Zaha Hadid: Early Paintings and Drawings

“I have always been interested in the concept of fragmentation and with ideas of abstraction and explosion, deconstructing ideas of repetitiveness and mass production. My work first engaged with the early Russian avant-garde; in particular with the work of Kasimir Malevich—he was an early influence for me as a representative of the modern avant-garde intersection between art and design. Malevich discovered abstraction as an experimental principle that can propel creative work to previously unheard levels of invention; this abstract work allowed much greater levels of creativity.”
—Zaha Hadid, 2007

This winter, the Serpentine presents an exhibition of paintings and drawings by renowned architect Zaha Hadid (1950-2016). Zaha Hadid is regarded as a pioneering and visionary architect whose contribution to the world of architecture was ground-breaking and innovative. The Serpentine presentation, first conceived with Hadid herself, reveals her as an artist with drawing at the very heart of her work and will include the architect’s calligraphic drawings and rarely seen private notebooks with sketches that reveal her complex thoughts about architectural forms and relationships. The show focuses on Hadid’s early works before her first building was erected in 1993 (the Vitra Fire Station in Germany), presenting paintings and drawings from the 1970s to the early 1990s.

The exhibition takes place at the Serpentine Sackler Gallery, renovated and extended by Zaha Hadid Architects in 2013. A select number of institutions and museums across the world will join in this timely homage to Zaha Hadid.

Drawing and painting were fundamental to Hadid’s practice. Influenced by Malevich, Tatlin and Rodchenko, she used calligraphic drawings as the main method for visualizing her architectural ideas. For Hadid, painting was a design tool, and abstraction an investigative structure for imagining architecture and its relationship to the world we live in. These works on paper and canvas unravel an architecture that Hadid was determined to realize in built structures, one that is seen in the characteristic lightness and weightlessness of her buildings. Conceived as Hadid’s manifesto of a utopian world, the show reveals her all-encompassing vision for arranging space and interpreting realities.

Technology and innovation have always been central to the work of Zaha Hadid Architects, and many of Hadid’s paintings prefigure the potential of digital processes and the software required to render virtual reality. Connecting directly with the individual paintings in this exhibition, four experimental virtual reality experiences have been specially developed in collaboration with Google Arts & Culture. These in-gallery experiences offer a dynamic and immersive insight into Hadid’s architectural vision.

Hans Ulrich Obrist, Serpentine Galleries Artistic Director and Yana Peel, CEO said: “We are honored to be presenting this exhibition of our friend and long-term collaborator Zaha Hadid here at the Serpentine Sackler Gallery, designed by her practice in 2013. Her contribution to architecture as a pioneer and visionary cannot be overstated, and her declaration that ‘there should be no end to experimentation’ has become a mantra for the Serpentine Galleries as it looks to the future.”

Brian Clarke, artist said: “Zaha was both architect and artist. As she said: ‘I get the same goose-bumps from Bacon as I get from Niemeyer.’”

Nadja Swarovski, Member of the Swarovski executive board: said: “We are pleased to be supporting the Serpentine Galleries for this exhibition. Swarovski was honoured to collaborate with Zaha for over a decade, creating an incredible body of work which ranged from lighting installations to sculpture, jewelry and home decor. Her vision always pushed us outside our comfort zone, and the results were breathtaking. I feel extremely privileged to have known her both as a friend and as a creative collaborator.”

Amit Sood, Director of Google Arts & Culture, said: “The opportunity to develop four experimental, virtual reality experiences that offer visitors new insights into Zaha Hadid’s creative vision was a real privilege for us. We hope people enjoy connecting with Hadid’s paintings in a new, immersive way.”

The exhibition coincided with the opening of Zaha Hadid Architects’ much anticipated Mathematics: The Winton Gallery at the Science Museum, that explores how mathematicians, their tools and ideas have helped to shape the modern world.

Serpentine winter season
Zaha Hadid’s statement that “there should be no end to experimentation” is key to understanding her radical approach to architecture, as well as providing a useful perspective on the multi-faceted practice of Lucy Raven, showing concurrently at the Serpentine Gallery. Both artists are interested in drawing attention to the spaces that surround us, be it through Raven’s moving image installations, which reveal the structures and mechanisms of cinematic imagery, or Hadid’s visionary art and architecture. Hadid’s integration of innovative technologies into her practice, resulting in unexpected and dynamic forms, is paralleled in Raven’s exploration of technology, revealing the labor and processes behind the manufacture and distribution of images throughout the world.

From March 17–April 6, 2017, the show will be exhibited at ArtisTree, Taikoo Place, 979 King’s Road, Quarry Bay, Hong Kong as There Should Be No End To Exprimentation.