A new show opens Friday at the RISD Museum: Extraordinary Realities features the work of Pakistani American artist Shahzia Sikander (RISD MFA 1995, painting and printmaking), celebrated for her groundbreaking work integrating illustrated manuscript traditions from South and Central Asia into a contemporary idiom.
This exhibition tracks the first 15 years of this artistic journey, from her groundbreaking deconstruction of illustrated manuscript painting in Pakistan to the development of a new personal vocabulary at RISD, expanded explorations around identity as a Core Fellow at the Glassell School of Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and her global outlook during her first years in New York. During this period, Sikander richly interrogated gender, sexuality, race, class, and history, creating open-ended narratives that have sustained her work as one of the most significant artists working today.
Show runs through January 30. The RISD Museum homepage still asks that you make an appointment before visiting. “Advance tickets required.”
Admission is free on Sundays (10 am–5 pm) and “Free After Five Presented by Chase” on Thursdays and Fridays (5–7 pm).
Don’t forget the RI Artist Membership! Any Rhode Island resident identifying as an artist, designer, or maker, etc. can be eligible for one free year of membership.
(Seen here is a detail from Pleasure Pillars by Shahzia Sikander, 2001.)
Museum hours: Tue, Wed, Sat, Sun, 10am to 5pm :: Thu and Fri, noon to 7pm.
Exhibit opens Friday, November 12, RISD Museum, 20 North Main Street, (directions)