Dr Suhail Malik

Suhail’s research is on the theme of invention in contemporary European philosophy and critical theory.

Staff details

Dr Suhail Malik

Position

Programme Co-Director MFA Fine Art, Reader in Critical Studies

Department

Art

Email

s.malik (@gold.ac.uk)

Recent research — accessible here and here — includes: 

Books

  • On the Necessity of Art's Exit From Contemporary Art (forthcoming)
  • ContraContemporary. Modernity's Unknown Future (Urbanomic, 2019)

Co-editor

  • The Flood of Rights - edited w/ Tom Keenan & Tirdad Zolghadr (CCS/Sternberg, 2017) 
  • The Time-Complex. Postcontemporary - edited w/ Armen Avanessian (DiS/Name, 2016)
  • "Art and Finance" Special Issue of Finance and Society 2:2 - edited w/ Gerald Nestler (2016) 
  • Genealogies of Speculation: Materialism and Subjectivity Since Structuralism - edited w/ Armen Avanessian (2015)
  • Realism Materialism Art - edited w/ Christoph Cox & Jenny Jaskey (CCS Bard/Sternberg, 2015). 

Essays and Articles

  • "Operationalising Real Abstraction: Art and the General Abstract Image" (w/ Diann Bauer and Natalia Zuluaga) in In the Mind But Not From There (2019)
  • "The Ruling Elite Have Feelings Too (At Least, They Did in 2011)" in OIE (2019)
  • "Propaganda Is Now Another Name for Communication Itself" (w/ Metahaven) in PSYOP (2018)
  • "ContraContemporary" in The Future of the New (2018)
  • "The Artist as Quarry" (w/ Tirdad Zolghadr) in The Artist As... (2018)
  • "Introduction: Art and Finance" (w/ Gerard Nestler) in Finance and Society 2:2 (2016)
  • "Plotting the Art Market: Interview with Clare McAndrew" (w/Gerard Nestler) in Finance and Society 2:2 (2016)
  • "When is Contemporary Art?" in Former West: Art and the Contemporary After 1989 (2016)
  • "The Speculative Time-Complex" (w/ Armen Avanessian) in The Time-Complex. Postcontemporary (2016)
  • "Materialist Reason and Its Languages. Part One: Absolute Reason, Absolute Deconstruction' in Genealogies of Speculation (2016)
  • "Introduction: Speculative Genealogies" (w/ Armen Avanessian) in Genealogies of Speculation (2016)
  • "Hegemonic Neomaterialism and Its LImitations" in Springerin (2016)
  • "Response to Questionnaire: On Matter and Materialisms" (w/ Christoph Cox) in October 155 (2016)
  • "The Ontology of Finance" in Collapse 8: Casino Real (2014)
  • "The Value of Everything" in Texte zur Kunst (2014)
  • "Ape Says No" in Red Hook Journal (2013)
  • "The Politics of Neutrality: Constructing a Global Civility" in The Human Snapshot (2013)
  • "Tainted Love: Art’s Ethos and Capitalization” (with Andrea Phillips) in Art and Its Commercial Markets (2012)
  • “The Wrong of Contemporary Art: Aesthetics and Political Indeterminacy” (with Andrea Phillips) in Reading Rancière (2011)
  • “Screw (Down) The Debt: Neoliberalism and the Politics of Austerity” in Mute (2010)
  • “You Are Here” for Manifesta 8 (2010)

Talks

  • "Contemporary Art -> Ex-Art: Retrotransfiguration of the Commonplace" at PNAC Portland and Rupert, Vilnius (2018)
  • "Systemic Constructions of an Unnarratable Future" at New Narratives 2: Thinking Economics Differently, Kunstgebäude Stuttgart (2018)
  • "Capitalising AntiGentrification" at Realty, Paul Klee Sommerakademie, Bern (2017)
  • "What Can Be Done With a White Cube?" at LIRCAIE, Lusanga, DRC (2017)
  • "What Must Art Become to Advance a Left Postneoliberalism? at Ashkal Alwan, Beirut (2017)
  • "PostCapitalism or PostNeoliberalism?" at Postcapitalist Art?, Bartlett School of Architecture, London (2017)
  • "PostGlobalisation or PostNeoliberalism? The Case of the ArtMarket" at ArtStage, Singapore (2017) 
  • "Financiality, Finance, and Futurity" at Capital as Power: Broadening the Vista, York University, Toronto (2016)
  • "Formal and Informal Institutionalism: Contemporary Art Again and Again" at Making Use, Museum of Modern Art, Warsaw (2016)
  • "How is Contemporary Art Contemporary?" at KRW Düsseldorf (2016)
  • "51.9810940, 5.9051470" at DAI (2016)
  • "Who's Afraid Of/In the Art Market?" at Sandberg Institute (2016) and ICA Miami (2015)
  • "Art Has To Be a State Actor" at Mystery–Ministry. The Aesthetic Sphere and the Discourse of Professionalism, UTD, Buenos Aires (2015)
  • “Why Art? The Primacy of Audience” at Global Art Forum, Dubai (2011)

