New piece entitled The Greys in Between transforms the Atrium Gallery at MOCA Jacksonville into a place that alludes to Islamic sacred spaces dense with geometric ornamentation and pattern. Film by Joe Karably, video courtesy of MOCA Jacksonville
If you haven’t had the opportunity to go out and see Anila’s work yet, this is your chance. Currently in four museum exhibitions, the fifth is set to open on May 19th at Grand Rapids Art Museum in Grand Rapids, MI, showcasing her iconic piece, Intersections. Just missing the total of six exhibitions open at one time, two installation shows ended, one in March and another April, at The Brattleboro Museum in Vermont which displayed Agha’s installation piece Shimmering Mirage and The Peabody Essex Museum with her piece All the Flowers are for Me- Black. The current four exhibitions span along the east coast as far north as Massachusetts to as south as Florida and range from solo installations to group shows featuring some of her 2-dimensional work.
Starting off the furthest north along the east coast, the Addison Gallery of American Art at Phillips Academy in Andover, MA is showcasing the installation piece Hidden Diamond, to see some of Agha’s 2-dimensional work you can visit the group exhibition Long, Winding Journeys: Contemporary Art and the Islamic Tradition at the Katonah Art Museum, and the North Carolina Museum of Art has her piece that won the 2014 Artprize, Intersections.
One of her newest pieces, The Greys in Between, has recently opened in the atrium of MOCA Jacksonville in Florida. Agha’s installation pieces focus on the reclaiming of public spaces that historically have been associated with the masculine domain. Using Islamic architectural motifs, light and shadow, and now movement, these installations cast viewers, of all cultural backgrounds, under its shadows allowing all to contemplate and reflect.
To find out more about each of these exhibitions and museums please follow the links:
Grand Rapids Art Museum: Grand Rapids, MI
Anila Quayyum Agha: Intersections
May 19 – August 26, 2018
http://www.artmuseumgr.org/2017/10/20/anila-quayyum-agha-intersections/
Museum of Contemporary Art: Jacksonville, FL
Project Atrium
https://mocajacksonville.unf.edu/events/Project-Atrium--Anila-Agha-Previews/
Katonah Museum of Art: Katonah, NY
Long, Winding Journeys: Contemporary Art and the Islamic Tradition
February 25 – June 17, 2018
http://www.katonahmuseum.org/exhibitions/
North Carolina Museum of Art: Raleigh, NC
You Are Here: Light, Color, and the Sound Experience
April 7 – July 22, 2018
http://ncartmuseum.org/exhibition/you_are_here_light_color_and_sound_experiences
Addison Gallery of American Art at Phillips Academy: Andover, MA
Convergence: Anila Quayyum Agha, Lalla Essaydi, Yun-Fei Ji, and Fred Han Chang Liang
January 27 – July 31, 2018
https://addison.andover.edu/Exhibitions/Convergence/Pages/default.aspx?in=On+View+Now
Peabody Essex Museum: Salem, MA
All the Flowers are For Me
May 20, 2017 – April 29, 2018
https://www.pem.org/exhibitions/all-the-flowers-are-for-me
Brattleboro Museum and Art Center: Brattleboro, Vermont
Shimmering Mirage: Anila Quayyum Agha
October 13, 2017 – March 10, 2018
http://www.brattleboromuseum.org/2017/10/08/shimmering-mirage-anila-quayyum-agha/