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Anila Quayyum Agha is internationally recognized for her award-winning, large-scale installations that use light, shadow and pattern to create immersive and shared experiences.

"Anila Quayyum Agha: Shadows and Splendor" features two sculptural works and several mixed media pieces created by the Pakistani-American artist.

At the heart of this exhibition is a new version of "A Beautiful Despair," shown for the first time at the South Dakota Art Museum. This large-scale sculpture is composed of ornate patterns inspired by Islamic art and architecture cut from a lacquered steel cube. Lit from within, "A Beautiful Despair" casts elaborate shadows that transform the surrounding gallery and the viewers, creating an immersive space where people are visually in dialogue with the art and each other. According to Agha, she creates environments “in which all people, irrespective of race, colour, creed or gender, feel welcome and can experience a space where they can be simultaneously mysterious yet intimate with strangers.”

Also exhibited are many of Agha’s framed mixed media pieces featuring encaustic, lacey patterns, embroidery and beadwork. In Agha’s work, the patterns and techniques associated with traditional women’s crafts, such as floral arrangements, needlework, beading and calligraphy, are honored and elevated. The intricacy of Agha’s work underwrites the complexity of Agha’s concepts. Her work explores dichotomy, pairing perceived contradictions — shadow and light, geometric and organic, opaque and transparent, religious and secular — to create art that is “perceptually soothing and conceptually challenging.”

Plan to attend the reception and artist talk on Saturday, Sept. 28, 5-7 p.m.