Faig Ahmed () (born 1982 in

Sumqayit Sumgait (; az, Sumqayıt, ) is a city in Azerbaijan, located near the Caspian Sea, on the Absheron Peninsula, about away from the capital Baku. The city has a population of around 345,300, making it the second largest city in Azerbaijan after Bak ...

, Azerbaijan) is an

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

i contemporary visual artist who is best known for his

surrealist Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...

weavings which integrate visual distortions into traditional

oriental rug An oriental rug is a heavy textile made for a wide variety of utilitarian and symbolic purposes and produced in " Oriental countries" for home use, local sale, and export. Oriental carpets can be pile woven or flat woven without pile, using v ...

s. Ahmed graduated from the sculpture program at the

Azerbaijan State Academy of Fine Arts Azerbaijan State Academy of Fine Arts is higher art school that is located in the city of Baku in Republic of Azerbaijan. It was founded in 2000 by a presidential decree. The academy aims the only higher education institution in the country that ca ...

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...

in 2004. In 2007, Ahmed's work was included in the Azerbaijan's first pavilion in the Venice Biennalle in 2013 he participated in the show “Love Me, Love Me Not” and the 11th Mercosul Visual Arts Biennial in 2018. While Ahmed has created artworks in multiple media, including sculpture, video, and

installation Installation may refer to: * Installation (computer programs) * Installation, work of installation art * Installation, military base * Installation, into an office, especially a religious (Installation (Christianity) Installation is a Christian l ...

, he is best known for his surrealist sculptural textiles, which apply optical illusions in the form of often

psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips").Pollan, Michael (2018). ''How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of ...

visual manipulations (including warping,

glitch A glitch is a short-lived fault in a system, such as a transient fault that corrects itself, making it difficult to troubleshoot. The term is particularly common in the computing and electronics industries, in circuit bending, as well as among ...

ing, melting, pixelating, and unraveling) to traditional Islamic rugs. The textiles are manufactured by a group of skilled weavers who follow Ahmed's designs paying strict attention to traditional Azerbaijani weaving techniques.

Exhibitions

Ahmed has exhibited his works worldwide including group and solo exhibitions in New York, Paris, London, Berlin, Moscow, Dubai, Sharjah, Mumbai, Rome, Venice, Washington D.C., Hong Kong, Mumbai, Moscow, Azerbaijan, Sweden, Norway, Honolulu, Melbourne, and Sydney. In the past few years, Ahmed's works have been exhibited in several museums including the Museum of Fine Art Boston, Los Angeles County Museum, Bellevue Art Museum, Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, MOCA Cleveland, Museum of Old and New Art, Tasmania, the Museum of Contemporary Art of Rome (MACRO),

Pennsylvania College of Art and Design The Pennsylvania College of Art & Design (PCA&D) is a private, non-profit art and design college in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The college offers Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degrees and certificates, a continuing education program with professional ...

, Shangri La Museum of Islamic Art, NYU Abu Dhabi, the Textile Museum of Sweden, the Projective Eye Gallery at UNC Charlotte, New Tretyakov Gallery, Istanbul Modern and others. Additionally in 2013, he was nominated for the Jameel Prize 3 at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Collections

Ahmed's rug sculptures are held in notable public collections, including the

Los Angeles County Museum of Art The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile, Los Angeles, California, Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Pa ...

Seattle Art Museum The Seattle Art Museum (commonly known as SAM) is an art museum located in Seattle, Washington, United States. It operates three major facilities: its main museum in downtown Seattle; the Seattle Asian Art Museum (SAAM) in Volunteer Park on Cap ...

RISD Museum The Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design (RISD Museum) is an art museum integrated with the Rhode Island School of Design, in Providence, Rhode Island, US. The museum was co-founded with the school in 1877, and still shares multiple build ...

