Private Collection is a sculptural installation by Saif Azzuz, created for the Meridians sector of Art Basel Miami Beach 2023. The artwork is enclosed on all sides by painted and hand-routed cedar fencing. Natural holes and gaps in the fencing offer glimpses into an interior – a physically inaccessible arrangement of sculptures and paintings by the artist. “The work prompts questions around themes of access, the privatization of land, settler colonialism, and Indigenous resilience. On the exterior, Azzuz emblazons the readymade fencing with a polychromatic field of acrylic paint and gestural motifs of native plants, triangles, fire, and fauna. Inside, 16 small-scale, acrylic-on-canvas paintings hang alongside a suite of assemblage sculptures on the floor. Azzuz’s largest sculpture to date, Private Collection challenges expectations around privileged immediacy and access to art. Saif Azzuz (b. 1987, Eureka, California) is an artist of both Libyan and Yurok heritage. He lives and works in Pacifica, California.” (official description)

Saif Azzuz: Private Collection / Galerie Nicelle Beauchene at Art Basel Miami Beach 2023 Meridians. Miami Beach, December 10, 2023.

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