Mandy El-Sayegh: The Amateur

Mandy El-Sayegh’s highly process-driven practice is rooted in an exploration of material and language. Executed in a wide range of media, including densely layered paintings, sculpture, installation, diagrams, and sound and video, El-Sayegh’s work investigates the formation and break-down of systems of order, be they bodily, linguistic, or political. Through simple, repetitive patterns such as a hand-painted grid or geometric molds, formal and narrative synthesis occurs that is not consciously intended or anticipated. Solo and two-person exhibitions of El-Sayegh’s work have been organized at Lehmann Maupin, Seoul, South Korea (2022), UTA Artist Space, Los Angeles, CA (2022), and elsewhere, and is held in many private and public collections.

Chloe Stagaman is a Brooklyn-based curator. She is Director of Programs at the Brooklyn Rail, where she works on the journal’s weekday conversation series The New Social Environment.