Abstract painting and sculpture are not the most fashionable disciplines in the art world today. Many young artists feel it's been done, and choose a different path. Not Rana Begum.
The British-Bangladeshi artist, 39, has just opened an exhibition at the Parasol Unit in London, finely curated by Ziba Ardalan. You have until September 18th to see it. I caught up with her at the opening this week; here's what she had to say:
RANA BEGUM:
I've been told quite a lot that abstraction has been done. People say, ''Why are you making art like this? You’re not going to be successful at all.’
But there are a lot of things that I grew up with that really connected me to artists like Donald Judd and Agnes Martin -- artists that I felt brought out the simplicity of living my life in Bangladesh and coming here, and this repetition in our daily life. It all comes through. I can see it in their work.
When I was doing my foundation course, that’s when I was introduced to abstract art and Constructivist art and the minimalists. That was a turning point for me: from representational to abstract.
It's the spiritual side of abstraction that I'm drawn to: The fact that there are these subtle changes that you see and that natural light has a huge impact on. That’s a big part of the work.
I wasn’t expecting the response to be like this at all. I always imagined myself working away in a shed at the bottom of my garden. Each stage of my career has just been amazing. I don’t think this would have been possible without Ziba's vision. She really gets the work.
I’ve always wanted to survive as an artist. I’ve seen a lot of my peers struggle to just produce works. For me to be able to continue making what I do, that’s the important thing.
[Photography credit: Philip White]
It's the spiritual side of abstraction that I'm drawn to: The fact that there are these subtle changes that you see and that natural light has a huge impact on. That’s a big part of the work.
I wasn’t expecting the response to be like this at all. I always imagined myself working away in a shed at the bottom of my garden. Each stage of my career has just been amazing. I don’t think this would have been possible without Ziba's vision. She really gets the work.
I’ve always wanted to survive as an artist. I’ve seen a lot of my peers struggle to just produce works. For me to be able to continue making what I do, that’s the important thing.
[Photography credit: Philip White]
