Leading Sudanese Artist Ibrahim El-Salahi Receives Renewed ... · “Limelight: Ibrahim El-Salahi...
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Sales & auctions questions? Contact Our Advisory Team General questions & feedback? Contact [email protected] Contact [email protected] Send us feedback COLLECTING Collecting on Artsy Collecting Resources About Artsy Auctions EDUCATION Education The Art Genome Project ABOUT ARTSY About Jobs Open Source Galleries A–Z Museums A–Z PARTNERING & PRESS Artsy for Galleries Artsy for Institutions Press ! © 2015 Artsy Terms of Use Privacy Policy Security "#$ SHARE THIS ARTICLE WHAT TO READ NEXT Leading Sudanese Artist Ibrahim El-Salahi Receives Renewed, International Recognition This Spring Two years since his solo show at Tate Modern, Ibrahim El-Salahi—one of Sudan’s foremost living artists—and his elegant, visionary paintings and drawings are back. The pioneering artist was the first from his continent to be represented in a retrospective at Tate Modern, and this spring, thanks to Vigo Gallery, his works will be on view in New York, London, Hastings, and Istanbul. ARTSY EDITORIAL MAY 11TH, 2015 1:27 PM Though his approach to his work is decidedly personal, El-Salahi’s compositions beautifully reflect the internationalism of our times. He merges European abstraction, the traditions of Arabic calligraphy and ornamentation, the colors and crafts of his native Sudan, and his own life experiences to develop striking works that range in scope from celebrations of culture to statements on social injustice. El-Salahi is the focus of Vigo Gallery’s booth at Frieze New York this year. On show will be works drawn from the artist’s own archives, including rare paintings and drawings from the 1960s, and monumental, multi-part compositions from the 1980s and 90s. Among these is the edgy Visual Diary of a Time-Waste Palace (1996), whose genesis is as intriguing as its semi-abstract, ink-on-paper images. The artist made this work while serving as an advisor to the Qatari government and a translator and cultural advisor to the Emir. These roles gave him access to the Emir’s palace, where he found square-shaped, blank books. For a year and a half, he worked to fill each page of these books with drawings, ultimately creating the 57 drawings of Time-Waste Palace. Upon completion (and at the age of 66), he decided to devote the rest of his life to art making full-time. Later this month, at Vigo’s Mayfair space, a suite of paintings that were featured prominently in the Tate retrospective receive a renewed exhibition. As the title, “ Flamenco” may suggest, the series is the result of the artist’s travels through southern Spain in 2009, during a trip with the collector AbdulMagid Breish. During that summer, El-Salahi experienced Marbella, Toledo, Córdoba, Granada, and Málaga, exploring the cities’ Moorish architecture by day, and enjoying traditional food and dance at night. He was particularly inspired by the Alhambra in Granada, where he found motifs that were the same as ones he encountered while studying the Quran during his youth. The resulting paintings are spirited, rhythmic compositions in black and white or rich umber and sepia tones, filled with stylized dancers that range from curvaceous abstract forms to robust, defined figures in traditional costume. The artist’s spirit of independence and individuality finds its reflection in a tree native to his country, which has inspired him for decades: the Haraza. This tree is the focus of a series of subtle, modernist drawings, which are now on view in a concentrated exhibition at the Jerwood Gallery, presented in partnership with Vigo Gallery. Bucking all expectations, the Haraza flourishes in the dry season and sheds its leaves during the wet season, when everything else is in bloom. “This is a definitive statement,” El-Salahi once declared about his beloved Haraza. “Like saying, ‘I am me! I am an individual! I do not follow what everyone is doing! When everyone is going to be green, let them be green. I am not! It’s individuality. I love that very much.” —Karen Kedmey Visit Vigo Gallery at Frieze New York 2015, Spotlight, Booth B48, May 14–17, 2015. “ Limelight: