Shirazeh Houshiary at Lisson Gallery in East Hampton

10 September 2020

Lisson Gallery is pleased to present work by Shirazeh Houshiary in East Hampton. The exhibition coincides with the opening of a solo exhibition of work by the artist at Lisson Gallery in Shanghai (September 11 – October 24, 2020). ‘As Time Stood Still’ is her first presentation in the Chinese city, and encompasses a series of new works created and inspired by the artist’s experience of lockdown in the UK, where she is based. As with much of her work, these concurrent exhibitions are deeply personal and philosophical, exploring profound questions about perception and imagination, as well as the fundamental power of beauty.

In the painting on view in East Hampton, Only a Flicker (2016), a string of tiny penciled words overlay diaphanous clouds of light blue and violet pigments. To create these paintings, a mixture of water and pigment is poured onto the surface of the canvas to produce an enigmatic ground punctuated by pooling sediment and irregular apertures. Each word is precisely written, but they cumulatively become illegible, weaving around the picture plane to create intricate webs, which are then further interlaced with pigment. The ethereal atmosphere created within the painting defines the core ideas at the heart of Houshiary’s practice — striving to capture the intangible essence that underlies existence through the embodiment of profound abstract concepts.

Since its inauguration this summer, Lisson Gallery’s 1,000 square foot East Hampton space has presented exhibitions focused on both seminal, historic artworks and premiered new bodies of work. Previous artists on view include Stanley Whitney, Carmen Herrera, Anish Kapoor, Van Hanos, Joanna Pousette-Dart and Sean Scully. This focused format, in an intimate setting, recalls the origins of Lisson Gallery, which was established in 1967 in a storefront window on London’s Bell Street. The Long Island location of the new space joins Lisson’s two other galleries in the New York area, including the recent expansion to a second location on West 24th Street in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood.

Shirazeh Houshiary will be on view at Lisson Gallery East Hampton from 10 September through 20 September. The gallery is open to the public Thursday to Sunday, from 11am to 4pm. The health and safety of visitors remains a top priority, and strict measures will be implemented in the space to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. A mask will be required for entry, and hand sanitizer will be provided. Please visit our Contact page for further details about the guidelines and to schedule an appointment.

Image: Shirazeh Houshiary, Only a Flicker, 2016
Pigment and pencil on white Aquacryl on canvas on aluminium