 

 

Publications and research outputs

Book

Malik, Suhail. 2002. Towards a Socio-Psychologistical Theory of Fatiscism. White Cube. ISBN 0954236335

Book Section

Bauer, Diann; Malik, Suhail and Zuluaga, Natalia. 2019. Operationalizing Real Abstraction: Art and the General Abstract Image. In: Gean Moreno, ed. In the Mind But Not From There: Real Abstraction and Contemporary Art. New York: Verso. ISBN 9781788730693

Malik, Suhail; Kruk, Vinca and van der Velden, Daniel. 2018. Propaganda Is Now Another Name for Communication Itself: Conversation with Metahaven and Suhail Malik. In: Karen Archey and Gwen Parry, eds. PSYOP. Amsterdam: Stedelijk Musem. ISBN 9783960983620

Malik, Suhail. 2018. ContraContemporary. In: Thijs Lijster, ed. The Future of the New: Artistic Innovation in Times of Social Acceleration. Amsterdam: Valiz, pp. 247-278. ISBN 9789492095589

Article

Malik, Suhail. 2019. Capitalising Antigentrification. Realty,

Malik, Suhail and Cox, Christoph. 2016. A Questionnaire on Materialisms. October, 115, pp. 26-28. ISSN 0162-2870

Malik, Suhail. 2016. Dispossed and Watered-Down. Hegemonic Neomaterialism and its Limitations. Springerin: Hefte für Gegennwartskunst, 22(1), pp. 48-50. ISSN 1029-1830

Show/Exhibition

Malik, Suhail. 2004. Gewalt. In: "Gewalt", Loushy Art and Editions, 2/19/2004 - 3/19/2004.

Conference or Workshop Item

Reckitt, Helena; Malik, Suhail; Yuile, Laura; Kulendran Thomas, Christopher; Kulesh, Leslie; Cameron, Angus; Pil & Galia, Kollectiv; DKUK, DKUK; Pollard, Alexander James and Luke, Kristin. 2015. 'Capitalist Artist Scum #1 and #2'. In: FORUM: Capitalist Artist Scum. Open School East, London, United Kingdom 24 September 2015-11 November 2015.

Malik, Suhail; Phillips, Andrea and Beech, Amanda. 2007. 'Resistance or invention? Art and global capital assemblage'. In: Local operations. Sackler Centre of Arts Education at the Serpentine Gallery, London, United Kingdom 23 May - 1 July 2007.

Malik, Suhail; Beech, Amanda; Esche, Charles; Phillips, Andrea; Poole, Matthew and Sassen, Saskia. 2007. 'Discussion panel for Pilot:3'. In: Venice Biennale. Monastery of St Damien and St Cosimo, Venice, Italy Summer 2007.

Edited Book

Keenan, Thomas; Malik, Suhail and Zolghadr, Tirdad, eds. 2017. The Flood of Rights. Berlin / Annandale on Hudson, New York: Sternberg Press / Center for Curatorial Studies Bard College. ISBN 978-3-95679-140-6

Malik, Suhail and Avanessian, Armen, eds. 2016. Genealogies of speculation : materialism and subjectivity since structuralism. London and New York: Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 9781472591678

Avanessian, Armen and Malik, Suhail, eds. 2016. The Time Complex: Post-Contemporary. Miami, Florida: [NAME]. ISBN 9780984056606

Edited Journal

Malik, Suhail and Nestler, Gerald, eds. 2016. Finance and Society, Finance and Society, 2(2). 2059-5999

Bowman, Jason; Malik, Suhail and Phillips, Andrea, eds. 2015. PARSE Journal Issue # 2 The Value of Contemporary Art, PARSE Journal Issue # 2 The Value of Contemporary Art, 2. 2002-0511

Research Interests

Contemporary Art, Modern Art, the political economy of critical art, sovereignty and domination, critiques of liberal democracy, finance capital.
My initial research was on the theme of the invention in contemporary European philosophy and critical theory. This line of inquiry led to an examination of new media and digitisation which in turn generated three strands of research: first, an examination of technics in relation to human experience and thought; second, examination of particular artpractices in a variety of media; third, consideration of the conditions of critique and violence in contemporary democratic societies. This latter dimension has recently become the focus my research interests and I am currently working on a book examining the challenge to received notion of critique presented by contemporary manifestations of dominating power, primarily that of the US.