Home is where the art is—but what happens when home itself becomes a moving target? This is the question at the heart of Ingraining and Unfolding, a thought-provoking exhibition at the Kunstmuseum Stuttgart that brings together the works of Rolf Nesch, Nadira Husain, and Ahmed Umar. But here's where it gets controversial: can art truly bridge the gap between cultural displacement and a sense of belonging, or does it merely reflect the fractures? And this is the part most people miss—how these artists use their unique experiences to challenge our understanding of identity in an ever-shifting world.
The exhibition, running from November 2023 to January 2024, is a deep dive into the intricate relationships between home, post-migration experiences, cultural identity, and artistic expression. At its core are the long-unseen prints and reliefs of Rolf Nesch, a German-born artist who fled to Norway in 1933 due to political persecution. His works, acquired by the City Gallery of Stuttgart (now Kunstmuseum Stuttgart) between 1960 and the mid-1980s, have remained hidden for nearly six decades. But why were they tucked away for so long? Was it a matter of taste, politics, or something more complex?
Rather than a traditional retrospective, Nesch’s pieces are placed in conversation with contemporary works by Nadira Husain and Ahmed Umar, sparking an intergenerational dialogue on migration, national identity, and cultural resilience. What’s striking is how these artists, despite their vastly different backgrounds, share a common thread: the experience of displacement. This shared theme manifests in their choice of materials, their tactile approach to surfaces, and their willingness to experiment. But does this commonality unite them, or does it highlight the irreconcilable differences in their journeys?
Nesch’s Journey: From Exile to Innovation
Born in 1893, Rolf Nesch’s life took a dramatic turn when he immigrated to Norway following the rise of the National Socialists. His exile wasn’t just a physical move—it was a transformation of his artistic soul. The Nordic landscape, with its raw, elemental beauty, seeped into his work, alongside themes of estrangement and adaptation. His innovative metal printing technique, developed before his immigration and refined in Norway, created relief-like pieces where surface and space merge into a revolutionary plastic form. But was this fusion a way to find home in a new land, or a reflection of his perpetual sense of otherness?
Nesch’s international acclaim, marked by his participation in documenta I, II, and III, as well as the 1962 Venice Biennale, underscores the cross-cultural impact of his work. Yet, his pieces selected for this exhibition, complemented by loans from around the world, raise a question: How does an artist’s legacy evolve when their work is seen through the lens of multiple cultures?
Husain’s Hybridity: Reclaiming the ‘Bâtarde’
Nadira Husain, born in 1980 to a Franco-Basque-Indian family in Paris, embodies the complexities of a post-migrant identity. Her work is a visual tapestry, weaving together comic figures, Mughal miniature painting, and Indo-Persian furniture into dense, multilayered compositions. But it’s her use of the term bâtarde—a word historically used to exclude and stigmatize—that sparks debate. By reclaiming it through a feminist lens, Husain transforms it into a mantra of reconciliation. Is this a triumph of self-definition, or does it risk romanticizing a painful history?
At the Kunstmuseum Stuttgart, Husain presents new works alongside a site-specific wall painting, inviting viewers to question how art can decolonize identity. Her practice, rooted in the diversity of heterogeneous societies, challenges us to see hybridity not as a flaw, but as a strength. But is this view universally accepted, or does it overlook the struggles of those who don’t fit neatly into any cultural box?
Umar’s Spiritual Resistance: Glowing Phalanges
Ahmed Umar’s story is one of resilience and defiance. Born in 1988 into a traditional Sufi family in Sudan, he fled to Norway in 2008 as an LGBTQIA+ activist escaping political persecution. For this exhibition, he presents 33 works from his series Glowing Phalanges, a spiritual exploration of identity, faith, and resistance. The series, created during residencies in Bergen and Cairo, uses glass for the first time, reflecting the light of both his Sufi heritage and his experiences as an exile.
The phalanges—finger bones significant in Islamic prayer—are central to Umar’s work. By casting his own hands and incorporating symbols reminiscent of Arabic calligraphy, he reinterprets traditional prayer gestures. But is this a harmonious blending of old and new, or a provocative challenge to religious and cultural norms? Umar’s art, presented in Germany for the first time, invites us to consider how spirituality can be both a source of comfort and a tool for resistance.
The Bigger Picture: Art as Mirror and Maker of Identity
Ingraining and Unfolding isn’t just an exhibition—it’s a conversation about the role of art in shaping identity within pluralistic societies. It asks: Can art merely reflect our identities, or does it actively participate in creating them? As you explore the works of Nesch, Husain, and Umar, consider this: In a world where displacement is increasingly common, can art offer a sense of home, or does it simply highlight the fragments we’re left to piece together?
Join the Conversation
What do you think? Does art have the power to bridge cultural divides, or does it inevitably fall short? Share your thoughts in the comments—we want to hear from you!
