Artwork Page for Portrait of the Artist

Details / Information for Portrait of the Artist

Portrait of the Artist

2016

Shahzia Sikander

(Pakistani American, b. 1969)
publisher

Pace Editions

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Culture
America
Medium
etching
Measurements
Sheet: 68.5 x 53 cm (26 15/16 x 20 7/8 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of the Artist 2023.209.4
Copyright
© Shahzia Sikander
This artwork is known to be under copyright.
Location
Not on view
Print
?

Did You Know?

Sikander has been incorporating self-portraits into her work since The Scroll (1989-90), her undergraduate thesis project at the National College of Arts in Lahore, Pakistan.

Description

Portrait of the Artist is a collaborative work that comprises four etchings by the visual artist Shahzia Sikander (Pakistani-American, b. 1969) and an accompanying text by the author Ayad Akhtar (Pakistani-American, b. 1970). Through their respective mediums, Sikander and Akhtar interpret the Mi’raj, an Islamic narrative about the Prophet Muhammad’s mystical night journey and ascent to heaven, in relation to the artistic pursuit.
A vertically oriented etching in orange, brown, and gray features swirling, translucent washes. Center, a large, textured profile in gray and white faces left. Upper left, a winged figure in orange tones emerges from the clouds, while a stark white silhouette of a rider on a leaping beast moves right. Lower left, a white tree stands against a jagged, dark landscape. Fine, stippled lines and overlapping shapes create a dense, ethereal scene.

Portrait of the Artist

2016

Shahzia Sikander, Pace Editions

(Pakistani American, b. 1969)
America

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