Exhibit | Square Kufic Calligraphic designs

Join us for our opening night, featuring the Kufic designs of architect and designer Nicholas Stone and an illustrated presentation.

The exhibition will feature 25 pieces in mosaic tile and 16 painted panels. Each will be accompanied by the Arabic inscription in conventional text, an English translation, and diagrams helping to decipher the Kufic script, which is not always easy for the untrained eye to read. All pieces feature short passages selected from the Qur'an and Hadith sources, which encapsulate an essential spiritual message. This will be the first time Nicholas shares his designs with the public.

Fridays, January 31 - March 31, 2PM - 5PM

Nicholas Stone

Having studied architecture in his native England, Nicholas Stone worked for Egyptian architect, Abdel Wahed El-Wakil, foremost pioneer of a revival of traditional Islamic architecture, on projects including the Qiblatain Mosque and Miqat Mosque in Madinah. Thereafter he joined SL Rasch in Germany, working on domes for the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah and for projects in Malaysia; he later established a design company in Kuala Lumpur in partnership with his wife, Nazanin Sheikhi, dedicated to working with traditional architecture.

Embracing Islam in his early twenties, Nicholas developed a love for Islamic art and learned that the two foremost arts in Islam were calligraphy and architecture. His love for Islamic calligraphy led him to experiment with Square Kufic art as this was something he felt he could dare to attempt without a traditional calligraphic training, since it essentially involves forming the letters on a square grid and getting them to interlock in a way that perfectly fills the space.

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Location: 5659 S Woodlawn Avenue (Private Residence)