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Aicon Gallery debuts with its first ever virtual show with the pioneering voice of Rasheed Araeen- a voice for alternative and Non-Western interpretations of Minimalist and Conceptual art in the 1960s and 70s, outside of the typically referenced canon. The artist introduced a lattice structure into the oeuvre of Minimalism, a visual language that had come independently to Araeen at the same time as it was taking root in New York. Although, in Araeen's case, it was linked back to his background in structural engineering.
As art critic Jean Fisher has noted the key differences between Araeen's articulation of Minimalism and that of the New Yorkers: “There are, however, important distinctions to be made between the Minimalist cube and Araeen’s structures, which to my mind resides in the difference between an instrumental, abstract-logical regulation of the world and an organic one.” This approach of creating stable but open structures by finding inspiration in nature and the classical elements – earth, fire, air and water – is at the centre of Araeen’s innovative practice.
The Reading Room (2016-2017)
Steel and glass tables, wooden stools, and copies of Third Text journal & Acrylic on Canvas
Image © domenta14
A Brief History:
One of the foremost pioneers of minimalist sculptures in Britain, his artworks articulate and bring about a new artistic definition of “Less is more”. However, he received no institutional recognition for his contribution to the modernist discourse in this country, being side-lined as a non-European whose work was consistently evaluated within the purview of post-colonial structures. Subsequently, in the 1970s and 1980s, the Asian artist’s work started to focus on overtly political content that drew attention to the way in which black artists were invisible within the dominant Eurocentric culture. Also, in 1987, Araeen established the “Third Text”, a magazine that responded to the institutional racism experienced by artists, who predominantly existed outside the white, western centric canons.
From the Opus series (8), 2018
Image © Aicon Gallery
An engineer by mind and an artist by heart, Araeen put to practice, his thoughts within geometric structures – be it paintings or his sculptures. Geometry plays a vital role in Islamic architecture. It is considered to be spiritual for Muslims such as – the circle symbolizes the infinity of Allah, hexagon epitomizes the heaven and triangle signifies the principles of human harmony. Intertwining the ideologies of Islamic preaching and his art practices, Araeen created the magnificent “Opus Series” - the joyful, patterned exuberance of television test cards.
‘My use of geometry involves symmetry,’ Araeen says, connecting his Opus paintings to his visions of possible cooperative futures.
Indigo Square, 2015
Image © Aicon Gallery
Expressing asymmetric ideas in a Eurocentric world using symmetric structures, summarizes the artist’s struggle for recognition and acceptance. His introduction to the his highly celebrated geometric structures, in which vertical and horizontal lines are held together by a network of diagonals, plays on the links between Eastern and Western thoughts and the frameworks of social institutions and aesthetics. These wooden lattice grids have been a constant friend for the artist in his long endeavor towards achieving the recognition for his contribution, that he seeks to accomplish. The path breaking point for his artistic career in 2007, was not when Tate Britain recognized his achievement but rather from a Gulf country when Sheikha Hoor Al Qasimi- the President of Sharjah Art Foundation, showed his works in Sharjah.
Shamiyaana - Food for Thought : Thought for Change
Today, some of these geometric sculptures reside within his restaurant “Shamiyaana”- a restaurant in London that signals one of his most challenging works till date, encompassing six decades of artistic practice within a single work.
On display at Aicon Gallery
16th April - 23rd May, 2020