Rasheed Araeen Pakistan, b. 1935

Rasheed Araeen’s innovative approach to Minimalism grew out of his background in civil engineering. When he realized that engineering could not fulfill his creative ambitions, he exchanged its structured discipline for the expressive freedom of a full-time art practice. Drawing on his technical training, Araeen began making “structures” — open, modular works designed to be rearranged. Although working in London, far from the New York center of Minimalist art, he developed a language that echoed artists such as Donald Judd. Yet, there are important differences. As art critic Jean Fisher observed, the distinction lies between “an instrumental, abstract-logical regulation of the world and an organic one.”

Beyond his sculptural structures, Araeen has created an extensive body of paintings and two-dimensional assemblages. His calligraphic paintings draw inspiration from the thinkers of the Abbasid era (8th–13th centuries), embedding their names within intricate geometric designs. While Arabic philosophy and Islamic calligraphy are significant influences, Araeen resists simplistic readings of his work, emphasizing that the symmetry in Islamic art serves as a metaphor for human equality. In his cruciform pieces, he pairs photographic images with painted green panels, producing raw, grainy compositions that heighten the tensions between East and West — a dialogue made especially poignant in the years following the Gulf wars.

Selected  Exhibitions

2018–2019 – Rasheed Araeen: A Retrospective, BALTIC CCAt, Gateshead
2019 – Rasheed Araeen: A Retrospective, Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow
2017–2018 – Rasheed Araeen: A Retrospective, Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven
2018 – Rasheed Araeen: A Retrospective, MAMCO, Geneva
2017 – Viva Arte Viva, 57th Venice Biennale, Venice
2017 – documenta 14, Athens & Kassel
2012 – 9th Gwangju Biennale, Gwangjui
2012 – The Tanks: Art in Action, Tate Modern, London
2012 – Migrations, Tate Britain, London
2011 – The Mediterranean Project, Thessaloniki Biennale, Greece
2001 – Live in Your Head, Museu do Chiado, Lisbon
1998 – every day, 11th Sydney Biennale, Sydney
1997 – 2nd Johannesburg Biennale, Johannesburg
1994 – Havana Biennial, Havana
1989 – Les Magiciens de la Terre, Centre Pompidou & Grande Halle de la Villette, Paris
1989–1990 – The Other Story: Afro-Asian Artists in Post-War Britain, Hayward Gallery, London
1988 – The Essential Black Art, Chisenhale Gallery, London

Collections

– Tate, London
– Centre Pompidou, Paris
– MAMCO (Musée d’Art Moderne et Contemporain), Geneva
– The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
– Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York / Abu Dhabi
– Sharjah Art Foundation, Sharjah, UAE
– Museo de Arte de Lima (MALI), Lima