ROSEMONT, ILL.- The Collection: Where Art Meets Fashion, the multifaceted contemporary art program located within Fashion Outlets Chicago, announced the unveiling of the program’s latest site-specific installation by Pakistani artist Anila Quayyum Agha. The two-part interactive installation, Shimmering Mirage (Red) and Descent into Light will transform the grand entrance of the shopping center with vibrant light and exuberant patterning. The installation will be completed and on view to the public in January, 2020.
“The addition of Agha’s interactive installation will provide our shoppers with a dazzling immersive experience from the moment they walk in our grand entrance,” said Senior Marketing Manager Katie Walsh. “This work exemplifies Macerich’s dedication to support a diverse range of artists and provide a public platform for creativity.”
Agha’s installation features a three-dimensional luminescent cube carved with elaborate designs that extend beyond the sculptural form into a mural that envelops the space in vibrant color. The cube, suspended and lit from within, results in mesmerizing floor-to-ceiling shadows that transform the surrounding environment creating a truly immersive experience.
“The installation draws from calligraphy and geometric motifs that are hallmarks of Islamic art and architecture, known for its contemplative focus and for providing an understanding of the underlying order of both the cosmos and the natural world through symmetries found in nature,” said Agha. “Because of the installation’s placement within a busy shopping environment, it was important to me to tempt the visitors into taking a few moments to contemplate connections and find commonalities between people of diverse backgrounds and cultures.” She added, “My hope is that the experience will be at once weighty and weightless, transporting the viewer to a mysterious and sublime environment.”
Anila Quayyum Agha was born in Lahore, Pakistan and received a BFA from the National College of Arts, Lahore and MFA from the University of North Texas. Agha resides in Indianapolis, serving as associate professor at Herron School of Art and Design, Indiana University. Agha’s work has been exhibited in numerous exhibitions including the Peabody Essex Museum, National Sculpture Museum in Valladolid, Spain, Dallas Contemporary Art Museum, Cincinnati Art Museum, Grand Rapids Art Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Jacksonville, FL. Major awards include the Efroymson Contemporary Arts Fellowship, ArtPrize (Juried and Public Vote Grand Prize 2014), Creative Renewal Fellowship and DeHaan Artist of Distinction (Indy Arts Council), Research Scholar Award (Indiana University), Schiele Prize (Cincinnati Art Museum) and the 2019 Painters and Sculptors Grant from the Joan Mitchell foundation. For the 2019 Venice Biennale Agha was included in the collateral event She Persists. Her work has been collected by institutions and private collectors nationally and internationally.
