July 2013

Charleston County Public Library in Charleston Offers Works by Alizey Khan

The Charleston County Public Library in Charleston, SC, will present Interspatial, an exhibition of astronomical artwork by Alizey Khan, on view in the Saul Alexander Foundation Gallery, from July 2 through Aug. 17, 2013. A reception will be held on July 2, from 5-7:45pm.

The exhibition encompasses the variety of media Khan chooses to work in, including paintings on canvas, 3D paintings created with layers of resin and acrylic paint, and etchings.

Khan’s approach to art-making is studious, laborious and meditative; with no formal background in astronomy, she studies multiple versions of telescopic images for each celestial object she depicts to get different viewpoints on the object, then combines them in an aesthetically pleasing manner, continuing to study the object and understand the physical processes involved in its creation further as she concentrates on manipulating her materials into an approximation of the galaxy, nebula or star cluster depicted.

The meditative aspect of Khan’s work is in the process itself; she focuses on intricate details and slow art-making processes to remind herself that the universe is so much greater than our tiny planet and our meaningless daily worries. Khan’s painterly eye romanticizes the astronomical objects depicted, creating images of hazy, beautiful, distant escapes which fill the viewer with wonder and curiosity.

Khan is a recent graduate of the College of Charleston, and 23 years old - three weeks younger than the Hubble Space Telescope itself. Born and raised in the UK until the age of 12, she relocated to Karachi, Pakistan, for 3 years, and moved to the USA at the age of 15.

Khan has exhibited her work around the Charleston area, and now works out of her studio at Redux Contemporary Art Center. Her work was selected for the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art’s Young Contemporaries juried exhibition in 2010, 2012 and 2013, and Redux Contemporary Art Center’s juried exhibition Reorientation 5 in 2012. In June 2013 she will present a site-specific installation piece as part of Enough Pie’s Awakening event at 1600 Meeting Street. In July 2013, she will begin teaching Resin Painting at Redux Contemporary Art Center.

Interspatial is Khan’s first solo show.

The Saul Alexander Foundation Gallery presents monthly juried art exhibits at the Main Library, on Calhoun Street in Charleston. Preference is given to local and regional artists who reflect the varied experiences and viewpoints of the people of South Carolina.

For further information check our SC Institutional Gallery listings, call the Library at 843/805-6803 or visit (www.ccpl.org).

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