Zarah Hussain
Cloud 10, 2012
Oil paint, gesso and MDF and vinyl
Departure Lounge, Ground floor, Royal London Hospital
2022 relocated to Whipps Cross Hospital, Outpatients stairwell
Using the full language of geometric abstraction derived from traditional Islamic Art, Hussain merges two artistic traditions linking Islamic pattern with western abstract art. Her work is drawn from a fascination with geometric shapes, pattern and colour. Hussain has created an immersive and calming installation of colour that winds around the walls and windows of the room.
About the Artist
Zarah Hussain (b.1980) is a British artist. Her practice is a visual examination of how spirituality, technology, and art connect. Hussain integrates the pattern-making abilities of conventional mathematics with modern art across a variety of genres, including animation, sculpture, and painting. Hussain has established a creative language that reflects both the aesthetic traditions of traditional Islamic design and modern Western society. She combines mathematical art references such as geometric structures and tessellating patterns with inspiration from the work of 20th-century artists such as Victor Vasarely, Josef Albers, Mark Rothko, Agnes Martin, and Bridget Riley.
Hussain has exhibited across Europe, the USA and the MENASA region, including at the William Morris Gallery, London; the Barbican Center, London, the Sharjah Museum and the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts.
Her work is held in many national and international collections, she was awarded the Lumen Prize (People’s Choice) in 2017. Hussain earned her MA in Islamic Art from the Prince’s School. She lives and works in London.
This project was generously funded by Barts Charity
