Ayesha Sultana

Grid I

Artwork Details

Artist

Ayesha Sultana

Title

Grid I

Date

2017

Medium

Graphite on folded archival paper mounted on aluminium dibond

Dimensions

243.84 x 167.64 cm

Credit Line

Art Jameel Collection

Work Description

Rooted in process and the act of making, Ayesha Sultana’s practice is an ongoing investigation of drawing, of seeing space in continuum, of exploring gaps in visual memory and of looking at the periphery and what is overlooked in plain sight. In a constantly evolving process, Sultana refers to the repetition of gesture and mark-making in her practice as a “verb” – a practice in motion and an artwork in action, whether by cutting, folding, piercing, layering, recording, tracing, removing, scratching and so on. An attempt to make visible or to delve into what one can see, and simultaneously translating the visual information, is what engages Sultana. Through the primacy of drawing and painting, this act of looking is to assimilate the experience of her surroundings and space.

Grid I is a monochromatic graphite drawing which oscillates between two-dimensional and three-dimensional space. Sultana plans the composition precisely before treating the paper with three or four coats of graphite powder, with fixative between each layer. She then applies pencil to paper, folds and bends the paper into repetitive shapes, and finally assembles all the pieces together, playing with texture and light to create a material transformation, the illusion of a metal sheen. The works could easily be mistaken for metal or iron works. They are monochromatic, industrial, minimalist and ordered. Sultana’s methodical approach focuses on detail but appears opposing and powerful when displayed on a grand scale as it is here, her sculptural graphite pieces referring to humanity’s capacity to build and create.

Artist Biography

Ayesha Sultana (b. 1984, Jashore, Bangladesh) lives and works in Lilburn, Georgia, USA

Formal and material experimentation are at the heart of Ayesha Sultana’s practice, concurrently working in different mediums and techniques, but with a specific interest in the features of materials she uses in the act of making. This leads to other ways of looking and engaging, in the relevance of formal properties of various materials and the depth of meaning of the medium itself. She completed her bachelor’s in fine art (2007) and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Art Education (2008) from Beaconhouse National University, Lahore where she also taught for two years, and is a member of the artist-run organisation, Britto Arts Trust in Dhaka. Sultana has exhibited worldwide in solo and group exhibitions and her work is in collections such as SFMoMA, San Francisco; Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, Delhi; Devi Art Foundation, Delhi; and Tate Modern, London.

Useful Links

Artist’s Rooms : Ayesha Sultana