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Rasheed Araeen
Indian, born 1935

One of the most important artists of his generation, Rasheed Araeen is a London-based artist, activist, writer, and curator. Born in Karachi,Pakistan in 1935, he originally trained as an engineer before turning his focus to art making. From this civil engineering training, he frequently employs geometric, architectural forms—like those found in Peela Heera—to address equality in society and art history. Today Araeen is considered a key figure in minimalist British sculpture, however, in the 1960s he was largely excluded from this movement. As such, he developed an activist stance challenging Eurocentric views. Araeen founded the journals Black Phoenix, Third Text, and Third Text Asia, all of which address and establish the importance of the work of minority artists in global histories of art.
His work Peela Heera speaks to his engineering background and themes of structural integrity with its bisected geometric shapes that resemble the lattice structure of bridges. Though the piece is mounted on the wall, its sculptural presence highlights how Araeen’s work continually challenges the limits of the two-dimensional painted canvas.

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Rasheed Araeen
Peela Heera, 2018
Acrylic on wood
79cm x 79cm