curated by Amina Ahmed and Jenna Hamed

Common Ground is an introduction to the expanse and practice of New York-based Sudanese artist Mohammad Omer Khalil. The exhibition takes its title from the series of fifteen etchings assemblaging Asilah’s light and color.

As master printmaker and painter, Common Ground traces Khalil’s passage since migrating from Sudan, to the places that shaped his practice –– including Florence, where he studied printmaking; Asilah, where he co-founded and operated a community printshop attracting artists of color globally; and New York City where he raised his family, taught, ran his own studio, and continues to nurture an active career.

With a number of works being shown in the United States for the first time, selected prints from portfolios spanning his career highlight the foundational elements of his practice, incorporating collage and offering homage to the scenes, sounds and syntax influential to Khalil’s artistic language. A film still of a garden in Il giardino di gesso (1964), words of poet Adonis and writer Tayeb Salih, visual impressions from his visit to Petra, imagery from Bob Dylan’s songs, resonance of Om Kalthoum’s powerful vocals, are just a few of the references incorporated into his visual compositions. 

In the making process, these works encompass mastery of intaglio and methods applied between paint and print. The techniques express Khalil’s bold etched markings, color palette and blackness through a range of scale through tone and measure.