An Excuse to Touch the World

Renowned for his lens-based work, artist Sohrab Hura has recently captured remarkable everyday moments in a new series of drawings and paintings. On the occasion of his first US survey, Mother, we discuss his decision to step away from the camera and instead render scenes in pastel and gouache that venture where his lens cannot. Hura’s oeuvre shares an approach in playful and intriguing perspectives, angles, humor, discomfort, and political concerns. However, his newest bodies of work, Things Felt But Not Quite Expressed and Timelines, depict scenes both real and imagined. Our conversation traces individual moments and gestures in Hura’s work to unpack his interdisciplinary concerns around the ethics of image-making as a documentary act.

Read the full conversation at the link below.

—Ruba Katrib, Chief Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs, MoMA PS1