Adeela Suleman: Recent Works

September 30 – October 22, 2011 Press Preview & Private Viewing: Thursday, September 29, 6:00pm – 9:00pm

8 Heddon Street, , W1B 4BU

Aicon Gallery is pleased to present a solo exhibition of recent sculpture by Adeela Suleman. Suleman’s most recent body of work is a sparsely elegant suite of flattened reliefs and tableaux of interrelated elements that suggest a narrative where the natural world and violence intertwine. At first sight, her visual language seems comprised of elements representative of rural tranquility: flowers, birds, trees, leaves. Yet Suleman interlaces these motifs with symbols of destruction: missiles and suicide jackets. These disparate elements become locked together in complex relationships to form oddly surreal scenes, referencing the recent undercurrents of violence and instability found in contemporary Pakistani society.

The mainstay of Suleman’s practice explores a series of dichotomies that point to the fragility and fleeting ephemerality of life. By juxtaposing her intricate, initially pastoral-seeming scenes, carved in the filigree tradition of Islamic art, against the hard, formidable qualities of the stainless steel medium, Suleman’s sculpture is reminiscent of the precarious nature of the human condition inherent in societies in flux or turmoil.

Adeela Suleman, Untitled 1, 2011, Stainless steel, 110 x 42 in. In Untitled 1, a rocket in the form of a large missile is elaborately decorated with leaves, trees and a delicate pair of wings. Through the intimate commingling of destruction with the evergreen presence of nature, Suleman treads carefully between life and its detrimental forces, while challenging the viewer to find a resolution to the works in front of them.

Trees, foliage and birds are recurring motifs in Suleman’s work that form detailed, repetitive patterns, replete with symbolic meaning. The notion of loss and disappearance is abstracted and quietly resonates through the sculpture. In the place of tombs, memorials and funerals the works confront our earthly fears, but are suggestive of transcendental relief. They may be seen simultaneously as symbolic representations of the coexistence between love of nature and the disasters of man, as well as fragmented documentaries referencing the recent occurrences of violence and catastrophe within the landscape surrounding the artist.

In Untitled 4, Suleman reveals her intricate and complex aesthetic and dexterity as a sculptor. The work resembles an ornate screen composed of patterned motifs strung out in rows that are alternately reversed and flipped over. The sculpture hangs from the ceiling, trailing slightly on the ground as a curtain might. A large shrub crowning the curtain forms a part of the decorative elements, while light is allowed to stream through the negative space resulting in a display of ornate fragility and resplendent beauty. Upon closer inspection, however, the viewer realizes that the patterns are composed of multitudes of dead birds lined on strings, calling to mind scenes associated with the fallen victims of both the ongoing cultural conflicts and the recent natural disasters in .

Born in in 1970, Adeela Suleman studied Sculpture at the Indus Valley School of Art and completed a Master’s degree in International Relations from The . She has participated extensively in group and solo Adeela Suleman, Untitled 4, 2011, Stainless steel, 90 x 55.5 in. exhibitions worldwide, including Hanging Fire: Contemporary Art from Pakistan at The Asia Society, New York; Gallery Rohtas 2, ; Canvas Gallery, Karachi; Aicon Gallery, New York; and the International Exhibition of Contemporary Art, Bologna, 2008. Her work has been featured in Artforum and the New York Times among others. The artist currently lives and works in Karachi, Pakistan. This will be Adeela Suleman’s first solo exhibition in London.

In conjunction with Aicon’s exhibition, Adeela Suleman’s site-specific sculpture, Drained 2011, for the Manchester Cathedral will be on view as a part of the Asia Triennial Manchester 11 from October 1 – November 27.

Please contact Aicon Gallery ([email protected]) for more information. Online Exhibition at www.aicongallery.com