Art Basel Qatar – Idris Khan: Time Present, Time Past

‘The question… is how far can I push this surface, exploring different methods into the way a painting can try to capture the past and the present.’

– Idris Khan

In these new works, each panel is carefully inscribed with layers of musical notation or Arabic text, applied by hand using gold leaf. These inscriptions, often poetic or meditative, are overlaid repeatedly until only their edges remain legible. In this process, language folds in on itself and meaning dissolves into form. The use of gold leaf carries particular historical and symbolic significance, directly referencing the Blue Qur’an, a medieval Islamic manuscript renowned for its indigo-dyed parchment and gold Kufic script. Khan draws on this tradition not only in terms of materials and colour palette but also its deeper metaphysical implications, where sacred geometry, colour and language converge in devotional art.

As in earlier works, these new panels reflect Khan’s interest in the layering of time and experience – what he describes as the ‘collapse of time into a single moment.’ The repeated inscriptions evoke acts of devotion, memory and ritual. The act of layering reflects thought, meditation and the passage of time, with each work serving as a visual prayer.

‘What’s important about this series is the idea of the golden ratio and colours that make sense for Doha: beautiful greens and blues, and of course the black may reference the Kaaba in Mecca.’ 

Collectively, the panels create an environment that is at once intimate and monumental. They evoke walls, thresholds, or portals – architectural in scale and yet deeply human in tone. This presentation encourages viewers to slow down, reflect and engage with a space where time feels suspended and meaning emerges not from isolated phrases but from accumulated impressions. The works blur the boundaries between abstraction and figuration, as well as between the personal and the universal, and between East and West. They offer a powerful expression of Khan’s dual heritage and his ongoing commitment to a universal visual language rooted in repetition, history and spiritual exploration.

‘I worked out a way of framing that almost looked as if you were going into a museum that had all these incredible historical artefacts… This weight, this beautiful quality, that’s the most important thing here.’

– Idris Khan

‘The hope for viewers is to feel like they’re transported in time, search for something in some way, look for a type of meaning, and then come back to the present.’

– Idris Khan