Asim Waqif is an Indian artist based in New Delhi, whose work is influenced by interdisciplinary fields of art, architecture, ecology and design.[1][2] He makes site-specific or interactive installations and sculptures, which are often made out of discarded or reclaimed waste materials, like bamboo, rope, tar or trashed metal.[3][4]
Asim Waqif | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1978 Hyderabad, India |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Education | School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi |
| Known for | Sculpture, Site-specific art, Interactive installation, Upcycling |
| Website | asimwaqif |
In Waqif's 2012 The New York Times profile, he was quoted as saying: "Contemporary Indian art is so disjointed from the public. It’s elitist. I want to connect with the average person in India."[5] In March 2020, he was named one of the 10 Indian artists shaping contemporary art by the online art platform Artsy.[6]
Biography
editWaqif was born in Hyderabad, India, and trained as an architect at the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi.[7] After graduating, he worked as an art director for TV shows and then moved into producing documentaries and independent films, before ultimately dedicating himself fully to his art practice.[8][9]
Career
editWaqif's debut solo show in Europe was held at Palais de Tokyo in December 2012, titled Bordel Monstre or "Monstrous Mess".[10] He used detritus from previous exhibitions and repurposed it to create an immersive installation.[11] In a review of the installation, American artist Robert Barry wrote in the frieze magazine: "Bordel Monstre is a fascinating exercise in making use of things otherwise neglected: constructed in a corner of the Palais de Tokyo which hasn’t previously been used, made out of materials discarded at the end of the previous exhibition. And if its exterior form resembles the damage wrought by a force of nature, its construction was as spontaneous and unplanned as the weather.".[12]
In 2017, Waqif's large-scale site-specific immersive installation, Salvage, was mounted in downtown Vancouver, in association with the Vancouver Art Gallery, Canada.[13][14] Architectural in nature, it was assembled using doors, windows, roofs, tiles and wall sections, which were either sourced from demolition sites or discarded materials from local buildings.[citation needed]
Solo exhibitions
edit- 2012 - Punha, site-specific installation at Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Mumbai[15]
- 2012 - Bordel Monstre at Palais de Tokyo, Paris[16]
- 2013 - Khalal at Gallery Nature Morte, New Delhi[17]
- 2013 - Epreuves at Galerie Daniel Templon, Paris[18]
- 2017 - Salvage at Vancouver Art Gallery, Canada[19]
- 2018 - Residual Fear at Gallery Nature Morte, New Delhi[20]
References
edit- ^ Shah, Gayatri Rangachari (5 December 2012). "Indian Artist Looks to Bring Works to the Everyman" – via NYTimes.com.
- ^ "Reconstructing the Deconstructed". 31 March 2018.
- ^ Kumar, Tanuj (22 December 2017). "Asim Waqif's art of waste". Livemint.
- ^ "Artist Asim Waqif Makes Rich People Decorate Their Living Rooms with Trash". News18. 5 June 2018.
- ^ Shah, Gayatri Rangachari (5 December 2012). "Indian Artist Looks to Bring Works to the Everyman" – via NYTimes.com.
- ^ Roberts, Cleo (10 March 2020). "10 Indian Artists Who Are Shaping Contemporary Art". Artsy.
- ^ "Asim Waqif". www.platform-mag.com.
- ^ "Asim Waqif". frieze.com.
- ^ "Vietnamese artist roped in to decorate Kolkata Puja | Kolkata News - Times of India". The Times of India.
- ^ Gayatri Rangachari Shah (5 December 2012). "Indian Artist Looks to Bring Works to the Everyman - The New York Times". Nytimes.com. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
- ^ "Asim Waqif | Palais de Tokyo EN". Palaisdetokyo.com. 20 January 2013. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
- ^ "Asim Waqif Installs a Tornado in Freeze-Frame". Frieze. 13 December 2012. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
- ^ "Raiders of the new art". Livemint. 2 February 2018.
- ^ "Vancouver Art Gallery presents an installation immersed in local issue of environmental sustainability". artdaily.cc.
- ^ "New 2,000 sq-feet exhibition space for city to get a taste of arts and culture". Hindustan Times. 27 December 2012.
- ^ "Asim Waqif". Palais de Tokyo EN. 26 May 2016.
- ^ "This is no trash". The New Indian Express.
- ^ "Galerie Templon - Exhibition". www.templon.com.
- ^ "Green Living: Artist's salvaged exhibition forces Vancouverites to face "mindless" waste". The Georgia Straight. 13 January 2018.
- ^ "Reconstructing the Deconstructed". 31 March 2018.