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can you see me?

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satyakam saha edge of desire-iv fabric coppertube thread light site specific instalation/2012 detail

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p resents

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director s statement we live in times of shrinking spaces surveillance censorship and religious militancy as the contemporary world around us becomes narrower and stereotyped by the second as women s bodies desires become contested terrains as marginalities get more policed can you see me persuades the viewer to ask questions about where prejudice really begins is it always the others that inflict or have we all insidiously been infected by bias why is difference so scary do we see fragments of our own selves in the reflections of the other nine artists explore multiple selves avatars manifestations and fragmentations contraband desires and marginal identities at times provocative at others reflective but mostly surprising and even celebratory the exhibition brings together figurative conceptual experiential and mostly site-specific works by this significant collective of emergent transcultural artists from india pakistan us and the global diaspora these are varied explorations through mixed media from oil and acrylic abstractions on canvas by sharmistha ray to urban-tech photorealist renderings by satadru sovan bhanduri from scaled nudes by balbir krishen recently attacked for his non-apologetic homoerotic content to luminous meditative light sculptures on desire by satyakam saha these works span an entire spectrum of artistic expression raising the issue of muslim voices and identities in these times of islamaphobia pakistani simeen farhat and indo-turk diasporic amina ahmad shape their own representations through their work that comprise 3-d calligraphic sculptures inspired by revolutionary poets and lyrical paper material installations that recall the spiritual repose of islamic architecture completing the arc are photographs portraiture by jose abad and sandip kuriokose both of who touch on gender and sexuality in ways that are both overt and covert besides their art quite a few of these artists are themselves part of the narrative of multiplicities they juggle multiple selves as artist-curators gallerists exhibition directors this informs their practice and gives them multiple positions from which to speak and express themselves and gives us newer ways to see and understand.

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about engendered space the gallery is envisioned as an alternative space for cultural intervention a place for artistic production and critical dialog through cutting edge multidisciplinary programming spanning the visual performative cinematic and literary arts of south asia the gallery hopes to accelerate a culture of human rights awareness while accentuating marginal themes issues and sexualities what do the aesthetics of gender and sexuality tell us about south asia how could new narratives and new perspectives in these aesthetics raise new questions and discussions through visual arts cinema text and performances engendered space will constantly feature the most vital voices asking these questions in their asking lies the political and aesthetic act that take issues of gender and sexuality past their contemporary limits the hope is to highlight not just what is being said but also fight the silences that still abound within these conversations ranging from independent to mainstream alternative to pop classic to avant-garde the space will feature a dynamic selection from the entire continuum of south asian arts about engendered home engendered also announces the opening of its residency guesthouse for women travelers artists photographers filmmakers dancers and performance artists it is envisioned as a safe progressive women and queer positive space the space will serve as an extension to the gallery and often lend itself to community events eventually it also hopes to build an extensive educational media library and archive about engendered engendered is the trans-national arts and human rights organization focused on exploring the complex realities of gender and sexuality in the south asian diaspora based in new york engendered presents an annual four-part festival that brings together the best in contemporary south asian performance music visual arts and cinema both a political and aesthetic festival engendered uses the medium of arts and culture to create change and promote social justice by initiating public dialogue around women s issues gender inequity sexual orientation and minority and health rights engendered s programming includes i-view-film north america s largest film festival for south asian content around gender sexuality for more information about the organization visit www.engendered.org

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simeen farhat simeen farhat heaven or hell enamel on polymer/2011 detail

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simeen farhat was born in karachi pakistan and possesses an american upbringing she is currently settled in dallas tx after receiving her b.f.a from arizona state university in tempe az in 1998 and her m.f.a from texas christian university in fort worth tx in 2000 she has held a plethora of exhibits across the world ­ from the united states to pakistan to europe ­ she is truly an international artist on the rise some of her exhibitions include anya tish gallery houston tx mighty fine arts gallery dallas tx studio 107 gallery austin tx 500x gallery dallas tx gerald peters gallery dallas tx broadway 417 gallery new york ny gescheidle contemporary chicago il frisbee fair plush gallery miami fl craighead-green gallery dallas tx continental gallery dallas tx art one gallery scottsdale az and indus art gallery karachi pakistan simeen farhat heaven or hell enamel on polymer/2011

