Raqib Shaw – conjuror of magical worlds
Fantastical finishes showcase the work of Raqib Shawa – a vibrant artist destined for greatness.
By Norman Rosenthal
Intense: Raqib Shaw’s ‘Absence of God’
If you are involved in the business of constantly looking at contemporary art, as I am, it is rare to come across an artist’s work so different, in the best sense of the word, that it seems almost sui generis in its imagined depiction of the world.
Such is the case of the work of the Kashmiri artist Raqib Shaw, born in Calcutta in 1974, and who came to the UK in 1998. He studied at Central St Martins School of Art, and now lives and works in his north London studio, which he hardly ever leaves.
[H]e has had shows of his work at Tate Britain and the Metropolitan Museum in New York, so there must be some kind of buzz around him, even if he is still relatively little known by the general art public. Hopefully his new spectacular show, about to open at White Cube in Hoxton Square, will change that, at least here in London.