Anila Quayyum Agha (b. 1965), "Intersections," 2018, lacquered steel, image courtesy of the artist and Talley Dunn Gallery, © Anila Agha
The Amon Carter Museum of American Art is introducing an immersive new exhibition that takes inspiration from history, culture, and current events.
The exhibition, "A Beautiful Despair," will be on view starting Sep. 25 through Jan. 9, 2022. Pakistani artist Anila Quayyum Agha will visit the Carter to install two lantern-like sculptures that will turn a cube-shaped showroom into an immersive container of light and shadow — this, according to the Carter, is Agha’s way of putting the viewers "at the intersection of individualism and tradition, Islam and Christianity, Pakistani and American life," allowing cultural divisions to fade away.
Agha will address multiple topics with her art, such as the layered trauma of the pandemic and civil unrest in the U.S. The exhibition will bring a dozen new works and Agha’s signature hanging metal armatures, which encase a single light source with geometric designs inspired by Islamic art and architecture. A single, diamond-shaped, hanging relief sculpture, "Liminal Space," will be supported by the colors of the installation’s corresponding drawings — "a gesture of mourning and hope," according to the Carter.
“Continuing the Carter’s celebration of the complex stories and diverse voices that define American creativity, Anila Quayyum Agha: A Beautiful Despair shares the unique insight of a transnational artist,” executive director Andrew J. Walker said in a statement. “While pushing the physical boundaries of her medium, Agha provides contemporary audiences with a vehicle for processing their lived experiences and documents this pivotal chapter in American history for future generations."
More information is available at cartermuseum.org.