, Art Institute of Chicago, Seattle Art Museum, Palm Springs Museum of Art, Chrysler Museum of Art, Currier Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design Museum (RISD), Wake Forest University Museum; Bargoin Museum, France; MOCAK Museum of Contemporary Art, Poland; The National Gallery of Victoria, Australia; Arsenal art contemporain Montréal, Canada; The National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Norway. His works has also been placed in private collections such as the West Collection, Philadelphia; the collection of Beth Rudin DeWoody, New York City; Galila Barzilaï-Hollander's collection, Brussels, Espacio SOLO, Puerta de Alcalá, Madrid; and the private collection of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan bin Khalifa al-Nahyan, United Arab Emirates among others.

Selected exhibitions

Solo exhibitions 2022 * Faig Ahmed: Collision. San Luis Obispo Museum of Art. San Luis Obispo, California, USA 2021 * “Faig Ahmed: Pir” Sapar Contemporary gallery. New York, USA 2020 * "Faig Ahmed: Dissolving Order" Aga Khan Museum. Toronto, Canada 2019 * ”Faig Ahmed” Honolulu Museum of Art. Honolulu, Hawaii, USA * “Faig Ahmed” Shangri La Museum of Islamic Art, Culture & Design, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA 2018 * “ Faig Ahmed: Nonvisual Language” The George Washington University Museum. * The Textile Museum. Washington, USA 2017 * “ Faig Ahmed “ Pennsylvania College of Art & Design, Lancaster, USA * “ Equation “ Textile Museum of Sweden, Borås, Sweden * “10⁻³⁵” Kapellhaus Baku, Azerbaijan 2016 * “ Source Code ” Sapar Contemporary, New York, USA * “ Ne var, odur ” YARAT Contemporary Art Space, Baku, Azerbaijan * “Black Sheep ” NYU Abu Dhabi, New York, USA * “ Points of Perception ” MACRO Testaccio, Rome, Italy 2015 * ” Omnia Mutantur, Nihil Interit ” Montoro12 Contemporary Art. Rome, Italy 2014 * “ Fluid forms ”, Cuadro Gallery. Dubai, UAE 2013 * “ East in Twist ”, Leila Heller Gallery, New York, USA 2012 * “ Actual Tradition ”, Kicik Qalart Gallery, Baku, Azerbaijan Group exhibitions 2022 * “Silk”, GAD - Giudecca Art District. Venice, Italy * “Core Memory: Encoded”, Newcomb Art Museum of Tulane. New Orleans, LA, USA * “The Playground”, House of Art Georges & Claude Pompidou. Contemporary Art Center. Cajarc, France 2021 * “The Silk Web”, The Dowse Art Museum. Lower Hutt, New Zealand * “As Precious as Gold, Carpets from the Islamic World”, Currier Museum of Art. Manchester, USA * EXPO 2020, Azerbaijan Pavilion. Dubai, UAE * Art Stays Festival of Contemporary Art. Ptuj, Slovenia 2020 * “A Collection in the Making. Art – Architecture – Design”. The National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design. Oslo, Norway * “ Guests: Artists and Craftspeople ”. Istanbul Modern. Istanbul, Turkey * “ The Russian Fairy Tale. From Vasnetsov to the Present “. New Tretyakov Gallery. Moscow Russia * “ Still Human”.

Colección SOLO Espacio Solo – and its accompanying Colección Solo – is a private contemporary art, contemporary art museum in Madrid, founded by Spanish industrialist Ana Gervás and entertainment executive David Cantolla in 2013 and expanded into its cu ...

