The Department of Art Visiting Artist Program is proud to welcome Osman Khan, a Detroit-based artist interested in constructing artifacts and experiences for social criticism and aesthetic expression. His work plays and subverts the materiality behind themes of identity, home/land, social and public space through participatory & performative installations and site-specific interventions. He is currently a Professor at the Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design at the University of Michigan.
Khan’s work has been shown at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA); the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MoCAD); the Shanghai Biennale; the Zero1 Festival, San Jose; Witte de With Centre for Contemporary Art, Rotterdam; Ars Electronica Center, Linz; Socrates Sculpture Park, NYC; Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, Grand Rapids (as part of ArtPrize 2014); Centro Internazionale per l'Arte Contemporanea, Rome; among others.
He is a recipient of a 2020 Guggenheim Fellowship, an Art Matters grant, Ars Electronica’s Prix Ars Award of Distinction, and an Arctic Circle 2009 Residency. Articles about his work have appeared in numerous publications including Hyperallergic, Artforum, Art in America, I.D., LA Times, and the NY Times, among others.
In addition to his artistic practice, Khan is also Co-Director of the Indus Detroit Artist Residency + Culture Lab, co-curator of Halal Metropolis, a recent series of exhibitions and programs exploring Muslim identity in southeast Michigan, and a member of the cosmic jazz group the Astro Mystic Sama Ensemble.
[Pictured above: Artist Osman Khan and his work The sounds weight in anticipation of their song, hum tum tanana nana, nana nana ray (2020). Polyurethan foam, wood, fiberglass, taxidermy peacocks, PA speakers, microphones, guitar amp, effects pedals, mixer, speakers, Shruti box, Radel Taalmala Digi-108, Boss DR-202 Dr. Groove, Korg Monologue, Korg Volca FM, Korg Volca Key, Moog Minitaur, Behringer Model D, vinyl, rugs, par lights, led bar lights, dmx controllers, computer, custom software, custom electronics, c-stands, mirror ball.]
