Prem Sahib

The work of Prem Sahib (b. 1982 in London) embodies a poetic and provocative “destabilised minimalism”, referencing the architecture of public and private spaces, structures that shape individual and communal identities, senses of belonging, alienation and confinement. Mixing the personal and political, abstraction and figuration, Sahib’s formalism is suggestive of the body as well as its absence, drawing attention to traces of touch and frameworks of looking.

Recent exhibitions include The Life Cycle of a Flea, a solo presentation at Phillida Reid, London (October 2023) and forms of the surrounding futures, the 12th Göteborg Biennial for Contemporary Art, curated by João Laia (September - November 2023). Sahib’s work has been shown widely institutionally including solo exhibitions Balconies, Kunstverein Hamburg (2017) and Side On, ICA London (2015) as well in group shows at Sharjah Art Foundation, Sharjah, UAE; Migros Museum, Zürich, Switzerland; Whitechapel Gallery; Hayward Gallery, London; KW Institute of Art, Berlin, Germany; Des Moines Art Centre, Iowa, USA; and the Gwangju Biennale, South Korea.

Their work is in the collections of Tate, The Arts Council, Government Art Collection, The Royal Academy, UK; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, USA; Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art, Norway; X Museum, Beijing, China; and MONA, Australia.

That Fire Over There, an artist’s book developed from Descent, Sahib’s three-part show of 2020-21, was published in summer 2023 by Book Works, London.

© Prem Sahib. Photo: Soliloquy (Images Doc).