ADEELA SULEMAN
Born 1970 in Karachi, Pakistan
The mainstay of Suleman’s artistry explores a series of dichotomies that point to the fragile and fleeting ephemerality of life. By juxtaposing her intricate – initially pastoralized scenes as rendered in the filigree tradition of Islamic art – against the hard, formidable qualities of the stainless steel medium, Suleman’s sculpture is reminiscent of the precarious nature of the human condition inherent in the flux of societies. The recurring motifs in Suleman’s work – organic subjects such as birds and flowers – form detailed, repetitive patterns, which are replete with symbolic meaning. Abstracted notions of loss and disappearance quietly resonate through her sculptures. In lieu of tombs, memorials and funerals, the works confront our earthly fears, but remain suggestive of transcendental relief. They may be seen simultaneously as symbolic representations of the coexistence between love of nature and the chaos of man, in addition to the fragmented documentaries referencing recent violent and catastrophic occurrences within the artist’s sociopolitical landscape.
Adeela Suleman studied Sculpture at the Indus Valley School of Art and completed a Master’s degree in International Relations from the University of Karachi. She is currently the Coordinator of Vasl Artists’ Collective in Karachi, in addition to being the Coordinator of the Fine Art Department at Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture. Suleman has participated extensively with group and solo exhibitions worldwide, including An Atlas of Mirrors - Singapore Biennale at the Singapore Art Museum, Phantoms of Asia at the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, the 2013 Asian Art Biennial at the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Art, Hanging Fire – Contemporary Art from Pakistan at The Asia Society, New York; Gallery Rohtas 2, Lahore; Canvas Gallery, Karachi; Gandhara Art Space, Karachi; Alberto Peola Gallery, Torino; Aicon Gallery, New York; and, the International Exhibition of Contemporary Art, Bologna, Italy (2008). Reviews and features of work appear in Artforum and the New York Times, among other publications. The artist lives and works in Karachi, Pakistan.
The artist lives and works in Karachi, Pakistan.
Education
1999 MA in International Relations, University of Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan
1995 BFA in Sculpture with Distinction, Indus Valley School of Art &Architecture, Karachi,
Pakistan
1992 Bachelor of Arts, St Joseph College. Karachi. Pakistan
Select Solo Exhibitions
2017 Solo Show, Davide Gallo Gallery, Milan, Italy (September 2017)
Not Everyone’s Heaven, Aicon Gallery, New York, USA
Fragmented Landscape, Gandhara Art Space, Karachi, Pakistan.
2015 Dream of Carnage, Canvas Gallery. Karachi, Pakistan
2014 Towards the End, Aicon Gallery, New York, U.S.
2013 Impulse, Aicon Gallery Booth I-5 at Pulse Art Fair, New York, U.S.
2012 I had no choice but to hear you, Canvas Gallery, Karachi, Pakistan
Solo Exhibition, Alberto Peola Arte Contemporeanea, Torino, Italy
2011 Recent Works, Aicon Gallery, London, in conjunction with site-specific sculpture
Drained (2011), for the Manchester Cathedral as part of Asia Triennial Manchester, U.K.
2010 After All It’s Always Somebody Else…, Aicon Gallery, New York, U.S.
2008 Uncertainty, Rohtas 2, Lahore, Pakistan
2007 Confinement, Commune Artist Colony, Karachi, Pakistan
Select Group Exhibitions
2017 The Artist / Knight, Gassbeek Castle Museum, Belgium (Upcoming)
I don’t want to be there when it happens, Curated by Mikala Tai and Kate Warren - 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, Sydney, Australia
Witness, Karachi Biennale, Karachi, Pakistan
South Asian Design - Exploring how South Asian traditional crafts are inspiring exciting contemporary art, design and fashion, Manchester Art Gallery, Manchester, UK
2016 An Atlas of Mirrors, Singapore Biennale, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore
Hopes of Paradise, Contemporary Art of Pakistan, Grosvenor Gallery, London, UK
The 70’s Pakistan Radioactive Decade, Curated by Niilofar Farrukh & Amin Gulgee. Amin Gulgee Gallery, Karachi Pakistan
2015 The Lay of The Land, Curated by Anushka Rajendran, Latitude28 gallery, New Delhi
Headlines, Curated by Munawar Ali Syed, April 3-13, at the Frere Hall, Karachi
2013 SEA Triennale 2013, Curated by Jim Supangkat. Suwarno Wisetrotomo, Asikin Hasan, Rizki A. Zaelani, and Rikrik Kusmara. National Gallery of Indonesia. Jakarta, Indonesia
