by Artwallaa
Source: The Met, Artwallaa, Little Bird or Facebook for all photographs.
With the opening of ‘The Roof Garden Commission: Imran Qureshi’ on May 14, Imran Qureshi became the first South Asian artist to do a large scale site-specific work of art at the Roof Top of The Met, New York. “The project represents the artist’s emotional response to violence occurring across the globe in recent decades and his earnest hope for regeneration and lasting peace in the aftermath of man-made disasters, says The Met’s press release.
It continues with “Using the nearly 8,000-square-foot open-air space as his canvas, Qureshi has worked areas of his spilled and splattered red acrylic paint into patterns of lush ornamental leaves that evoke the luxuriant walled gardens that are ubiquitous in miniatures of the Mughal court; they also echo the spectacular verdant foliage of Central Park surrounding the Roof Garden today. Qureshi is the first artist to create a work that will be painted directly onto the Roof’s surface, and visitors will be encouraged to walk on it as they view it”.
In recent years Qureshi has transplanted his landscapes from the boundaries of the page to specific architectural environments including the Singapore Biennale in 2006 and the MOMA at Oxford. The Met’s take on it is very interesting, “Flooding his chosen sites with acrylic, the artist then works the paint into thickets of ornamental leaves with foliate patterns that evoke the luxuriant walled gardens of the Mughals— a ubiquitous subject in historic miniatures.
Three years ago Qureshi began to use red acrylic in his installations in response to brutal bombings in Lahore. While many of the world’s citizens have become accustomed to almost daily attacks on their streets, such cruelty striking so close to home provoked a deep response in his work. Given the devastating recent events in Boston, Qureshi’s theme of tragedy giving rise to a blossoming of new growth is all the more poignant as a message of recovery and regeneration”.
Imran Qureshi said, “The dialogue between life and death is an important element in my work. Leaves and nature, for example, represent the idea of life. And the particular colour of red that I have been using in recent years can look so real, like blood. The red reminds me of the situation today in my country, Pakistan, and in the world around us, where violence is almost a daily occurrence. But somehow, people still have hope. The flowers that seem to emerge from the red paint in my work represent the hope that—despite everything—the people sustain somehow, their hope for a better future.”
Apart from the New York high society and art fraternity, the opening ceremony also attended by the artist and his better half (Aisha Khalid), Sheena Wagstaff - Curator of the Met, Ian Altavere - assistant curator of the Met, Melissa Chiu - Director Asia Society, Mr and Mrs Munter - Ex-US Ambassador to Pakistan, Zarina Hashmi, Talha Rathore, Amna Naqvi, Suljuk Tarrar, amongst others. 
And then we had BONO visiting the Roof Top and spending over one hour with Imran !!!!
Bravo Imran and Congratulations Pakistan!
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No one could have come up with a better title then, “And How Many Rains Must Fall Before the Stains are Washed Clean", for Imran Qureshi’s just opened Roof Top installation at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) in New York. The Title, taken from Faiz Ahmad Faiz’s famous poem, 'Hum Ke Thehre Ajnabee' (which he had written after East Pakistan’s separation), does not only depict the mental stains on all of us due to the violence in Pakistan and the world in general in the past decade, but also describes the Pak-US diplomatic relationship very well; especially the stains in the US-Pakistan relationship developed in the last couple of decades.
With the opening of ‘The Roof Garden Commission: Imran Qureshi’ on May 14, Imran Qureshi became the first South Asian artist to do a large scale site-specific work of art at the Roof Top of The Met, New York. “The project represents the artist’s emotional response to violence occurring across the globe in recent decades and his earnest hope for regeneration and lasting peace in the aftermath of man-made disasters, says The Met’s press release. It continues with “Using the nearly 8,000-square-foot open-air space as his canvas, Qureshi has worked areas of his spilled and splattered red acrylic paint into patterns of lush ornamental leaves that evoke the luxuriant walled gardens that are ubiquitous in miniatures of the Mughal court; they also echo the spectacular verdant foliage of Central Park surrounding the Roof Garden today. Qureshi is the first artist to create a work that will be painted directly onto the Roof’s surface, and visitors will be encouraged to walk on it as they view it”.
In recent years Qureshi has transplanted his landscapes from the boundaries of the page to specific architectural environments including the Singapore Biennale in 2006 and the MOMA at Oxford. The Met’s take on it is very interesting, “Flooding his chosen sites with acrylic, the artist then works the paint into thickets of ornamental leaves with foliate patterns that evoke the luxuriant walled gardens of the Mughals— a ubiquitous subject in historic miniatures. Three years ago Qureshi began to use red acrylic in his installations in response to brutal bombings in Lahore. While many of the world’s citizens have become accustomed to almost daily attacks on their streets, such cruelty striking so close to home provoked a deep response in his work. Given the devastating recent events in Boston, Qureshi’s theme of tragedy giving rise to a blossoming of new growth is all the more poignant as a message of recovery and regeneration”.
“We are honoured that Imran Qureshi has brought his spirit, sensitivity, and remarkable vision to the Metropolitan Museum this summer,”said Sheena Wagstaff, the Museum’s Leonard A. Lauder Chairman of Modern and Contemporary Art. “His artistic practice oscillates between the discipline and reinvention of the miniature format, and the expansive scale of architectural spaces. His works are wonderfully complex at the same time as appearing quite simple: they reckon with the unfortunate realities of political ideologies while revelling in the ability of paint and colour to depict and actively stimulate regeneration.”
Imran Qureshi said, “The dialogue between life and death is an important element in my work. Leaves and nature, for example, represent the idea of life. And the particular colour of red that I have been using in recent years can look so real, like blood. The red reminds me of the situation today in my country, Pakistan, and in the world around us, where violence is almost a daily occurrence. But somehow, people still have hope. The flowers that seem to emerge from the red paint in my work represent the hope that—despite everything—the people sustain somehow, their hope for a better future.” Apart from the New York high society and art fraternity, the opening ceremony also attended by the artist and his better half (Aisha Khalid), Sheena Wagstaff - Curator of the Met, Ian Altavere - assistant curator of the Met, Melissa Chiu - Director Asia Society, Mr and Mrs Munter - Ex-US Ambassador to Pakistan, Zarina Hashmi, Talha Rathore, Amna Naqvi, Suljuk Tarrar, amongst others.
With “Artist of the Year 2013”
at Deutsche Bank already under his belt alongwith the related solo exhibition
at the KuntHalle in Berlin, Imran’s Roof Garden Commission at The Met has
catapulted the artist firmly in the international league.
Bravo Imran and Congratulations Pakistan!
Really commendable work Imran sb! Beautiful and pure.
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