Dragons have appeared in virtually every culture, from East Asian art, Persian poetry, Medieval manuscripts to film and television. They aren't real of course, but have served to represent symbols of power, wisdom and destruction since antiquity. Dragons and other mythological beings have long been a fascination for Pakistani-American artist Hiba Schahbaz, who incorporates the flying beasts in her latest spiritual compositions at Almine Rech.
Housed at the gallery's London location, Summer of Dragons comprises of 15 new paintings made with watercolor on wood and tea-stained paper that she builds by hand, as well as traditional oil on linen canvases. Schahbaz is trained in Indo-Persian miniature painting at the National College of Art in Lahore, and moved to Brooklyn where she received her MFA in painting from Pratt Institute. Blending Western and Eastern iconography, Schahbaz seeks to revisit tropes of history, such as flipping the fierce image of a dragon in battle next to a fearless male warrior, in place of a beast that protects women, and in some paintings are anthropomorphically depicted as one.
"Hybridity is at the heart of Schahbaz’s practice," explained art critic and historian, Elizabeth Fullerton. "The rich hues and elegant detail of her works are rooted in rigor, discipline, and patience, the culmination of years of study. Introverted in her youth, Schahbaz found a language in miniature painting, centered on beauty and care, which she has used to find her own distinctive voice."
As the fall draws near, Summer of Dragons will be on view until September 28, 2024.
Almine Rech
Broadbent House,
Grosvenor Hill, London W1K 3JH
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