Oiling

Date2012

Maker Faig Ahmed Azerbaijani, born 1982

Label TextAlthough some think of carpets as interior decoration only, across the Middle East carpets have an ancient history as luxury possessions, ritual objects, major exports, and fine art. Trained as a sculptor in his native Azerbaijan, Faig Ahmed chose the knotted wool carpet as his primary medium, collaborating with a workshop of women who weave rugs in this traditional way. Creatively deconstructing and manipulating pattern and technique, Ahmed transforms regional conventions into a statement on the mutability of modernity and medium. At the top, Oiling appears to be a traditional knotted carpet, but soon its strict geometry melts, reflecting the dissolution of tradition and memory.

Object number2013.13

ProvenanceThe artist; [Leila Heller Gallery, New York]

Photo CreditPhoto: Elizabeth Mann

Exhibition HistoryNew York, New York, Leila Heller Gallery, East in Twist, June 6 - July 6, 2013. Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue Arts Museum, Atoms + Bytes: Redefining Craft in the Digital Age, Mar. 4 - June 26, 2016. No catalogue. Seattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Be/Longing: Contemporary Asian Art, Feb. 8, 2020 - ongoing [on view Feb. 8, 2020 - July 11, 2021].

Credit LineMargaret E. Fuller Purchase Fund

Dimensions59 x 39 1/2 in. (149.9 x 100.3 cm)

MediumHand-knotted wool