London-based artist Rana Begum presents a site-specific installation, works on paper, and a floor sculpture in her solo exhibition at Galerie Christian Lethert. The works are all characterized by her ongoing exploration of light, space and color and the way they interact.
The exhibition includes »No. 1084 Net« originally shown at Mead Gallery in Warwick as part of touring show Dappled Light. The work adapts to the space and takes a new form, blurring the boundaries between sculpture and architecture. During her artist residency at Tate St. Ives, Begum began experimenting with fishing nets, having found an abundance in the former fishing town. The material is sprayed in bright neon colors to create a vibrant, textured surface that cuts across the space, conceiving a sculpture that is simultaneously material and ethereal. The movement of the net conveys a sense of spontaneity and fluidity, constructing a striking visual tension across the room. As viewers move through the work, color, light, shadow, and composition are in constant flux.
This organic and flowing installation, together with a spray painting on the opposite wall, occupies the upper floor. The dynamic spray painting »No. 1128 Painting«, layers amorphous patches of spray paint to creates depth, challenging the two dimensional medium of painting. In both works, Begum explores color interaction and transparency, traversing spatial planes.
The work »No. 909 Folded Grid« exhibited in the basement, consists of 30 folded sheets, sprayed in different colors, individually framed, and hung in a grid of 5 x 6. The geometric regularity of the folded sheets is disrupted in the act of crumpling, creating textural surfaces of color that catches and refracts the light.
The artist uses the principle of folding, not only to create complex pictorial spaces, but also for her large-scale floor sculpture »No. 1146 Bench«, which stands freely in space. The geometric design of this functional object, which also serves as seating furniture, conveys a feeling of spontaneity and playfullness that characterizes the works in this show. The high-contrast coloration of the MDF and walnut vaneer sculpture opens up exciting views and perspectives that only become apparent as the viewer moves around the space.
With her compositions, Begum explores reflection of light, spontaneous form and color interaction to create a sensorial experience that immerses the viewer.
