ART-PRESENTATION: Imran Qureshi

Imran QureshiImran Qureshi became known to a broader public with a large-scale site-specific work on the Roof Garden at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2013. Using the nearly 840 m² open-air space as his canvas, Qureshi has worked areas of his spilled and splattered red acrylic paint into patterns of lush ornamental leaves that evoke the luxuriant walled gardens that are ubiquitous in miniatures of the Mughal court.

By Efi Michalarou
Photo: Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac Archive

Imran Qureshi at his solo exhibition “…and that is how we loved this too – this land…” at Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac in Salzburg presents a new body of work exploring at once a deeper notion of the beauty of life and the shock of violent death. Affected by the global rise of terrorism since 9/11, Imran Qureshi’s practice reflects on its devastating effect on the world and on his native land in Lahore, Pakistan. With this new series of paintings Imran Qureshi echoes a specific deadly event that recently went viral on social media. In some of his paintings this is transposed in dragging his body and hands in red paint along the canvas. This gestural approach to painting reduces the distance between the canvas and the artist while the moving bodily imprints also accentuate a notion of time. Only in some parts, where the rawness of the red colour is over-painted with flowers, the slowness and beauty of growth emerges. For the use of red color Imran Qureshi said, “The dialogue between life and death is an important element in my work. Leaves and nature, for example, represent the idea of life. And the particular color of red that I have been using in recent years can look so real, like blood. But somehow, people still have hope”. In the 27 paintings of the exhibition, the artist further experiments with similar shades of colour tones. To him, all violence all over the world is the same and the loss to human lives alike, no matter in which part of the world an act of terror is taking place. Hence in extending his tones the artist confronts the viewer also with a peaceful experience. Also Imran Qureshi presents 11miniature paintings that require the viewer to focus on a carefully framed central image for example, a bent tree that at closer inspection reveal stains of blood. His new video is a sequence from “Breathing” (2014) where gold leaf is captured in slow motion and is flying in the air against a green backdrop. The new work shows a similar making, however, rendered in red paint instead of the gold that accompanies his large-scale action paintings.

Info: Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac,Villa Kast, Mirabellplatz 2, Salzburg, Duration: 7/4-27/5/17, Days & Hours: Tue-Fri 10:00-18:00, sat 10:00-14:00, http://ropac.net