Oil and collage on linen, 2023
Knot, Not forms part of Syed’s latest body of works that featured in a recent solo show, Les Rapports, at Bradley Ertaskiran in Montréal. The work collages together the paper used in a previous drawing and a mono-printing process, generating a new autonomous abstract painting. Employing the motif of a red cross over the surface of the work, Syed references processes such as printing and registration, stitching, quilting, and textile making, along with the harsh score of a surveillance laser used to capture or scan data.
“[Syed] takes the visual language of American abstraction (Barnett Newman, Clyfford Still, Jasper Johns, etc.) and smashes it into non- Western symbolism. ... It’s abstraction with very un-abstract meanings and intentions.” — TimeOut London
Shaan Syed holds an MFA from Goldsmiths College in London. Solo exhibitions include Bradley Ertaskiran (Montréal), Vardaxoglou Gallery and Sundy (London), Galeria Nuno Centeno (Porto), and Kunsthalle Winterthur. He has participated in group exhibitions at The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery and the Aga Khan Museum (Toronto), Indigo+Madder and the Roberts Institute of Art (London), Nicodim Gallery (Los Angeles), Lundgren Gallery (Palma Majorca), and the Art Gallery of Peterborough. His work is included in the collections of the National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa), Art Gallery of Peterborough, the Majudia Collection and the Claridge Collection (Montréal), the Saatchi Collection and Goldsmiths College (London), RBC Art Collection, ScotiaBank, TD Canada Trust, National Bank, and UBS Art Collection.