Rana Begum

We are delighted to announce Rana Begum's first solo exhibition at the gallery. The show presents Begum’s ongoing investigation into the interaction between colour, light and form and how this operates within both two and three dimensional space. This new collection of work reveals how Begum’s practice has diverged and evolved, setting her precise minimalism against a new exploration into the amorphous and uncontained.

Begum’s work absorbs and reflects varied densities of light to produce a sensorial experience for the viewer. A suspended installation investigates the three dimensional possibilities of galvanised mesh. Begum explores the layering process across different media including fishing nets, spray paintings and a new series of acrylic on aluminium panel paintings featured in the exhibition.

No. 973, 2019-2020, is a large-scale wall installation from a series developed through Istanbul Modern’s residency programme. Begum worked in a metal spinning workshop with resident craftspeople shaping materials such as copper, brass and aluminium. Begum chose moulds of different sizes and forms to evoke Istanbul’s period buildings. Blue-green, vellum, water green, salmon and grey forms suggest the Marmara Sea, historical buildings and the city’s skyscrapers.

Rana Begum was born in Bangladesh in 1977. She lives and works in London. In 2022, her work will be the subject of the inaugural exhibition at the newly developed Mead Gallery in Warwick. Future site-responsive commissions include the new Arts of Islamic Cultures Gallery at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA) and Wanas Konst, Knislinge, Sweden, 2021.

Recent solo exhibitions include A Conversation with Light and Form, Tate St Ives, UK, 2018, following the Tate St Ives Artists Programme residency at Porthmeor Studios; Space, Light, Colour, Djanogly Gallery, Nottingham, 2018; Space, Light, Colour, Sainsbury Centre, Norwich, 2017; The Space Between, Parasol Unit, London, 2016. In 2017, Begum curated a group exhibition, Occasional Geometries, at Yorkshire Sculpture Park featuring works from the Arts Council Collection. Her work has been included in exhibitions at Istanbul Modern, Istanbul; Gemeente Museum, Netherlands; Kettles Yard, Cambridge, UK; The 11th Gwangju Biennale, Korea and The Dhaka Art Summit, Bangladesh.