Feature Stories

FAIG AHMED (1982)

Between tradition and vision

Faig Ahmed transports us to the heart of the Persian culture of his country; Azerbaijan. There traditional carpet weaving has been registered on the representative list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity since 2010 (UNESCO).

Known internationally, he represented his country at the Venice Biennale in 2007. Faig Ahmed is the encounter between the traditional art of Azerbaijani carpet and avant-garde contemporary patterns.

Through various projects the young artist reinvents tapestry and offers new path to this ancestral art. Besides the oldest known tapestry piece to date is from the 5th century BC. Faig Ahmed’s works are going beyond their traditional forms by exploring sculptural or painting forms and aspects. His rugs blur the lines and make us wonder about the very nature of the object. Is it really tapestry? Bluffing.

His distortions brings us back to the notion of perception of reality by evoking slippery worlds where the rigor of the geometric form gives way to the freedom and poetry of the curve.

The Material, here wool or silk fibers, is in Ahmed’s work at the heart of the subject. Exploring the limits of the materials is one of the New Dancer’s signature. The artist is anchored in the Nouvelle Danse movement not only by the visual and philosophical approach of his work but also by the fusion of different practices, in his case tapestry and sculpture but also digital art or even the idea of a fluid painting. His Liquid series refers to the fluid aspect of paintings made by some of the New Dancer artists. Furthermore it reminds us that, back in time, the artists behind rugs’ patterns were painters.

Ahmed also explores through various spectacular projects some notions of topography and  surface of objects, common topics for the artists of the New Dance. By creating links between Tradition, Nature and Temporality Faig Ahmed plays with dimensions and spatio-temporal notions, giving the rugs a metaphysical and universal aura.

https://faigahmed.com/

Elsa Duault

ENGLISH VERSION

Our section presenting artists of the New Dance, explores different arts, different cultures and origins. The universality of works and practices makes us travel around the world and discover an artistic movement, well anchored in our time. La Nouvelle Danse is a common artistic language, inspired by yesterday, today and tomorrow. The artists were mostly born between 1980 and the year 2000.


FAIG AHMED (1982)

Between tradition and vision

 Faig Ahmed transports us to the heart of the Persian culture of his country; Azerbaijan. There traditional carpet weaving has been registered on the representative list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity since 2010 (UNESCO).

Known internationally, he represented his country at the Venice Biennale in 2007. Faig Ahmed is the encounter between the traditional art of Azerbaijani carpet and avant-garde contemporary patterns.

Through various projects the young artist reinvents tapestry and offers new path to this ancestral art. Besides the oldest known tapestry piece to date is from the 5th century BC. Faig Ahmed’s works are going beyond their traditional forms by exploring sculptural or painting forms and aspects. His rugs blur the lines and make us wonder about the very nature of the object. Is it really tapestry? Bluffing.

His distortions brings us back to the notion of perception of reality by evoking slippery worlds where the rigor of the geometric form gives way to the freedom and poetry of the curve.

The Material, here wool or silk fibers, is in Ahmed’s work at the heart of the subject. Exploring the limits of the materials is one of the New Dancer’s signature. The artist is anchored in the Nouvelle Danse movement not only by the visual and philosophical approach of his work but also by the fusion of different practices, in his case tapestry and sculpture but also digital art or even the idea of a fluid painting. His Liquid series refers to the fluid aspect of paintings made by some of the New Dancer artists. Furthermore it reminds us that, back in time, the artists behind rugs’ patterns were painters.

Ahmed also explores through various spectacular projects some notions of topography and  surface of objects, common topics for the artists of the New Dance. By creating links between Tradition, Nature and Temporality Faig Ahmed plays with dimensions and spatio-temporal notions, giving the rugs a metaphysical and universal aura.

https://faigahmed.com/

Elsa Duault