ARTIST Zarah Hussian’s The Beauty of Abstraction exhibition will soon be on display in the art gallery at Touchstones Rochdale, promising a new and exciting body of work which brings a contemporary slant to the traditional Islamic art of geometry.

The Beauty of Abstraction features eleven large-scale paintings where Hussain has experimented with both an increased size in her work and the use of bolder, more contemporary colours. In addition Hussain has developed an animated installation providing a new way of experiencing geometry, reminiscent of kaleidoscopes, where the pattern unfolds out and back again into itself.

Hussain is an MA graduate of the Visual Islamic and Traditional Arts programme at the Prince’s School of Traditional Arts in London, where she was instructed in the traditional techniques found in sacred Islamic art. The three principle elements are: calligraphy, arabesque and geometry, the latter of which Hussain has focused on. A practicing Muslim, she has studied the history of Islamic artistic expression as well as its religious and spiritual symbolism.

The practice and execution of geometry, through zilij tile work or wood inlay and metalwork can be found all over the Muslim world from the Alhambra in Spain to the Taj Mahal in India.

Hussain’s contemporary take on geometry conveys an inherent sense of balance and harmony. In these works the minute becomes infinite and the individual is connected to the whole - a central message in Islamic spirituality.

The Beauty of Abstraction is a touring exhibition organised by Bradford Museums, Galleries and Heritage, UK.

The exhibition at Touchstones Rochdale runs from 6 December 2008 – 1 March 2009 and admission is free.

Touchstones Rochdale is managed by the Link4Life Cultural Trust and is located on The Esplanade, Rochdale, OL16 1AQ.  It's open Monday to Saturday 10am- 5pm, Sundays and Bank Holidays 12noon-4.30pm. For further information call 01706 924492 or visit www.link4life.org/touchstones