1. Paul Klee, Windows and Palms, 1914, Watercolours and gouache, partly scratched out, over graphite pencil and chalk-grouded paper, with artist's count on metal paper and cardboard, 8,5 x 9,2 cm, Kunsthaus Zürich, Collection of Prints and Drawings, 1930
Re-Orientation
Until the 16 July 2023, the Kunsthaus Zürich presents an exhibition dedicated to the (re)examination of the link and important of Islamic cultures to Western art.
With works of applied art, modern and contemporary art made by Wassily Kandinsky, Théodore Deck, Henri Matisse, Gabriele Münter and others coming from Algeria, Egypt, India and many more countries.
The exhibition curated by Dr Sandra Gianfreda and a team of experts tries to questions our link to Islamic art while trying to define or redefine what Islamic art is, Islamophilia, colonialism and social context from the 17th century to today.
All in all, the artworks questions the transcultural exchange between East and West, South and North, but also beyond ethnic, religious, cultural heritage and national boundaries.
2. Elisabeth Jerichau-Baumann, An Egyptian Fellah Woman with her Baby, 1872, Oil on canvas, 98,5 x 129,2 cm, Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen
Before diving deeper into the exhibition concept, let's define what Islamic art is. Like everything, name changed and countries we're divided, but in the case of Islamic Art, it was stated before as "Orient", a tern that came quite controversially after the postcolonial discourse.
The name Orient came from the opposition of the Occident, thus the South and the West respectively. Originally coming from the French word Orient, the word came to be from the latin Oriēns meaning the eastern part of the world, the rising sun, etc. Nowadays, Orient transformed into a geographical tern.
But if you talk about Orient or Orientalism in terms of art history, literature or even cultural studies, you become aware that it defines the imitation of depiction of the aspects and "dreams" of the eastern part seeing by a population coming from the Occident.
But this definition has changed, and it has been controversial since the publication of "Orientalism", a book written by Edward Said in 1978. In his text, he told us the limit of imitation of depiction of different aspects of the Eastern Part of the worlds and cultures, thus evoking the balance between power and poverty between the two atmospheres of the world.
Some progress was made in the last years, but some struggles are still debatable such as "Islamophilia". This term, which is define as a love or admiration of the values of the Islamic civilisation is used in the current exhibition as a "manifestation of a transcultural process" (Statement from the curator of the exhibition, Dr Sandra Gianfreda).
At the start, it began with an appreciation of Islamic art from the part of scholars and collectors, which later transform into public debates about “cultural appropriation” and transfers of culture from all around the world.
But to understand it clearly, we need to know which event started out this reinterpretation and reorientation: the Great Exhibition of London in 1851. In this exhibition, Islamic objects coming from the Mughal Empire in India was presented, thus 20 years later a touring exhibition was made and presented in London, Vienna, Paris, Algiers and Munich. The show was titled "Masterpieces of Muhammadan Art" and had a great success, thus influencing the market of originals and copies made for the big demand of the market, which demanded 3 600 objects.
European artist were next to be influenced, such as Henri Matisse, Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee and Gabriele Munter, which are all presented in the exhibition in monographic rooms. One of the most surprising work is Matisse's "Intérieur au tapis rouge".
With its title, the picture evokes his recent inspirations coming from Polynesia, where he discovered the colourful landscape depicted by Gauguin and the sellers coming from Africa with merchandise in Collioure and the south of France. The work which is composes around a still live is made with vibrant fabrics, a shimmering Catalan scarf, pottery and Algerian rugs brought back from Biskra which combine their shimmering patterns to create a space saturated with bright red hues.
With this works, Matisse, like many artist of the time present their quest for new forms of expressions, influenced by the styles and techniques of Islamic art, which they then adapted to their needs and techniques.
In most of the works produced by modern and contemporary artists, they depict their object due to their style, their motif or their shape, but for a long time they did not necessarily develop a deeper interest in their original function, context, creator, or indeed the people of the countries concerned in general. Some artist did travel to the colony of Algeria and the protectorates of Morocco and Tunisia, like Henri Matisse, Wassily Kandinsky, Gabriele Münter and Paul Klee.
Nowadays, we can question those works and interrogate the reception of Islamic art as a complex and multi-layered topic. To do so, the curator of the exhibition has decided to focus on a small number of case studies that reflect the diversity and approaches of the artists origins, and the country of reception.
The exhibition catalog
The exhibition catalog which was published by Hirmer includes texts from A. Agret, W. Beckmann, E. Christensen, N. Engel, G. Fellinger, K. Gerstner, S. Gianfreda, E. González, N. Habibi, J. Hallet, L. Llorente, S. McGavran, N. Radwan, M. Roberts, K. Rochester, A. von Stockhausen and A. Varela Braga.
ISBN: 978-3-7774-4122-1
Price: CHF 59
Informations about the exhibition
Place: Kunsthaus Zürich
Date: 24.2.2023 – 21.5.2023
Curators: Sandra Gianfreda
Ticket: Available on the website of the Kunsthaus Zürich OR at the front desk of the museum
Informations about the Kunsthaus Zürich
Kunsthaus Zürich
Heimplatz
CH-8001 Zürich
Phone: +41 44 253 84 84
Mail: info@kunsthaus.ch