her work has, as its starting point, the rigors of tradition, including the ritualized fabrication of brushes and the preparation of hand-made paper and vegetable pigments. While the paintings springboard from history, utilizing the imagery, styles and techniques of several different miniature schools, they land fully within the contemporary conceptual arena.
Sikander’s visual language is a complex hybrid of cultural, ethnic and religious references interspersed with a unique personal vernacular. Muslim, Hindi and Judeo-Christian iconography intertwine and inform issues of sexuality, spirituality, and the conflicts between the private and public.
Recent exhibitions:
1997 Whitney Biennial, 12 March – 22 June
The Drawing Center, New York, 20 February – 26 March
Gallery talk:
Friday 25 April, 12:30
Reception:
Saturday 26 April, 3-5:00
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Shahzia SikanderUntitled, 1997gouache, watercolor, and acrylic on clay coated paper28 x 22 inches/71.1 x 55.9 cm -
Shahzia SikanderAt the Core of It All, 1997vegetable color and watercolor on clay coated paper28 x 22 inches/71.12 x 55.88 cms
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Shahzia SikanderApparatus of Power, 1995vegetable color, watercolor, dry pigment and tea water on wasli handmade paper9 x 5 7/8 in
22.9 x 14.9 cms -
Shahzia SikanderTransient Transformations II, 1996vegetable color, watercolor, dry pigment, and tea water on wasabi handmade paper10 x 7 inches/25.4 x 17.8 cm
