Past Exhibitions

Sahar Khoury: Umm

Wex Commissioned Project

Info & Tickets

Detail view of perforated, multi-colored plastic panels adorned with a cast, clear glass charm spelling "umm" that hangs from an oversized beaded necklace.

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Aug 25, 2023–Dec 30, 2023

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Free for all audiences

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Umm features an assemblage of sculptures that draws on familial and global histories, time keeping, and memory’s ever-evolving form in response to the present.

Reflective of her training as an anthropologist, Khoury’s works incorporate a range of techniques and media—ceramic, metal, glass—as well as cast-off materials and objects. Visitors to the exhibition will be the first to see a Wexner Center–commissioned assemblage of off-kilter, semi-abstract sculptures inspired by music and food, which Khoury uses as symbols of inclusion, exclusion, and transformation. You’ll encounter a kebab wind chime, a neon night-light holding Palestinian olive oil, and a 20-foot-tall radio tower that marks the hour by playing a recording of Khoury’s aunt singing at an Arabic family party. The exhibition also features new dimensional tile plinths that were realized through a partnership with Cerámica Suro in Guadalajara, Mexico.

The exhibition title translates to mother in Arabic, and it is also a reference to the iconic Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum (c. 1904–75)—world-renowned for her vocal range, impassioned performances, and improvisational prowess. Kulthum became a symbol of pan-Arab unity and was described as both Egypt’s fourth pyramid and the mother of Arabs. For over four decades, Kuthum’s live concerts were broadcast throughout the Arab world on the first Thursday of each month.

In that spirit, the Wexner Center has commissioned an original score UMM / AL ATLAL by multidisciplinary artists Esra Canoğulları (aka 8ULENTINA) and Lara Sarkissian, cofounders of CLUB CHAI (2016–2021), that will play from Khoury’s radio tower on the first Thursday of every month during the exhibition’s run.

Missed first Thursday? UMM / AL ATLAL can be streamed on SoundCloud.

Autumn 2023 Gallery and Learning Guide

"I have always reacted to my environment and used it as a catalyst."

Sahar Khoury, BOMB

Sahar Khoury, Untitled (radio tower with accessories), 2023 (detail). Plastic, steel, soda-fired ceramic, glazed and unglazed ceramic, anchoring resin, waxed plaster, cast glass, animal cages, wax, radios, FM transmitter, party light, timers, glass, clock, and sound, 238 1/8 x 133 3/4 x 41 7/8 in. Commissioned by the Wexner Center for the Arts. Courtesy of the artist; Canada, New York; and Rebecca Camacho Presents, San Francisco. Photo: Robert Divers Herrick.

Upright, four-tier multicolored sculpture with ornaments, including text, beads, cages with radios, and ceramic bell with ceramic pita curtain.

Sahar Khoury: Umm, installation view at the Wexner Center for the Arts. Photo: Robert Divers Herrick.

Figurative sculptures on a shelf above a row of earth-toned ceramic pitas, next to multicolored vases and a white columnar and wire pedestal holding sculptures.

Sahar Khoury, Untitled (the audience), 2023 (detail). Soda-fired ceramic, glazed and unglazed ceramic, bronze, powder-coated steel, steel, fabric, and wood. Dimensions variable. Commissioned by the Wexner Center for the Arts. Courtesy of the artist; Canada, New York; and Rebecca Camacho Presents, San Francisco. Installation view at the Wexner Center for the Arts. Photo: Robert Divers Herrick.

Installation of two sculptures made of metal, ceramics, and glass suspended from the ceiling and resting on a divided wood and granite floor.

Sahar Khoury: Umm, installation view at the Wexner Center for the Arts. Photo: Robert Divers Herrick.

Detail of earth-toned sculpted ceramic kebabs and a conical bell topped by a sculpted nose hanging from a wind chime frame.

Sahar Khoury, Untitled (kebab windchime), 2023 (detail). Soda-fired and glazed ceramic, powder-coated steel, bronze, steel, and wood, 107 1/2 x 41 1/4 in. Commissioned by the Wexner Center for the Arts. Courtesy of the artist; Canada, New York; and Rebecca Camacho Presents, San Francisco. Photo: Robert Divers Herrick.

Installation of three sculptures made of ceramics and metal resting on a divided wood and granite floor. White beams, soffits, and windows are visible.

Sahar Khoury: Umm, installation view at the Wexner Center for the Arts. Photo: Robert Divers Herrick.

Cluster of steel sculptures of numbers with unique bases resting on dimensional tiles. A green curtain with sunglasses is visible to the left.

Sahar Khoury, Untitled (1919, 1948, 1975, 1979, 1984, 1991, 1996, 2023, etc.), 2023. Hammered steel pipe with altered found steel objects, dimensions variable. Commissioned by the Wexner Center for the Arts. Courtesy of the artist; Canada, New York; and Rebecca Camacho Presents, San Francisco. Installation view at the Wexner Center for the Arts. Photo: Robert Divers Herrick.

Cluster of steel sculptures of numbers with unique bases resting on dimensional tiles in varying shades of blue.

More about the artist

Sahar Khoury was trained as an anthropologist and worked for years on community-based research projects concerning structural vulnerability within Latinx migrant-labor communities. Based in Oakland, California, she developed her practice in the Bay Area’s queer community during late 1990s and early 2000s making works for music shows, theater performances, and street protests. In the Bay Area, Khoury has exhibited work at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA, where she was a recipient of the SECA Art Award); Yerba Buena Center for the Arts; Oakland Museum of California; Wattis Institute; Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA); and diRosa Center for Contemporary Art. Her work is in the collections of the de Young Museum in San Francisco, BAMPFA, and SFMOMA. Learn more on Sahar Khoury’s website.

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Exhibitions

Sahar Khoury: Umm is organized by the Wexner Center for the Arts and curated by Curator of Exhibitions Lucy I. Zimmerman, with support from Curatorial Assistant Jonathan Gonzalez and Curatorial Intern Bethani Blake.

THIS PRESENTATION MADE POSSIBLE BY
Canada, New York
Rebecca Camacho Presents, San Francisco

EXHIBITION 2023–24 SEASON MADE POSSIBLE BY
Bill and Sheila Lambert
Carol and David Aronowitz
Crane Family Foundation
Mike and Paige Crane

FREE GALLERIES MADE POSSIBLE BY
American Electric Power Foundation
Mary and C. Robert Kidder
Bill and Sheila Lambert

ADDITIONAL SUPPORT FOR FREE GALLERIES PROVIDED BY
Adam Flatto
CoverMyMeds
PNC Foundation

WEXNER CENTER PROGRAMS MADE POSSIBLE BY
Ohio Department of Development
Greater Columbus Arts Council
The Wexner Family
Institute of Museum and Library Services
Ohio Arts Council
CampusParc
Ohio State’s Global Arts + Humanities Discovery Theme
The Columbus Foundation
Nationwide Foundation
Vorys, Sater, Seymour, and Pease

ADDITIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY
Mike and Paige Crane
Axium Packaging
Nancy Kramer
Ohio State Energy Partners
Ohio History Fund/Ohio History Connection
Larry and Donna James
Bruce and Joy Soll
Jones Day
Alex and Renée Shumate