Revelations
Aidan
Saatchi Gallery, London
13 January – 28 February 2016
Revelations, Aidan Salakohva’s first solo exhibition in London, brought together work originally produced for her solo exhibition Fascinans & Tremendum at the Moscow Museum of Modern Art in 2012, as well as new pieces created specifically for the Saatchi Gallery.
The exhibition opened with two rooms devoted to the earlier series, in which the veiled figure is a recurring protagonist, appearing within enigmatic and often playfully erotic narrative cycles. Through these figures, Aidan challenges patriarchal structures while drawing on religious and historical narratives rooted in Islamic tradition and geometric, calligraphic, and arabesque practices in Islamic art. Her work frequently reconstructs the enclosed intimacy of the harem, proposing a space of female autonomy, self-sufficiency, and power.
Disclosure, acrylic on canvas, 151 x 200cm
The second half of Revelations presented new work, including a video installation that explored the erotic charge of the veil and fantasies of female domination and male submission. In a series of new sculptures, Aidan moved away from the veiled figure and returned to the nude human form, depicting both female and male bodies. Carved in granite or marble in keeping with the traditions of classical sculpture, these works introduce unexpected juxtapositions that disrupt traditional hierarchies and propose alternative modes of encounter between genders.
Aidan’s practice reflects the influence of multiple artistic traditions: her academic training in Soviet Moscow during the 1980s; her sustained engagement with Western art history and contemporary art; and her personal research into the artistic and craft traditions of her Islamic heritage. Traditional forms and techniques are not treated as static references but are selectively reinterpreted in the service of a contemporary, progressive vision.
The exhibition was accompanied by a catalogue with essays by Maria Kravtsova and Jenny Christensson.
Left: Exhibition installation of Without words series, 2015 at the Saatchi Gallery
Right: Exhibition installation of Bas-relief #10, 2014-2015, black Belgian marble, white statuary marble 90x70x 40cm at the Saatchi Gallery
About the Artist
Born in Moscow in 1964 into the family of the prominent Azeri and Russian artist Tair Salakhov, Aidan (Salakhova) graduated from the Moscow State Surikov Institute of Fine Arts in 1987, where she later became a professor.
In 1992 she founded the Aidan Gallery becoming an influential figure in post-Soviet art in Russia and in 2007 she was elected an Academician at the Russian Academy of Fine Arts. She has exhibited internationally at major museums, art fairs, and biennales, including the Venice Biennale (1991 and 2011) and the Second Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art (2007) https://artaidan.com/en/
Exhibition installation of Predestination, 2013, digital video 4’45”
Credits
Curated by Jenny Christensson
Laboratori Artistici Nicoli and Francesca Nicoli
Aidan Studio and Anna Gershberg, Yulii Mestechkin
XL Gallery and Elena Selina
Bokovfactory and Alexey Bokov
Presented by Tsukanov Family Foundation
Sponsored by BEOPEN Creative Think Tank and Social Discovery Ventures
Catalogue design by Calverts, London
Catalogue editor Jenny Christensson