Born and raised in Pakistan, Shahzia Sikander (b. 1969) gained international recognition in the 1990s for her pioneering role in bringing painting traditions from South and Central Asia into dialogue with contemporary practices. Her work interrogates cultural identity, racial narratives, colonial and postcolonial histories, and issues of gender and sexuality. Through multivalent narratives layered across time, geography, and tradition, she shatters established hierarchies, norms, and stereotypes, using her imagination and playfulness to conjure extraordinary realities.
This exhibition explores the first fifteen years of Sikander’s career, from her formal training in manuscript painting as a student at the National College of Arts in Lahore, Pakistan, where she enrolled in 1987, to her early years in the United States. Sikander moved to Providence in 1993 to study at the Rhode Island School of Design. She then lived in Houston for two years before settling in New York in 1997. Her work during this period reflects a new openness in the United States toward artists working outside of commonly accepted models as well as a dramatic shift in the perception of Muslims following the events of 9/11. The potent vocabulary of Sikander’s early work continues to permeate her oeuvre today, and the subjects she confronted then have only become more relevant to contemporary discourse.
Shahzia Sikander: Extraordinary Realities is organized by the RISD Museum and presented in collaboration with the Morgan Library & Museum.
This exhibition is made possible at the Morgan Library & Museum by lead corporate support from Morgan Stanley.
Additional support is provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art; Cynthia Hazen Polsky and Leon Polsky; Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin M. Rosen; and Sean and Mary Kelly and Sean Kelly Gallery.
This exhibition originated at the RISD Museum with grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Scintilla Foundation, and the Robert Lehman Foundation, Inc. Additional publication support from the Vikram and Geetanjali Kirloskar Visiting Scholar in Painting Endowed Fund at the Rhode Island School of Design and Furthermore: a program of the J. M. Kaplan Fund.
The Morgan Library & Museum. Artwork © Shahzia Sikander, Photography © Casey Kelbaugh
Colin B Bailey: Hello, I'm Colin B. Bailey, director of the Morgan Library Museum, and I'm delighted to welcome you to Shazia Sikandar: Extraordinary Realities. Born in Pakistan, Sikandar gained international recognition in the 1990s for her refined and exquisite paintings in which she subverted the tradition of Indo-Persian manuscript illumination. The exhibition follows her during the first 15 years of her career, from her rigorous training in Lahore, Pakistan, to her move to Providence, Rhode Island, and eventually to New York, where the events of 9/11 had a profound influence on her work. In images of great subtlety and power, Sikandar's art investigates burning contemporary issues related to feminism, migrations, colonialism, and cultural boundaries. As you move through the gallery, look for the audio symbols to discover commentary from the artist herself who will share with you the circumstances in which she made the drawings, what her sources of inspiration were and how she developed her imagery. Thank you for joining us at the Morgan. We hope you enjoy your visit.