Page 174 - The 60.Venice Biennial & MoMA issue of WOA Contemporary Art magazine

the history of New York City. Rashid weaves together both
WORLD-CLASS ART narratives. Through his work, he examines how political and
historical facts and fantastical elements to construct epic

cultural power is established and, intriguingly, how it might
be undone.
A TAPESTRY OF SOURCES:
UMAR RASHID’S FIRST SOLO
MUSEUM EXHIBITION IN NYC Rashid’s artistic journey traverses real and fictional empires,
embracing figures from antiquity to popular culture. His
ANCIEN REGIME CHANGE 4, 5, AND 6: UMAR RASHID, AN references are as diverse as 18th-century European
AMERICAN ARTIST BORN IN 1976, PRESENTS HIS FIRST SOLO manuscripts, Japanese byobu (screen paintings), Persian
MUSEUM EXHIBITION IN NEW YORK CITY - A CAPTIVATING miniatures, Yoruba deities, ancient Egyptian cosmologies,
SHOWCASE OF OVER 30 NEW WORKS. and even American rappers.
THESE PIECES MARK THE FINAL CHAPTERS OF HIS ONGOING Rejecting dominant narratives, Rashid’s research-based
SERIES, ANCIEN REGIME CHANGE. process proposes counternarratives and critical fabulations.
By foregrounding Black and brown people in his paintings,
he confronts the erasure of historically marginalized roles in
EXPLORING HISTORY AND FANTASY: shaping and deconstructing Western histories.
Rashid delves into the critical period of global upheaval and MULTIPLICITY ACROSS TIME AND PLACE:
modern transformation by looking back to the 18th century Within his practice, Rashid’s positions and references
and its colonial regimes. His extensive research informs collide, revealing multiplicities across different periods
this exploration, resulting in a multidisciplinary practice and geographies. His art breaks free from a static past,
that spans paintings, drawings, textiles, armor, and a new continuously reshaping itself in the present.
multimedia sculpture created specifically for this exhibition. Umar Rashid resides and works in Los Angeles, CA. He
Ancien Regime Change 4, 5, and 6 draws inspiration from holds a BA in cinema and photography from Southern Illinois
View of exhibition Umar Rashid: Ancien Regime 4, 5 ,6 on view at MoMA PS1
from September 22, 2022 to March 13, 2023. Image courtesy MoMA PS1. Photo:
Steven Paneccasio

174 WORLD of ART