Jan 23, 20222 min read

Rana Begum

Artist 326

Rana Begum

Minimalist abstraction

Painting and Sculpture

Rana Begum (born 1977) is a Bangladesh artist who specializes in painting and sculpture. She lives and works in London. She draws inspiration from the visual language of Minimalism, Constructivism, urban landscapes and that of traditional Islamic design.

Begum is known for her brightly colored, geometric, minimalist paintings. She also produces sculptural works that are abstract and geometric, rendered in industrial materials and artificial colours.

Her art practise is based in Minimalist abstraction. Begum explores and blurs the boundaries that separates sculpture, painting and architecture.

Light is fundamentally key in her process. Begum’s works absorb and reflect varied densities of light to produce an experience for the viewer that is both temporal and sensorial.

She focuses on the foundational elements of color, from and light.

'I used to draw lots of architectural spaces with light flooding in, so there was always light and dark', Begum says. 'First I researched light and form and how light affects form, then colour and how one colour affects another.'

Todays focus is on her installation ‘No. 1048’ 2020. This sculpture installation is a paint powder-coated mesh sculpture which hangs in the air in organic forms.

Begum started out testing the mesh on a small scale, playing around with the form and how she could apply colour, as well as the way light filtered through.

'As it got bigger and bigger it got more and more exciting', she says. 'The form became more fluid and organic and somehow lighter.'

Each form was loosely constructed, powder-coated, and then inserted with a second form in a different shade. Begum's studio has skylights, and as she and her team worked, natural light spilled into the space.

'There were moments when the forms just came to life as the sunlight filtered through,' she adds. 'It started growing and taking over the studio – in fact, it became quite difficult to move around – and it changed as soon as it was in the gallery too.'

Hovering mid-air, the bundle of nets appears to move and swing. From one direction, it appears harsh and sharp-edged like a rock formation; from another, it's more malleable, like crumpled tissue paper or swelling clouds.

Muted shades of blue-grey blur into one, broken up by brilliant yellow and green bursts. As a whole, it's vibrant and defined.

Begum describes the duality of her work, “most of my work has a dual experience. There is this loud aspect because of a work’s strong colour and form; then, if it’s a good piece, there is a moment where you get this calm and reflective experience. It’s like life, isn’t it? You don’t have full control over the balance of chaos or calm.”