Hayv Kahraman: Look Me in the Eyes
October 05, 2024 - February 02, 2025
Hayv Kahraman: Look Me in the Eyes interrogates conditions of migration and immigration in the West. In her largest museum solo presentation to date, Kahraman (born 1981, Baghdad) draws upon her longstanding motif of heavily browed, lidded eyes to expose the simultaneous surveillance and erasure of othered bodies. The exhibition features all new work encompassing paintings, large-scale sculptures, and a deeply personal audio installation.
Kahraman’s artwork balances autobiographical and collective experiences informed by her upbringing as an Iraqi/Kurdish refugee in Sweden. These aspects coalesce within female figures that appear throughout the exhibition—near, but not quite, self-portraits. At times, blank, white eyes offset their faces, speaking to government tracking through iris recognition technology. Meanwhile, disembodied eyes appear among plants highlighting how Western systems of botanical classification support racist hierarchies. Kahraman visually unites these disparate elements through marbling, a centuries-old technique that forces her to relinquish artistic control. The patterns that emerge render each work unique—a potent metaphor for resisting assimilation and its insistence on sameness.
Hayv Kahraman: Look Me in the Eyes is organized by the Institute of Contemporary Art San Francisco and curated by Christine Koppes, former Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs. The presentation at the Frye Art Museum is organized by Georgia Erger, Associate Curator, with Alexis L. Silva, Curatorial Assistant.
Generous support for the Frye's installation provided by ArtsFund and Frye Members. Media sponsorship by The Seattle Times.
Hayv Kahraman. Look me in the eyes no 1 (detail), 2023. Oil and acrylic on linen. 37 x 37 in. Courtesy of the artist, Jack Shainman Gallery, New York; Pilar Corrias, London; The Third Line, Dubai; and Vielmetter Los Angeles. Photo: Courtesy Institute of Contemporary Art San Francisco. Glen Cheriton, Impart Photography
Hayv Kahraman. 3eoon (detail), 2023. Watercolor and gauche on flax fiber. 19 x 16 in. Courtesy of the artist; Jack Shainman Gallery, New York; Pilar Corrias, London; The Third Line, Dubai; and Vielmetter Los Angeles. Photo: Courtesy Institute of Contemporary Art San Francisco. Glen Cheriton, Impart Photography
Hayv Kahraman. Brick Palm 1 (detail), 2023. Oil and acrylic on brick. 40 x 40 in. Courtesy of the artist; Jack Shainman Gallery, New York; Pilar Corrias, London; The Third Line, Dubai; and Vielmetter Los Angeles. Photo: Courtesy Institute of Contemporary Art San Francisco. Glen Cheriton, Impart Photography
Hayv Kahraman. Love Me Love Me Not, 2023. Oil and acrylic on linen. 80 x 100 in. Courtesy of the artist; Jack Shainman Gallery, New York; Pilar Corrias, London; The Third Line, Dubai; and Vielmetter Los Angeles Photo: Courtesy Institute of Contemporary Art San Francisco. Glen Cheriton, Impart Photography
Hayv Kahraman. Love Me Love Me Not (detail), 2023. Oil and acrylic on linen. 80 x 100 in. Courtesy of the artist; Jack Shainman Gallery, New York; Pilar Corrias, London; The Third Line, Dubai; and Vielmetter Los Angeles Photo: Courtesy Institute of Contemporary Art San Francisco. Glen Cheriton, Impart Photography
Hayv Kahraman. Weedwreath (detail), 2023. Oil and acrylic on linen. 50 x 100 in. Courtesy of the artist; Pilar Corrias, London; Jack Shainman Gallery, New York; The Third Line, Dubai; and Vielmetter Los Angeles. Photo: Evan Bedford