. Madrid, Spain * “Future Artifacts” Projective Eye Gallery at UNC Charlotte Center City. The University of North Carolina, Charlotte, USA 2019 * “Off the Velvet Chest” Triumph gallery. Moscow, Russia * “Le conseguenze dell’errore” TRA Treviso Ricerca Arte. Treviso, Italy * “Tommy Cash and Rick Owens. The Pure and the Damned” Kumu Art Museum. Tallinn, Estonia * "Hannah Ryggen Triennial 2019: New land" Nordenfjeldske Kunstindustrimuseum (National Museum of Decorative Arts) Trondheim, Norway * “Tradition Interrupted” Bedford Gallery at the Lesher Center for the Arts. Walnut Creek, California, USA * “Derived from the Decorative: Works by Faig Ahmed, Beth Lipman and Bouke de Vries” * Cheekwood Estate and Gardens. Nashville, Tennessee, USA 2018 * “The Shapes of Birds: Contemporary Art of the Middle East and North Africa”. Newport Art Museum, Newport, Rhode Island, USA * “Faig Ahmed” Church Fine Arts, Sheppard Contemporary. Reno, Nevada, USA * “ The Phantom of Liberty: Contemporary Works in the RISD Museum Collection”. RISD Museum, Rhode Island, USA * “ .OBJ ”, National Design & Craft Gallery. Castle Yard, Kilkenny, Ireland * “ Nomadic Murals: Contemporary Tapestries and Carpets”. Boca Raton Museum of Art, Boca Raton, USA * “ Tissage Tressage quand la sculpture defile”. Villa Datris Foundation, Paris, France * “ The Atlantic Triangle” , the 11th Mercosul Visual Arts Biennial. Porto Alegre, Brazil * “ Long, Winding Journeys: Contemporary Art and The Islamic Tradition” Katonah Museum of Art, Katonah, USA 2017 * NGV Triennial, National Gallery of Victoria. Melbourne, Australia. * 4th Ural Industrial Biennial of Contemporary Art. Russia * " Contemporary Art in Carpets and Flying Carpet" Azerbaijan Carpet Museum, Azerbaijan, Baku * OSTRALE – Biennale. 11th International Exhibition of Contemporary Art, Dresden, Germany 2016 * “ On the origin of art ” MONA - Museum of Old and New Art, Hobart Tasmania Australia * “ Out of Hand ”, Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences, Powerhouse Museum, Ultimo, Sydney, Australia * " Wall to Wall. Carpets by Artists ", Museum of Contemporary Art, Cleveland, USA * “ FITE 2016 – REBELS ” Musée Bargoin, Clermont-Ferrand, France * “Atoms and Bytes: Redefining Craft in the Digital Age” Bellevue Arts Museum, Bellevue, WA, USA * “ Repetition- Reticulation ” Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, Milwaukee, USA * “Islamic Art Now, Part 2. Contemporary Art of the Middle East” The Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Los Angeles, USA 2015 * "Crafted: Object in Flux" Museum of Fine Arts Boston. Boston, USA * “Exploring Inward”. Louise Blouin Foundation. London, UK 2014 * “Threads”, Museum voor Moderne Kunst Arnhem. Holland, Arnhem At the Crossroads 2, Sotheby's auction house’, London, UK 2013 * Venice Biennale 2013, “Love me Love me Not”, Yarat Contemporary Art Space Pavilion, Venice, Italy * “Jameel Prize” 3 shortlist nomination Victoria & Albert Museum. London, UK 2012 * “Fly to Baku. Contemporary art from Azerbaijan”, Phillips de Pury & Company, London, UK 2011 * “On Soz”, Yarat Contemporary art space, Baku * “Fabulous Four”, Kicik Qalart Gallery, Baku 2008 * “Steps of time”, Kunsthalle im Lipsiusbau, Dresden, Germany 2007 * “Aluminum 3”, International Biennial of Contemporary Art, Baku Azerbaijan * 52nd Venice Biennale, Azerbaijan pavilion, Venice, Italy 2006 * “Caucasus”, National Center for Contemporary Art, Moscow, Russia

Curatorial projects

2013 * Zavod, Baku Air Condition Plant building. Baku, Azerbaijan * Exhibition "World is yours, World is mine". Baku, Azerbaijan 2017 * ARTIM LAB: 24HRS PROJECT-EXHIBITION ZERO. Baku, Azerbaijan

References

External links

Artist's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahmed, Faig Living people 1982 births Azerbaijani artists Contemporary artists 21st-century Azerbaijani artists People from Sumgait