Tesselate
by
Rashid Al Khalifa
project space All About Art
Weihburggasse 26
1010 Vienna
The artist will be present.
Rashid Al Khalifa’s works explore the myriad dynamics of light and colours that are characteristic to Bahrain’s geographical and cultural diversity. Through splendidly commanding structures, comprising meticulous forms and complex designs, his art practice stands as a contemporary tribute to traditional Middle Eastern design and architecture.
Much like computer-generated architectural models, Al Khalifa’s mobile columns series looks like sculptural blueprints hovering in space and floating in time. Works such as Mobile Column I (2018) are also suggestive of the interconnectedness of urban spaces. His mathematically planned assemblage of basic architectural elements results in a remarkable composition whereby internal and external spaces and perspectives interconnect, enclose and support one another. Similarly, the artist’s parametric wall works apply coiled and interwoven aluminium to create a mesh pattern. The rhythmic nature of this kind of repetition alludes to his desire to simultaneously express order and symmetry whilst also creating imagery that shifts and transforms with its surroundings. Using this design paradigm, he is able to both manipulate and inform complex geometries and structures to simulate nature and to animate forms.
Our predisposition towards certain colours is often a reflection of our emotive state at a particular moment in time. Additionally, our reaction to a certain event or situation may be influenced by the colours that we experienced surrounding that moment. For example, your decision to wear certain colours on a particular day, may be influenced by the environment or your state of mind, which in turn, affects your reaction to other colours that you perceive.
Each of Rashid Al Khalifa’s ‘Spectrums’ present the opportunity for the viewer to experience the work and develop a personal reaction to them. As Spectrum transitions from one colour to another, its identity is in turn, altered. Each work is dependent on its placement within the surrounding environment, the emotional state of the viewer, and of course the mind of the artist, who purposely selects and combines colours. Through these endless possibilities of colour combinations that each resonate a different feeling, sensation or thought process, Spectrum is, in a sense, the mediator, prompting a dialogue between the viewer and the artist.