Lecture
Visions of the Modern: Abstraction in the Postcolonial Middle East
In conjunction with the exhibition Taking Shape: Abstraction from the Arab World, 1950s–1980s
After 1945, abstract art exploded in the Arab world, announcing a new cultural renaissance. In this talk, Pepe Karmel, Associate Professor of Art History, NYU, will link the different varieties of Arab abstraction to their counterparts in the broader Middle East and in Europe—and discuss how these varieties served as vehicles for competing visions of Arab modernity rooted in histories and experiences unique to each nation.
Co-sponsored by NYU’s Department of Art History, Hagop Kevorkian Center for Near Eastern Studies, and Grey Art Gallery.