The Institut Giacometti presents an original exhibition featuring the work of Pakistani-American artist Huma Bhabha (b. 1962, Karachi, Pakistan; lives and works in Poughkeepsie, New York) in dialogue with the oeuvre of Alberto Giacometti (1901–1966).
Designed specifically for the Institut, the exhibition brings together new works created by Bhabha alongside major pieces from her career, including standing figures, sculpted heads, fragmented body forms, drawings, and photographs. These works engage, often with dark humor, with iconic sculptures by Giacometti such as Walking Man, The Leg, and Women of Venice.
Following their first pairing at the Barbican Centre in 2025, the exhibition highlights the shared concerns of both artists. Bhabha, who identifies as an expressionist, creates assemblages in clay, cork, and bronze that explore the human figure as both fragile and resilient. Drawing inspiration from diverse cultures, historical periods, and cinema, the exhibition offers new, unsettling visions of humanity, infused with a caustic, black humor echoed in its poetic title, an extract from a quatrain by the Persian poet Omar Khayyam (1048–1131).