Ibrahim El-Salahi – Haraza” is on view at Jerwood Gallery, Hastings, Apr. 28 – May 31, 2015. “ Flamenco” is on view at Vigo Gallery, London, May 29–July 31, 2015. Follow Vigo Gallery on Artsy Follow Vigo Gallery on Artsy.. # " Untitled , ca. 1958 They Always Appear, 1961 SOLD Ibrahim El-Salahi Vigo Gallery Ibrahim El-Salahi Vigo Gallery Visual Diary of a Time-Waste Palace, 1996 Ibrahim El-Salahi Vigo Gallery Flamenco Dancers, 2012 Ibrahim El-Salahi Vigo Gallery Flamenco Dancers, 2011 Flamenco Dancer, 2012 Ibrahim El-Salahi Vigo Gallery Ibrahim El-Salahi Vigo Gallery The Tree, 2001 £40,000 Oxford Tree, 2001 Ibrahim El-Salahi Vigo Gallery Ibrahim El-Salahi Vigo Gallery Oxford Tree, 2001 Oxford Tree, 2001 Oxford Tree, 2001 Ibrahim El-Salahi Vigo Gallery Ibrahim El-Salahi Vigo Gallery Ibrahim El-Salahi Vigo Gallery # " Adrian Piper and Armenia Take Golden Lions, But Does the Prize Matter? 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Leading Sudanese Artist Ibrahim El-Salahi Receives
Renewed, International Recognition This Spring
Two years since his solo show at Tate Modern, Ibrahim El-Salahi—one
of Sudan’s foremost living artists—and his elegant, visionary paintings
and drawings are back. The pioneering artist was the first from his
continent to be represented in a retrospective at Tate Modern, and this
spring, thanks to Vigo Gallery, his works will be on view in New York,
London, Hastings, and Istanbul.
ARTSY EDITORIALMAY 11TH, 2015 1:27 PM
Though his approach to his work is decidedly personal, El-Salahi’s
compositions beautifully reflect the internationalism of our times. He
merges European abstraction, the traditions of Arabic calligraphy and
ornamentation, the colors and crafts of his native Sudan, and his own life
experiences to develop striking works that range in scope from
celebrations of culture to statements on social injustice.
El-Salahi is the focus of Vigo Gallery’s booth at Frieze New York this
year. On show will be works drawn from the artist’s own archives,
including rare paintings and drawings from the 1960s, and monumental,
multi-part compositions from the 1980s and 90s. Among these is the
edgy Visual Diary of a Time-Waste Palace (1996), whose genesis is as
intriguing as its semi-abstract, ink-on-paper images. The artist made this
work while serving as an advisor to the Qatari government and a
translator and cultural advisor to the Emir. These roles gave him access to
the Emir’s palace, where he found square-shaped, blank books. For a year
and a half, he worked to fill each page of these books with drawings,
ultimately creating the 57 drawings of Time-Waste Palace. Upon
completion (and at the age of 66), he decided to devote the rest of his life
to art making full-time.
Later this month, at Vigo’s Mayfair space, a suite of paintings that were
featured prominently in the Tate retrospective receive a renewed
exhibition. As the title, “Flamenco” may suggest, the series is the result of
the artist’s travels through southern Spain in 2009, during a trip with the
collector AbdulMagid Breish. During that summer, El-Salahi experienced
Marbella, Toledo, Córdoba, Granada, and Málaga, exploring the cities’
Moorish architecture by day, and enjoying traditional food and dance at
night. He was particularly inspired by the Alhambra in Granada, where
he found motifs that were the same as ones he encountered while
studying the Quran during his youth. The resulting paintings are
spirited, rhythmic compositions in black and white or rich umber and
sepia tones, filled with stylized dancers that range from curvaceous
abstract forms to robust, defined figures in traditional costume.
The artist’s spirit of independence and individuality finds its reflection in
a tree native to his country, which has inspired him for decades: the
Haraza. This tree is the focus of a series of subtle, modernist drawings,
which are now on view in a concentrated exhibition at the Jerwood
Gallery, presented in partnership with Vigo Gallery. Bucking all
expectations, the Haraza flourishes in the dry season and sheds its leaves
during the wet season, when everything else is in bloom. “This is a
definitive statement,” El-Salahi once declared about his beloved Haraza.
