International artist Rana Begum is returning to her home city for a solo exhibition at St Albans Museum + Gallery.
Now living and working in London, Rana moved from Bangladesh to St Albans with her family at the age of eight. She went to St Albans Girls School and as a young artist studied a foundation course at the University of Hertfordshire.
Her exhibition, 'Ordered Form', is curated by UH Arts & Culture and runs from December 8, 2023 to April 14, 2024 in the museum's underground Weston Gallery.
From January, Rana will take over the Assembly Room with an "awe-inspiring" site-specific installation, which was originally made for a 2016 exhibition at the Parasol Unit in London, and was then moved to the Sainsbury Centre in Norwich.
The installation will be on display from January 20 to March 17.
Rana said: "Solo exhibitions are always exciting but this one has significant meaning as, after many years of long-haul destinations, my family and friends from my home city where I grew up, can now come and see my work."
Ordered Form focuses on Rana's geometric works created over the past three years, and includes sculptures, paintings and screen prints, as well as a panel painting installation.
Also displayed are Rana's studio experiments, maquettes (a sculptor's small preliminary model) and sketches.
Rana is influenced by the geometric abstraction of minimalism and constructivism, and works with industrial materials such as stainless steel, aluminium, copper, glass and wood to explore geometry, colour and light.
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Her work is inspired by the urban landscape and her childhood memories of traditional Islamic art and architecture.
"I have always found the feeling of repetition calming – bringing back memories of daily recitals of the Qur’an," Rana said.
"I remember a feeling of tranquillity that accompanied these rhythmic recitations. This feeling has pulled me towards repetition and order, and the idea of the infinite."
St Albans district council's arts, tourism, heritage and culture manager Farhana Begum said: "Bringing internationally renowned artist, Rana Begum, to St Albans Museum + Gallery for this prestigious exhibition is huge news for St Albans."
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