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the text in my sculptures and installations are revolutionary poems appropriated mostly from famous farsi and urdu poets such as rumi saadi ghalib and faiz ahmed faiz who all wrote powerfully about freedom of thought and speech the small-scale wall-mounted sculptures speech bubbles represent the poems poignant and piercing power to induce strong emotions as many of these poems have also been sung by famous singers from the sub-continent the suspended installations also express the poems melodic power and ability to elicit uplifting thoughts the shadows cast on the wall are also vital to the aesthetic as they add additional depth and layers behind their meaning my goal is to translate their poetic dynamism into visual energy by pairing female forms with poetic text i strive to show a connection between the mind and soul a mind is free to think and a soul free to exist separate from their utterance as a sound and with or without the coverings of an outer garment the text is used aesthetically as a flowing pattern as well as philosophically paired with the ethereal figures it enables a dialogue with the viewer or monologue between mind and body through the interactive nature of my installations sculptures and textual drawings i pose questions for each culture to examine from their own perspective considering that there is a figure but no embodied form showing can this be called contemporary figurative islamic art do these life-size veiled figures threaten or confuse non-muslim westerners and why recognizing that this work represents women s freedom to think can this work be called a simeen farhat universally feminist art the candle must burn enamel on polymer/2011 simeen farhat

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sharmistha ray the erotic impulse acrylic oil on canvas/2012 4×6 feet detail born 1978 in kolkata india ray lived in kuwait before moving to the united states in 1997 she holds a dual degree from pratt institute m.f.a in painting m.s in theory criticism history of art and is a recipient of the joan mitchell m.f.a grant 2004 and ted india fellowship 2009 in 2010 she was selected by prohelvetia in partnership with art basel as one of six curators from india for a curators tour in switzerland ray held directorship positions at bodhi art and hauser wirth before returning full-time to painting she lives in mumbai for more information please go to sharmistha ray www.sharmistharay.net

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sharmistha ray the erotic impulse acrylic oil on canvas/2012 4×6 feet

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for the artist residency and exhibition for engendered space sharmistha ray created a large format oil on canvas work called the erotic impulse which will use the delhi urbanscape as a reference point to cultivate ideas about the subversion of multiplicity of sexualities desires and impulses in normative society working primarily in oil on canvas ray postulates canonical ideals of beauty and the sublime by distilling her memories photographs observations and experiences of landscapes both urban and natural her painterly idiom combines an unconventional color palette with a dense network of gesture impasto and layering techniques that is direct emotive and visceral process is key and the varying viscosities and uneven layering of paint creates cracks crevices and ridges exposing the painting s substratum in areas while obliterating it in others paint is poured and mixed in thick folds onto the surface of the canvas so that it striates streaks and eddies producing imagistic manifestations of natural and organic phenomena like foliage riverbeds and sky at other times it is painstakingly applied with a palette knife in small segments across the expanse of the canvas to construct fragmentations objects appear to dissolve at their edges just before concretizing into form reconfiguring the relationship between materiality and abstraction the metascapes of sharmistha ray are suspended in time between mythos and reality between abstraction and its opposite exposing an intimate and charged topography of the subconscious mind sharmistha ray

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satyakam saha edge of desire-iii studies light boxes/2011 satyakam saha

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satyakam saha explores and translates history global affairs and philosophy into visual imagery he works in multimedia to make his own interpretations and to connect his thoughts to a visual medium saha was born in bhagalpur india after completing his graduate degree in architecture at the school of planning and architecture new delhi 1996 saha became principal in the multifaceted design firm ampersand delhi until 2000 it was during this time practicing as an architect that he stole time to paint this led to exhibitions of his paintings in new delhi in 2000-2003 saha attended the new york studio school of drawing painting and sculpture in 2002 he received the milton sally avery foundation scholarship saha s works have been exhibited widely including at the alliance francaise new delhi with arts.i at engendered s pardha exhibition at lincoln center the new york studio school guild gallery ny aicon gallery ny the visual arts center of new jersey and the queens museum ny his work is included in private collections in india japan germany and the usa between 2003-2011 he was operations manager at the renee chaim gross foundation ny he presently lives and works in new delhi satyakam saha edge of desire-iv fabric coppertube thread light site specific instalation/2012

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