Faig Ahmed: A traditional contemporist

When an artist is able to combine their love for the process with their own culture and life experience, an unprecedented product is created. This innovative approach is present among the works of Faig Ahmed.

Ahmed was born in Baku, Azerbaijan, a country renowned for their skill in handmade crafts. Not only are their skills prevalent in the current state of the country, but archeological digs have shown that these practices have existed for centuries, all the way back to the second millennium BC.

Being around this culture and tradition, Ahmed’s identity to the viewer can be seen as representative of his country. His most well received works are his inventive traditional carpets. He takes patterns that resemble traditional carpets and manipulates them to create different optical illusions.

The unique traditions of his country are able to set him apart from the thousands of artists working across the world. A sense of individuality is very important in this era as new movements in art have its audience questioning what the definition of art really is. With this disregard of many creative spirits in the art world, it is important to recognize the strides of “hyper-contemporary” artists like Ahmed.

Hypermodernism is a new field of art that Ahmed is a perfect example of. There is no doubt of his talent as he combines his love for the traditional carpet making native to his country with a modern twist.

He creates his masterpieces by using computer technology to make the pattern, then employs traditional weaving techniques to create the actual pattern. He then progresses by distorting the pattern to create the illusion of it melting off its original form. This innovative method of taking a product of his home and changing to appeal to his own process of art is one that will have the greatest impact. Appreciation for this technique is vital in a world of creators trying to resemble the famous artists that came before them.

While Ahmed offers a fresh perspective through his work, it somehow simultaneously pays homage to a tradition carried out for centuries in his home. In his own artist statement Ahmed writes, “I explore ancient traditions, cults and cultures.I make my own research and as I communicate with it, I create art.”

This is art in its purest form as it is an expression directly from the artist himself.  Ahmed has become renowned internationally, representing Azerbaijan in the Venice Biennale, an arts organization based in Venice in 2007. He has since shown solo exhibitions all over the world.

This artist represents where the art world is progressing. As our world gets older, we must support artists with originality, modernization, and creativity: all present within the work and life of Faig Ahmed.