I AM AND I AM NOT

Zilberman Gallery–Berlin is pleased to announce I AM AND I AM NOT, the first solo show of artist Aisha Khalid in Berlin. The exhibition will take place at Zilberman Gallery–Berlin, on Goethestrasse between April 28 and July 31, 2017.

The exhibition I AM AND I AM NOT consists of various paintings, a diptych in book form as well as one site-specific installation. Strongly influenced by the figurative miniature tradition of the Mughal Empire, the Pakistani born artist Khalid, takes the tradition one step further and contemplates on contemporary issues such as the female figure, or say, the global politics and the uncertainty surrounding us, as apparent in her previous works.

Khalid’s radical-yet-subtle criticism represents itself in the use of abstraction. Furthermore, the artist invites us to re-think certain problems from a non-European perspective; what looks out of focus might refer to the precariousness of our era. The renowned motifs of miniatures, such as the Mughal flower tulip of When I am Silent (2017), are freed from their traditional meanings and become protagonists of contemporary issues. Curvelinear lines reminiscent of curtains—a recurring image in Khalid’s oeuvre—refers to a metaphor of the public and private dichotomy; the veil or borders. If you look under the hood, something is uncanny in the paintings I am I am not (2017) or At the Circle’s Centre (2017); the circles might be alluding to, well, bullet holes.

Larger Than Life (2017), a site-specific installation with video and embroidery, hinges on the problematics of political empowerment and the (im)balance of power. Unfinished hand-made embroidered flowers on the wall, in contrast to the almost violent speed of the embroidery machine in the video, draws attention to the inequality in the society.

Aisha Khalid is one of the most prominent contemporary artists, curator, art educationist from Pakistan. She graduated from National College of Arts, Lahore, in 1997 and got her post-graduation degree at the Rijksakademie, Amsterdam in 2002. She participated in solo and group exhibitions nationally and internationally, including Venice Biennial 2009, Fukuoka Triennale 2001, Sharjah Biennial 2011, Moscow Biennial 2013, Kabul 2008 and in London the V&A Museum, the Corvi-Mora Gallery, Asia House, Whitworths Art Gallery Manchester, Aga Khan Museum Toronto, the Royal Academy and Modern Art Museum Arnhem, The Netherlands. Aisha has been a finalist and people’s choice winner of the Jameel Prize 2011, and has also been awarded the “Alice Award 2012”, and the “Birgit Skiold Memorial Trust Award of Excellence 2010.”

Her work is being exhibited in several museum and private collections all over the world, such as Aga Khan Museum Toronto, M+ Museum Hong Kong, V&A Museum, Fukuoka Asian Art Museum Japan, Sharjah Art Museum, Queensland Art Gallery, Sheikh Zayed Museum, Harris Museum and World Bank.

During the opening on April 27, Zilberman Gallery is pleased to host ITINERANT INTERLUDE #14 with performances by Christine Paté (accordion) and Matthias Badczong (clarinet) in a program curated especially for I AM AND I AM NOT. The series ITINERANT INTERLUDES is curated by Laurie Schwartz with the support of the initiative Neue Musik Berlin.

I AM AND I AM NOT is accompanied by a catalogue, with a preface by Lotte Laub and texts by Simone Wille, Timo Kaabi-Linke and Atteqa Ali. Press preview will take place on April 27 at 11 am at Zilberman Gallery–Berlin.