Atlanta Contemporary Presents Sam Gilliam and Hasani Sahlehe

From the venue:

In celebration of the organization’s 50th anniversary, Atlanta Contemporary (AC) announces two major solo exhibitions that showcase legacy artist, Sam Gilliam, in dialogue with emerging artist Hasani Sahlehe.

Atlanta Contemporary, today a celebrated non-collecting museum, began in 1973 as an artist-run space dedicated to contemporary art exhibitions. It has been Atlanta Contemporary’s mission for 50 years to be a platform for emerging and established artists to exhibit their work. In honor of the 50th Anniversary, Atlanta Contemporary presents dynamic exhibitions that honor our past and look to the future.

Through the physical pliancy of paint, Atlanta-based artist Hasani Sahlehe creates artworks of pure spirit. Exploring spirituality and the connection of body, mind, and spirit, Sahlehe’s abstract paintings feature soft-edged forms that intermingle, resonate, and reverberate.

Having previously exhibited at Atlanta Contemporary twice — Sliver Space (2018) and the Atlanta Biennale (2021) — this exhibition is the artist’s first major solo exhibition at the museum. Curated by Y. Malik Jalal, this exhibition brings together multiple paintings ranging in scale from the minute to monumental and upon varied surfaces. All created within the last year, this new body of work continues Sahlehe’s ongoing endeavor to expand the artistic universe.