British-Bangladeshi artist Rana Begum has opened a new exhibition, "Taking Form," at The Third Line gallery in Dubai — the same space that hosted her debut solo show, "Colour Codes," back in 2007. It marks her fifth exhibition with the gallery, and the show runs until November 10.
The exhibition brings together watercolours, acrylic paintings on linen and fibreboard, and a series of woven tapestries. Several of the tapestry pieces were made in collaboration with the UK-based weaving studio Dash & Miller, and are designed to shift colour depending on the viewer's position, offering two distinct readings of the same piece from different angles.
Begum, a member of the Royal Academy of Arts and winner of the 2017 Abraaj Group Art Prize, spoke candidly about her early struggles with colour as a medium. "I really struggled with colour," she said. "You'd think I'd be very confident, but actually, I really struggled when I went into abstraction."
The show's title reflects a near two-decade arc in Begum's practice, tracing her move from the minimalist colour systems of her early work toward denser, more layered explorations of surface, texture and light. The Third Line, located in Al Quoz, has represented Begum since the early days of her career and has watched her practice evolve from flat colour grids to the sculptural, light-sensitive works she is now known for internationally. Visitors to Dubai have until November 10 to see the exhibition.