STARTS
2013-08-31 00:00:00
Ends
2014-04-27 23:59:59
Location
Islamic Art and Contemporary Artists
Echoes: Islamic Art and Contemporary Artists
What is Islamic Art? How do contemporary artists respond to Islamic art and culture in their own work? This exhibition will explore these questions through a series visual conversations that make connections across cultures, geography and time.
The installation will juxtapose historical objects and architecture with works by contemporary artists that employ traditional Islamic styles, materials and subject matter as their source. Framed beneath the Museum’s stunning 17th century Persian mosaic arch, visitors will see how contemporary artists are drawing upon their cultural and visual past to explore personal, political, and aesthetic concerns.
The artistic achievements of traditional Islamic art will be represented by works in the Nelson-Atkins permanent collection, including examples of calligraphy, ceramics, paintings, carpets and architectural forms. Contemporary art works include sculpture, video, photography, paintings, ceramics and digital collage, by internationally recognized artists such as: Shahzia Sikander and Rashid Rana.
Echoes is part of a city–wide collaborative project focusing on Islamic art and culture, featuring exhibitions, artists’ residencies and public programming at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, the Kansas City Artists Coalition, and the Kansas City Public Library.
Contemporary Artists Represented in the Exhibition
Hamra Abbas
(b. 1976) Pakistani, living and working in Somerville, Massachusetts
Bashir Ahmed
(b. 1954) Pakistani, living and working in Lahore, Pakistan
Asheer Akram
(b. 1984) American, living and working in Kansas City, Missouri
Nasser Al Salem
(b. 1984) Saudi Arabian, living and working in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Gohar Dashti
(b. 1980) Iranian, living and working in Berlin, Germany and Iran
Ayesha Jatoi
(b. 1979) Pakistani, living and working in Lahore, Pakistan
Hayv Kahraman
(b. 1981) Iraqi, living and working in Oakland, California
Ahmed Mater
(b. 1979) Saudi Arabian, living and working in Abha, Saudi Arabia
Nasreen Mohamedi
(1937–1990), Indian, lived and worked in Mumbai and Baroda, India
Shirin Neshat
(b. 1957) Iranian, living and working in New York, New York
Rashid Rana
(b. 1968) Pakistani, living and working in Lahore, Pakistan
Shahzia Sikander
(b. 1969) Pakistani, living and working in New York, New York
Learn More
Download a bibliography of titles about Islamic art. Resources are on display in the Spencer Art Reference Library Reading Room – Free and Open to all who are interested in learning about the visual arts. Come and explore!