Detroit City: Dana Awartani

For Dana Awartani, a Palestinian-Saudi artist who lives and works in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, geometric patterns express both the rational and the spiritual parts of us. Using mathematical principles, numerically devised symbols, and traditional Islamic patterning, Awartani creates paintings, installations, sculptures, performances, and textile works that are as rich with meaning as they are beautiful, elegant, and precise. Awartani situates her artistic practice at the juncture between tradition and the now. Though her forms, methodologies, and interests are largely rooted in the study and understanding of traditional Islamic forms, Awartani is also keenly interested in the translation, translocation, and transformation of these forms into our contemporary, global world.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website.