Venue: Jaipur Centre for Art, Jaipur
Organised by: Ishara Art Foundation in collaboration with Jaipur Centre for Art and supported by Experimenter
Ishara Art Foundation presents the second iteration of Ayesha Sultana: Fragility and Resilience, in collaboration with Jaipur Centre for Art (JCA) and supported by Experimenter.
Fragility and Resilience was first shown at the Ishara Art Foundation in Dubai in 2024, conceived by Sabih Ahmed, Projects Advisor at Ishara, during his previous tenure as Director. It marked Ayesha Sultana’s first comprehensive solo exhibition in the Gulf. Now presented in Jaipur, the show has been reimagined for its new setting at JCA.
The exhibition explores the delicate balance between vulnerability and strength, suggesting that fragility itself can be a form of resilience. This theme resonates against the backdrop of social, ecological and personal upheavals that continually test the limits of sustainability in the 21st century.
Sultana’s wide-ranging practice is reflected through a variety of works, including her first-ever hand-blown glass sculptures, oil paintings, watercolors on Japanese silk tissue, works on clay-coated paper and photographic explorations.
At JCA, the exhibition shifts the dialogue between works in the historical building and across new publics. Visitors will encounter the duality of glass as both fragile and enduring; the Breath Count series, where marks inscribed on clay-coated paper record time through the rhythm of inhalation and exhalation; the Threshold photographs, which juxtapose the artist’s father’s images with her own, scratched and solarized to reflect memory and erasure; and the tissue-based works of Miasms and Inhabiting Our Bodies, which evoke both the turbulence of the sea and the delicateness of skin.
Together, these works underscore Sultana’s sensitivity to materials and her interest in how fragility and resilience coexist. In Jaipur, the exhibition continues its journey, opening up a fresh context for audiences to engage with these ideas.
Click here to learn more about the first iteration of Ayesha Sultana: Fragility and Resilience, presented at Ishara Art Foundation from 6 September – 7 December 2024.
Image: Ayesha Sultana, Pools (2024). Hand-blown glass, dimensions variable. Image courtesy of the artist
Jaipur Centre for Art
Founded in 2024 by HH Maharaja Sawai Padmanabh Singh of Jaipur and contemporary arts specialist Noelle Kadar, Jaipur Centre for Art (JCA) is dedicated to showcasing art and design practices at the highest level through the distinct perspective of Jaipur. Drawing from the city’s legacy of artistic patronage, JCA transforms heritage spaces into living monuments of creativity while connecting India to global dialogues in contemporary art. Alongside exhibitions, JCA is developing an artist residency program that will welcome both emerging and established artists to immerse themselves in Jaipur’s rich cultural landscape, fostering collaboration and cross-cultural exchange.
