Ashraf Murad, Farhad Khalilov : The New Verge 28.02 - 04.04
‘The New Verge’ is the first ever joint exhibition of Ashraf Murad and Farhad Khalilov, two of Azerbaijan’s most significant contemporary artists.
About The Space:
Gazelli Art House is a commercial gallery with a wide range of international artists, presenting a broad and dynamic programme to a diverse audience through global public projects and exhibition spaces in London and Baku. Gazelli Art House was founded in 2003 in Baku, Azerbaijan where it held exhibitions with Azeri artists. Having hosted conceptually interlinked off-site exhibitions across London, founder and director Mila Askarova opened a permanent space on Dover Street, London in March 2012. In 2017, the redesigned gallery space reopened in Baku, with an ambitious annual program showcasing both local and international artists.
Representing artists Aziz+Cucher, Derek Boshier, Stanley Casselman, Francesco Jodice, Recycle Group, Kalliopi Lemos and Niyaz Najafov amongst others, the gallery has built a diverse program of artists working across sculpture, photography, painting, video, performance and virtual reality. As part of the gallery’s on-going commitment to art education, the gallery publishes catalogues and artist books, alongside its programme of Tuesday Talks (one per show) to address ideas within the exhibitions and encourage a deeper dialogue around them.
In 2015, the gallery launched its Digital Art House www.gazell.io, an online residency for artists working in the digital and virtual reality realm. On an annual basis, curated shows titled ‘Enter Through the Headset’ are held to feature a select few from the previous residents in the physical space of the gallery. Committed to building a market for VR works as a medium, the gallery keeps an archive of all previously shown works within the residency and from the group shows. To mark the fifth year anniversary of the physical group shows, the digital library will become available via the installation of a permanent headset in the gallery.
In 2012, the gallery launched the Window Project utilising the facade of the gallery as an additional frieze-style display platform. Since 2015, the initiative has been repurposed to specifically support art school graduates through open call competitions three times a year. Art school partnerships have also been held with schools including Central Saint Martins and Royal College of Art, where the open calls are announced within these schools.
