Pakistani American artist Shahzia Sikander is internationally celebrated for bringing Indo-Persian manuscript-painting traditions into dialogue with contemporary art practice. This exhibition tracks the first fifteen years of this artistic journey, from her groundbreaking deconstruction of manuscript painting in Pakistan to the development of a new personal vocabulary at RISD, expanded explorations around identity as a Core fellow at the Glassell School of Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and her global outlook during her first years in New York. During this period, Sikander richly interrogated gender, sexuality, race, class, and history, creating open-ended narratives that have sustained her work as one of the most significant artists working today.
The exhibition is organized by the RISD Museum and presented in collaboration with the Morgan. Lead corporate support from Morgan Stanley, with additional support from the Terra Foundation for American Art; Cynthia Hazen Polsky and Leon Polsky; Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin M. Rosen; and Sean and Mary Kelly and Sean Kelly Gallery.
This exhibition was on view at the Morgan Library & Museum in New York City from June 18 through September 26, 2021.