“Like saying, ‘I am me! I am an individual! I do not follow what everyone
is doing! When everyone is going to be green, let them be green. I am
not! It’s individuality. I love that very much.”
—Karen Kedmey
Visit Vigo Gallery at Frieze New York 2015, Spotlight, Booth B48, May14–17, 2015.
“Limelight: Ibrahim El-Salahi – Haraza” is on view at Jerwood Gallery,Hastings, Apr. 28 – May 31, 2015.
“Flamenco” is on view at Vigo Gallery, London, May 29–July 31, 2015.
Follow Vigo Gallery on ArtsyFollow Vigo Gallery on Artsy..
# "
Untitled , ca. 1958 They Always Appear, 1961
SOLD
Ibrahim El-Salahi
Vigo Gallery
Ibrahim El-Salahi
Vigo Gallery
Visual Diary of a Time-Waste Palace, 1996
Ibrahim El-Salahi
Vigo Gallery
Flamenco Dancers, 2012
Ibrahim El-Salahi
Vigo Gallery
Flamenco Dancers, 2011 Flamenco Dancer, 2012
Ibrahim El-Salahi
Vigo Gallery
Ibrahim El-Salahi
Vigo Gallery
The Tree, 2001
£40,000
Oxford Tree, 2001
Ibrahim El-Salahi
Vigo Gallery
Ibrahim El-Salahi
Vigo Gallery
Oxford Tree, 2001 Oxford Tree, 2001 Oxford Tree, 2001
Ibrahim El-Salahi
Vigo Gallery
Ibrahim El-Salahi
Vigo Gallery
Ibrahim El-Salahi
Vigo Gallery
# "
Adrian Piper and Armenia
Take Golden Lions, But
Does the Prize Matter?
ARTSY EDITORIAL
The New Fondazione
Prada Is the Contemporary
Art Museum Italy Has
Long Deserved
ARTSY EDITORIAL
A Short History of the
World’s Most Important
Art Exhibition
ARTSY EDITORIAL
Francesco Bonami on Why
the Venice Biennale Died
12 Years Ago
ARTSY EDITORIAL
Adam Pendleton Brings
“Black Lives Matter” to
Venice
ARTSY EDITORIAL
Sarah Sze on Her Secret
Installation in Venice
ARTSY EDITORIAL
The New Zealand Pavilion
Uncovers the Art of the
NSA
ARTSY EDITORIAL
Behind the Biennale: The
Secret Power of Simon
Denny
ARTSY EDITORIAL
At the Venice Biennale,
Balancing Hope with
National Interests
ARTSY EDITORIAL
Behind the Biennale:
Camille Norment’s
Haunting Symphony
Shatters the Nordic
Pavilion
ARTSY EDITORIAL
Five Countries Crowdfund
Their Way to a Venice
Debut
ARTSY EDITORIAL
Egyptian Artists Cry for
Peace in Venice Biennale
Pavilion
ARTSY EDITORIAL
Okwui Enwezor’s Venice
Biennale Is an Unpleasant
Experience—And That’s a
Good Thing
ARTSY EDITORIAL
The 2015 Venice Biennale
in Numbers
ARTSY EDITORIAL
What Makes a Picasso
Painting Worth $140
Million?
ARTSY EDITORIAL
Hits and Misses at the
Venice Biennale’s National
Pavilions
ARTSY EDITORIAL
Joel Morrison Has a Steel
Life Crisis at Almine Rech
ARTSY EDITORIAL
5 Names You’ll Know after
the Venice Biennale
ARTSY EDITORIAL
Collective Design Fair
Founder Steven Learner
Tells Us Why Collecting Is
Like Falling in Love
ARTSY EDITORIAL
Zanele Muholi’s Initimate
Portrait of LGBTI Life in
South Africa Comes to the
Brooklyn Museum
ARTSY EDITORIAL
!
%DISCOVER ART FROM LEADING GALLERIES,
MUSEUMS, AND PRIVATE COLLECTIONS.
Search…& ARTISTS SHOWS GALLERIES MUSEUMS FAIRS AUCTIONS POSTS MORE LOG IN SIGN UP
