November 30–December 29, 2023
Steve Turner is pleased to present Rapture, a solo exhibition by London-based Shadi Al-Atallah which features recent paintings that depict enigmatic figures within domestic spaces which have everyday objects or sterile environments which contain medical and electrical equipment. The figures are in a state of ambiguity, their forms entwined and indistinguishable. They appear to be at the edge of a quarrel or an affectionate embrace, captured in a moment of heightened emotional intensity. Al-Atallah’s compositions are inspired by Mesopotamian and Greek depictions of wrestling and they represent the complex terrain where desire and fear collide. According to Al-Atallah, Rapture addresses both the everyday fear of end-of-world self-destruction and a yearning for tenderness and vulnerability that transcends the physical.
Shadi Al-Atallah (born 1994, Saudi Arabia) earned a BA at the University of the Arts, London (2018) before earning an MA at the Royal College of Art, London (2021). They have had solo exhibitions at Steve Turner, Los Angeles (2022); Guts Gallery, London (2021 & 2023); Hammond Projects, London (2020) and Cob Gallery, London (2018). Their work was also included in two museum exhibitions in 2023, one at Goldsmiths CCA, London and one at the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art, New York.
