Farah Mohammad
Farah Mohammad
Image credit: Yekaterina Gyadu: @yekaterrrina and @artsymposia
Farah Mohammad received her BA from Bennington College and her MFA from Columbia University. Her exhibition highlights include Half Gallery, International Print Center New York (IPCNY), The Jewish Museum, The Wallach Art Gallery, Field Projects, LeRoy Neiman Gallery, Chashama Gallery (NYC), Local Project Art Space (LIC, NY), and the Moss Art Center, Blacksburg, VA. She was the recipient of the LES Keyholder Residency (2021), The Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts Robert Blackburn Printmaking Award (2021), and the Lucas T. Carlson Grant at Columbia University (2020). Her recent solo exhibition was at Nyama Fine Art in NYC in 2022, and her work has been acquired for the permanent collection by the Baltimore Museum of Art. She is currently the Artist in Residence at Cornerstone Studios.
Can you talk about what led you to create "Time Won't Tell"?
The saying “time will tell” helps us accept a difficult situation knowing there is no better way to understand it at present and overtime a truth will emerge. But deeply embedded social structures, and the generational impact from violent political histories have penetrated our psyches and continue to influence how we are able to show up in the world. In Time Won’t Tell I wanted to show work that engaged with an urge to know ourselves separate from the histories that we have inherited.
Included in Time Won’t Tell
Shahzia Sikander
Embark/Disembark III, 2004.
Offset lithograph and screenprint.
18 x 15 in (45.72 x 38.1).
Sold
Courtesy of The LeRoy Neiman Center for Print Studies.
In my art I often work with commonly spoken phrases and idioms. They seem to be a reflection of how our communities think. It also amuses me that for most commonly used phrases or proverbs, there is a saying that counters it. Similarly, when I play with challenging deeply held beliefs I am able to gather evidence that supports what is contrary to my beliefs. What is truth then, what is right and wrong?
I think about how unreliable information can be. What if everything we have learned about life is unreliable, and has the potential to instill fear when we could instead be playing, generating.
How can we grow our capacity to constantly invent new possibilities in our life? In Time Won’t Tell we honed in on any agency we might have access to despite life’s circumstances.
To workshop these different ideas, I curated Time Won’t Tell, and I selected work that is passionate, daring, gentle and proactive. I wanted to see the way the chosen artists I look up to are responding to and integrating their life experiences.
We know you are also an artist. From that perspective can you talk about what experiences are helpful for an up-and-coming curator?
Farah Mohammad
W125th | 25.5” X 19.5”| 2021 gouache and pencil on frosted mylar
As an artist myself I am always trying to strike the balance between looking at art and making art. Each is important and transitioning between them feels hard but is totally worth it. Sometimes I have to coach myself out of my comfort zone when I feel afraid to share new work because good studio visits bring new information into my research. Knowing how vulnerable visits can feel, I know the importance of being attentive and respectful while talking to artists about their practice.
I love seeing art fairs to get to know new artists. Some of my favorite art fairs are IFPDA and Spring Break. I also like reading interviews with artists and listening to podcasts that introduce me to artists I didn't know. Once I see work I feel connected to, I like following up with a studio visit for a more in depth conversation about the artist’s practice.
Over the course of visiting art spaces and doing studio visits, I select themes that speak to me and come up with a title to which the selected artists respond.
As a curator, how do you find artists? Can you share what typically attracts you to an artist, like easy-to-find info, a link to Instagram on their website?
When I visit fairs I take notes about work that resonates with me. Following artists I just learned about on Instagram helps me stay connected to what they are doing. Additionally, because I am plugged into a vibrant community of artists who share profiles and works of other artists they admire, I see new art in that way as well. I also look at curatorial opportunities as ways of connecting with international artists, particularly those working out of my hometown, Karachi.
What typically attracts me to an artist is being able to see invention in their work. It is important to be able to find the work online so that I can get a sense of the artist’s body of work and a general mission. I prefer looking on artists’ websites rather than on instagram.
I love PGV’s mission to pair well known and emerging artists, and to work with major printshops in the city. As a printmaker I love looking into the online archives of the different printshops I have worked in to select work that pairs well with the artists I have selected. I also see this as a way to bridge my networks, and have new conversations with my communities.
Can you share a bit about your ideas for your next curatorial exhibition with us?
Included in Time Won’t Tell
Takuji Hamanaka
Four standing lights, 2021.
Collaged woodcut.
14.5 x 10.5 in (36.83 x 26.67 cm).
Time Won’t Tell displayed the recognition necessary for restoration.
For my next curatorial exhibition I am seeking work that plays with making the familiar strange as an effort towards achieving symbioses.
Questions I will consider as I am selecting the work: How does an artist respond to their own process, or decisions they already made to move the work forward? How do they stay present and respond to material revelations? How do they make room for material properties to thrive while maintaining their original vision?
I will select works from the disciplines of printmaking, drawing and painting.
Where are some of your favorite spaces that support contemporary art or design?
This year my teaching work and artist residency brought me to midtown west often. MoMA is one of my favorite museums to explore. The Print Center New York is another space, everytime I visit their exhibits I feel excited and inspired about the possibilities present in the print medium. I do appreciate that art has an online presence as this helps me learn about new exhibits and artists.
Anything else you would like to share?
I am excited to share that along with curating for PGV, I am curating an exhibition for the South Asian Women’s Creative Collective (SAWCC) next year, in 2023. Please stay tuned for an announcement about the opening date and time and join us!
You can view Farah Mohammad’s 2021 curated exhibition with us here. You can find her on instagram @famojee or visit her website here