Everyday Life - Asian Art Biennial, National Taiwan Museum of Fine Art, Taiwan
2012 Phantom of Asia, Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, U.S.
Band Baaja Baarat, IVS Gallery, Dubai Art Fair, Dubai, UAE
Indian Art Summit, New Delhi, India
Mein – the Artist and the Self, Koel Gallery, Karachi, Pakistan
2011 Reprise, Aicon Gallery, New York, U.S.
Asia Triennial Manchester 11, Manchester Cathedral, U.K.
Home Spun, Devi Art Foundation, New Delhi, India
Group Show, Drawing Room Art Gallery, Lahore, Pakistan
Mad in Karachi 3D, Art Chowk Gallery, Karachi, Pakistan
2010 Rising Tide, Mohatta Palace Museum, Karachi, Pakistan
In Defisa, Fondazione 107, Torino, Itlay
Svelando l’Utopia, Alberto Peola Arte Contemporanea, Torino, Italy
Resemble Reassemble, Devi Art Foundation, New Delhi, India
2009 Failing States: Recent works by Tazeen Qayyum, Aicon Gallery, London, U.K.
Steel Life, La Triennale di Milano, Milan, Italy
Hanging Fire: Contemporary Art from Pakistan, Asia Society, New York, U.S.
The Emperor’s New Clothes: Dress, Politics and Identity in Contemporary Pakistani Art, Talwar Gallery, New York, U.S.
Signs taken for Wonders: Recent Art from India and Pakistan, Aicon, London , U.K.
2008 Farida Batool, Adeela Suleman and Tazeen Qayyum, Aicon Gallery, New York
Tradition, Technique, Technology – II; Contemporary artists from Pakistan
Featuring Farida Batool, Ayaz Jokhio and Adeela Suleman, Aicon, Palo Alto, U.S.
Video Loop 08’, Barcelona, Spain
Fiera Internazionale d'Arte Contemparanea International Exhibition of Contemporary Art-Bologna, Italy
Women of Light, Galerie Davide Gallo, Berlin, Germany
2007 Preview Berlin, The emerging art fair, Berlin, Germany
An Intensity of Space & Substance, National Art Gallery, Islamabad, Pakistan
Love, National Art Gallery, Islamabad, Pakistan
Articulating the Subtext, Alliance Francaise, Karachi, Pakistan
2006 Flights of Fancy, Royaat Gallery, Lahore, Pakistan
Body, Amin Gulgee Gallery, Karachi, Pakistan
Calligraphy, Amin Gulgee Gallery, Karachi, Pakistan
2005 Urban/Culture, CP Open Biennale, Jakarta, Indonesia
Beyond Borders, National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai
2004 Spielen mit Geladenem Gewehr (Playing with the loaded gun), Kunsthalle Fridericianum Kassel, Germany
2003 Twenty-four Shots per second, Kara Film Fest, Karachi, Pakistan
43rd Premio Suzzara, Associazione Galleria Del Premio Suzzara, Italy
Playing with the loaded Gun, Apex Art, New York
Canvas Gallery, Karachi, Pakistan
2002 Imagined Workshop, Second Fukuoka Asian Art Triennial, Fukuoka, Japan
2001 The Thakhti Show, Freer Hall, Karachi, Pakistan
Collections & Public Commissions
Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich, Germany
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
Orlando Museum of Art, Orlando, Florida, U.S.
Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, New Delhi, India
Devi Art Foundation, Haryana, India
Mohatta Palace Museum, Karachi, Pakistan
Flame Towers, Baku, Azerbaijan
Four Seasons Hotel, New Delhi, India
Art in Embassies, U.S. Dept. of State, Islamabad & Karachi, Pakistan
Barts Health NHS Trust, London, U.K.