Concrete Playground

Welcoming the brand new Cross Arts Projects space is Danish Ahmed’s eloquent exhibition of recent paintings. The Cross Arts Projects, started in 2003, is a not-for-profit curatorial initiative that shows a mix of curated exhibitions and artist's solos. Their focus is on work with a strong conceptual grounding, and they pay attention to the periphery. For the last few years they have not had a space to show regularly, and so it is with open arms that we welcome them back.

Danish Ahmed’s exhibition of small paintings fits perfectly with the tight new gallery space. The works were painted over the last couple of years in Sydney and their small scale is interpreted as akin to the tradition of Mughal miniatures from Ahmed’s homeland, Pakistan. Many deal directly with religious iconography and symbolism — such as the inward tree and prayer mat — and he contrasts these with the texture of woven cotton and Magritte-esque floating clouds to create a sense of collage, of multiple meanings. The most arresting works take a vibrant colour from the miniature tradition and expand it, soaking the subjects in its hue. Rather than grandiose statements on a topic, these small, resolved works are like considered musings.