Samdani Collection

Samdani Collection, Dhaka from collectorspace on Vimeo.

For Ceal Floyer’s ‘Til I Get It Right (2005), an audio system is installed in an otherwise empty room so that the sound is heard evenly throughout the space. The words “falling in love” have been edited out of country music singer Tammy Wynette’s famous song, rendering it a simple, looped repetition of “I’ll just keep on . . . ’til I get it right”. In its new form, the song evokes a search for perfection in the creative process, and suggests a self-reflexive turn as it questions its own presentation and meaning. With its ironic and unassuming quality, the piece is exemplary of the tropes Floyer uses in her works, such as repetition, humor, word plays, and the displacement of everyday objects and sounds.

collectorspace presents ‘Til I Get It Right from the collection of the Samdani Art Foundation based in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Initiated by the collector couple Nadia and Rajeeb Samdani, and managed by curator Diana Campbell Betancourt, the collection has a focus on contemporary artistic production in South Asia. The Foundation aims to create intergenerational and interregional dialogues by juxtaposing contemporary production of local artists with their modern predecessors as well as with works of international artists with ties to the region. By presenting the collection from the Samdani Art Foundation with its multi-dimensional programs promoting art production and appreciation, collectorspace aims to bring to attention the effort behind a mission-driven private initiative that serves as a support structure for an entire region.

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Ceal Floyer (b. Karachi) lives and works in Berlin. Recent solo exhibitions include Kunsthalle Bonn (2015), Museion, Bozen (2014), the Kölnischer Kunstverein (2013), Kunst-Werke, Berlin (2009) and Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2009). Among other exhibitions, her sound installation ‘Til I Get It Right was also included in Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev’s dOCUMENTA (13) in Kassel, Germany. Floyer’s work is part of public collections, including Tate Modern, London; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, California, CA; Museum fur Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt; FRAC Lorraine, Metz; Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY; and Jumex Collection, Mexico City. Floyer is represented by Lisson Gallery in London, 303 Gallery in New York, and Esther Schipper in Berlin.

The Dhaka-based Samdani Collection is part of the Samdani Art Foundation, a private foundation that aims to increase artistic engagement between Bangladesh and the rest of the world. Founded in 2011, the Foundation provides exhibition, residency, and education programs, offers production grants, and organizes the Dhaka Art Summit, the bi-annual nonprofit platform for art from the region. In 2018, the Foundation will open the first phase of a public Art Center in Sylhet, Bangladesh.