Shezad Dawood United Kingdom, b. 1974
Shezad Dawood is a multidisciplinary artist who interweaves stories, realities and symbolism to create richly layered artworks, spanning painting, textiles, sculpture, film and digital media. Fascinated by ecologies and architecture, his work takes a philosophical approach, asking questions and exploring alternative futures through what Dawood describes as ‘world-building’ and ‘imagineering’. His practice is animated by research, working with multiple audiences and communities to delve into narrative, history and embodiment.
Selected solo exhibitions and commissions include: HMS Alice Liddell, St Pancras Wires commission, London (2022); Hybrid Landscapes, Deutsche Bank Frieze Lounges (2022); Jhaveri Contemporary, Mumbai (2021); Visions of Paradise, commission for The White House, Becontree (2021); Concert From Bangladesh, commission for British Council Digital Collaboration Fund (2021); Timothy Taylor, London (2020-21); Kai Art Center, Tallinn (2020); New Art Exchange, Nottingham (2020); The Bluecoat Liverpool (2019); MOCA Toronto (2019); FriezeLIVE, London (2019); Kunstverein, Munich (2019); A Lost Future: Rubin Museum of Art, New York (2018); Fondazione Querini Stampalia, Venice (2017); Timothy Taylor, London (2016); Galerist, Istanbul (2016); Pioneer Works, Brooklyn (2015); Fig.2 at the ICA studio, London (2015); Parasol Unit, London (2014); Leeds Art Gallery and OCAT Xi’an, China (both 2014); Modern Art Oxford (2012).
Selected group exhibitions and commissions include: Qatar Museums, Doha (2022); DesertX AlUla, KSA (2022); Toronto Biennial of Art (2022); Sea Art Festival, Busan (2021); Paradise Row, London (2021); Folkestone Triennial (2021); Guggenheim, New York (2021); Southbank Centre, London (2020- 21); Boghossian Foundation – Villa Empain (2020); WIELS Bruxelles (2020); Manifesta 13 (2020); Lahore Biennial (2020); Dhaka Art Summit (2020); Sharjah Biennial 14, UAE (2019) – Jury Prize for Encroachments; Gwangju Biennale, Gwangju, South Korea (2018); Mori Art Museum, Tokyo (2016); Museum of Modern Art, New York (2015); Taipei Biennial (2014); Marrakech Biennial (2014); MACBA Barcelona (2014); Witte de With (2013); Busan Biennale (2010); Tate Triennial: Altermodern (2009); Venice Biennale (2009).
Selected collections include Guggenheim; Arts Council Collection; Tate; UBS; LACMA, Los Angeles; National Gallery of Canada; Government Art Collection, UK; US Government Art Collection; The British Museum, London; Sharjah Art Foundation; Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, Delhi; Rubin Museum of Art, New York; and Mathaf, Doha.
His film works have been screened internationally, including at the ICA, London; MoMA, New York, Guggenheim, New York, and at various film festivals including CPH:DOX, Sharjah Biennial 14 (awarded Special Mention Jury Prize 2019); Oberhausen, Aesthetica (awarded Artist’s Film Prize 2015); his 2013 Feature Film, Piercing Brightness, was released theatrically and on Blu-Ray/DVD by Soda Pictures.
Shezad Dawood was born in London in 1974 and trained at Central St Martin’s and the Royal College of Art before undertaking a PhD at Leeds Metropolitan University. Dawood is a Research Fellow in Experimental Media at the University of Westminster. He lives and works in London.
-
Shezad Dawood: Integrations
March 15 - April 23, 2023The surfaces of intense fluorescent colors geometrically divide the space, then reintegrate the space back into an axis of sensations. From the abstract backdrop into which the color planes seep,...Read more -
Shezad Dawood: Leviathan - On Sunspots and Whales
September 1 - November 4, 2018Leviathan is an ambitious art project that examines urgent issues of the contemporary era. Through linkages with experts from different fields, it explores the connections among various contemporary issues that...Read more
-
Shezad DawoodNalnut Dreams, 2023Oil and acrylic on linen100 x 162 cm
-
Shezad DawoodOn Becoming Virtual Octopi, 2018Resin and polychromatic paint104.3 x 72.3 x 49.8 cmed 1 of 3
-
Shezad DawoodIsland, 2018textile, acrylic, and mixed media on canvas200 x 287 cm
-
Shezad DawoodLeviathan Cycle, Episode 4: Jamila, 2018HD Video, 10:36dimensions variableed 2 of 5, 3 of 5
-
Shezad DawoodLeviathan Cycle, Episode 1: Ben, 2017HD Video, 12: 52dimensions variableed 3 of 5
-
Shezad DawoodLeviathan, 2017Resin with oxidised finish12 x 40 x 5 cmed 7 of 10
-
Shezad DawoodWallet in dark leather with "100% Pure Leather" mark, containing discoloured passport photos, 2017Mixed media on Fortuny textile190 x 160 cm
-
Shezad DawoodRed, blue and white striped jumper, 2017Mixed media on Fortuny textile191.5 x 156 cm
-
Shezad Dawood—Integrations
Interview April 13, 2023“I tried to bring not just about architecture and the space, but about the level of detail and aesthetics and presenting a unified field. And...Read more -
Shezad Dawood—Leviathan:On Sunspots and Whales
Artist Talk February 20, 2019 -
Shezad Dawood—Leviathan:On Sunspots and Whales
Interview February 19, 2019
-
Shezad Dawood: Night in the Garden of Love
Shezad Dawood's new solo exhibition at WIELS, Brussels June 23, 2023Shezad Dawood: Night in the Garden of Love is on view at WIELS, Brussels. Dawood is known for his exploration of non-Western traditions that inform...Read more -
Shezad Dawood: Between Land & Sea at Fogo Island Gallery
February 9, 2022The Fogo Island Gallery presents Between Land & Sea, a solo exhibition of work by London-based artist Shezad Dawood featuring textile-based paintings, video, and a...Read more -
Newly Commissioned Work by Shezad Dawood at Desert X AlUla 2022
January 22, 2022Desert X AlUla has announced the artists who will show monumental-scale work when the exhibition returns to the ancient desert region, 1,100 km from Riyadh,...Read more -
Shezad Dawood is the eighth artist to be selected for the Terrace Wires public commission, following in the footsteps of Tracey Emin
Psychedelic sculpture—an ode to Alice in Wonderland, steampunk and Gothic Revival architecture—to be installed at St Pancras in London January 20, 2022Next summer the British-South Asian artist Shezad Dawood will unveil his largest sculpture to date in London’s St Pancras station for Terrace Wires, one of...Read more -
Shezad Dawood to host a film screening of Concert From Bangladesh in London
September 9, 2021a special screening of Shezad Dawood’s major new mixed-reality digital work Concert From Bangladesh to mark the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh’s independence. In partnership with...Read more -
Shezad Dawood: Concert for Bangladesh Commission
February 3, 2021Shezad Dawood has been announced as a joint receipient of the British Council's Digital Collaboration Fund award with their partners Samdani Art Foundation to produce...Read more -
Shezad Dawood's Leviathan Cycle Premiers Online
November 27, 2020Shezad Dawood with present the digital World Premiere of Leviathan Cycle Episode 6 : Ding Ling & Senait, on The (He)art for (He)art Program Youtube...Read more -
Shezad Dawood Presents Leviathan: The Paljassaare Chapter at Kai Art Center
September 17, 2020Shezad Dawood presents Leviathan: The Paljassaare Chapter at the Kai Art Center in Tallinn, Estonia from 19 September - 8 November, 2020. One iteration of...Read more -
Shezad Dawood Presents Work at Wiels Contemporary Art Center
September 12, 2020Shezad Dawood will be featured in the group exhibition Risquons-Tout at Wiels Contemporary Art Centre in Belgium from 12 September 2020 - 10 January 2021...Read more -
Shezad Dawood to Participate in Infinite Village at Manifesta 13
August 28, 2020Shezad Dawood will be participating in the exhibition Infinite Village as part of Manifesta 13 at Espace Jouenne and Maison Montgrand in Marseilles from 28...Read more -
Screening of Shezad Dawood: Towards the Possible Film at UVA
August 18, 2020Shezad Dawood's Towards the Possible Film (2014) will be shown at Film and Video Umbrella (UK), available 18 August - 15 September 2020. 'Shezad Dawood’s...Read more -
Shezad Dawood in Solo Exhibition at New Art Exchange
January 18, 2020New Art Exchange presents the exhibition Encroachments, a solo exhibition of Shezad Dawood's work, at New Art Exchange in Nottingham from 18 January to 15...Read more -
Shezad Dawood Selected for Frieze Live 2019
October 3, 2019Shezad Dawood has been selected to present his performance piece University of NonDualism as part of Frieze Live 2019 from October 3-6. Dawood’s work draws...Read more -
Shezad Dawood Wins 2019 Sharjah Biennale Prize
March 13, 2019Shezad Dawood has been awarded the 2019 Sharjah Biennale Prize, for his outstanding contribution to the biennale. Often collaborating with others across borders and communities,...Read more