Industry News

Christie's Dubai: Modern and Contemporary Arab, Iranian, and Turkish Art

Date: October 24, 2012

Chrstie's Dubai's October sale will include works by Paul Guiragossian, Reza Derakshani, Ahmet Elhan and Chafic Abboud. The sale will take place on 23-24 October at the Emirates Towers Hotel in Dubai.

Among the higher value lots is Sensibility Green by Reza Derakshani (b. 1952), an acclaimed painter and a renowned musician from Iran. His work is estimated to sell for $70,000-90,000. From Lebanon masters, the sale will include works by Paul Guiragossian (1926-1993) and Camille Zakaria (b. 1962). From North Africa, is an important work by the Algerian, Abdallah Benanteur (b. 1931) entitled Le Carnaval Venitien, and from Morocco is a photographic work by Hassan Hajjaj (b. 1961) entitled Eyes on Me. Turkish artist Ahmet Elhan (b. 1959) will present a large polyptych Blue Room, his latest work, from 2011 and the last work for the series Places that he has been producing since 2007.

For more information about this two day event, click here.

The Mosaic Rooms: "Working From Life" a solo show and artist talk by Yamou

Date: October 20, 2012

Exhibition: September 28 - November 16
Artist Talk: October 20

The Mosaic Rooms is delighted to present Working From Life, an exhibition by one of the leading contemporary Moroccan artists Yamou (aka Abderrahim Yamou). This exhibition will feature new and recent paintings, previously unseen. Yamou is inspired by the natural world, by organic processes, continuity and change, the tensions and instabilities of boundaries and of spaces in between. Yet beneath the surface of these beautiful paintings, produced in both large and small scale, there is an underlying sense of disquiet.

Yamou’s latest work suggests the analogy between the cellular and the cosmic – the germination of a seed or the birth of a star – creating a process he terms ‘stellar germination’. The fluid yet refined backgrounds of these paintings act as backdrops to the interplay between different forces and energies – forming spaces similar to those revealed by both aerial views and microscopic inspection. In these paintings Yamou appears to capture a frozen moment, yet he also manages to suggest potential forms and spaces, which grow, move, evolve and mutate. These works also offer an original interpretation of the use of organic forms in traditional Islamic art and design, with Yamou creating more purely abstract and stylized renderings of vegetal forms.

Abderrahim Yamou was born in Casablanca in 1959. He left Morocco to study biology in France, before changing to sociology with a focus on researching contemporary Moroccan art. He gave up his studies to become a self-taught artist, working in both painting and sculpture. He has exhibited widely in group and solo shows throughout Europe and North Africa. He lives between Paris and Marrakech.

For more information, click here.

The Third Line Gallery, Doha: My Rock Stars: Volume 1

Date: October 18, 2012

The Third Line presents a new body of work by acclaimed photographer Hassan Hajjaj. My Rock Stars: Volume 1 pays homage to traditional African portraiture, while celebrating present-day pop stars, unsung artists and personal inspirations in Hajjaj’s life.

With the help of a pop up studio that he would erect on the streets of Morocco, London, Paris and Kuwait, Hassan Hajjaj’s series, now 13 years in the making, will be shown for the first time at The Third Line. The series is simultaneously a haut-couture street experiment and a revival of African photography from the 1960s and 70s. Hajjaj’s subjects range from musicians, fashion designers, dancers to singers, capoeira masters, and boxers; all of whom are immortalized in a fleeting moment in time, sealing their muse-like qualities forever.

Much like Hajjaj’s personal exploration, the photographic series, is an on-going examination of belonging in an increasingly globalized society where boundaries of cultural identity – most notably African, Arabic and Western – are constantly being pushed. Using traditional mats and fabrics as well as found objects that he sources in local markets of his hometown Marrakech, Hajjaj bridges the gap between past and present and various cultures, creating pieces that seamlessly merge folkloric elements into Western contemporary art.

To learn more, click here.

Mapping Migration: Putting Journeys in Context

Date: October 15, 2012

"In The Mapping Journey Project, a still and tightly captured video frame reveals a section of map, a marker, a speaker’s hand, and a voice. These elements conspire to share the migrant’s clandestine journey, offering speakers a unique opportunity to share their often-unheard story," writes ArteEast's artistic director Barrak Alzaid in an article featured on the World Policy Blog

ArteEast co-sponsors Fall-Spring Residency for Moroccan-French Artist Bouchra Khalili with The Vera List Center for Art and Politics at The New School.

Read more about Khalili's project and watch Alzaid's interview with Khalili here.

AB Gallery, Lucerne: Evidence a solo show by Wamidh Al-Ameri

Date: October 13, 2012

In the exhibition EVIDENCE the Iraqi Artist Wamidh Al Ameri reflects through a simple but insisted artistic strategy the stereotype Islam from the western but as well as from the Arabic-Islamic view.

The exhibition focuses particularly on the work series “To go Astray”, which consists of three parts. People unfamiliar with Arabic only experience in the work a labyrinth through which a path with a red pen was drawn. However, the work, shown in a golden frame, in a red book and in simple framed single-sheets, is actually an excerpt of the Koran from the sura Al Baqarah written with the computer scripture Al Kufi. On one hand Wamidh Al Ameri wants the viewer to find in a playful way his own path through the Koran’s astray“, but at the same time he takes the fear from the western viewer to get in touch with this meaningful text. By using the red line Al Ameri turns the eternal book in something final. The stereotype “Muslim“ or “Islam“ is broken down. Unable to differ from whom the path was drawn Muslims and Non-Muslims are united, which gives the work series a general and universal character.

Many works of the artist are related to the Iraqi history or politics, thus he understands his work as witness's statement or evidence. Al Ameri is always using a very pictorial and "evident" language to translate a complex massage, which finally became his artistic guiding principle.

To learn more, click here.

Abu Dhabi Film Festival

Date: October 11, 2012

Dates: Oct 11 -20, 2012

The Abu Dhabi Film Festival was established in 2007 with the aim of helping to create a vibrant film culture throughout the region. Presented each October, the event is committed to curating exceptional programs to engage and educate the local community, inspire filmmakers and nurture the growth of the regional film industry.

With its commitment to presenting works by Arab filmmakers in competition alongside those by major talents of world cinema, the Festival offers Abu Dhabi's diverse and enthusiastic audiences a means of engaging with their own and others' cultures through the art of cinema. As the same time, a strong focus on the bold new voices of Arab cinema connects with Abu Dhabi's role as a burgeoning cultural capital in the region and marks the Festival as a place for the world to discover and gauge the pulse of recent Arab filmmaking.

For more information and for a complete schedule, click here.

Al Riwaq Doha Exhibition Space: Mal Lawal Exhibition

Date: October 11, 2012

Mal Lawal means from the “old days” in Arabic. It is the first exhibition to celebrate the private collections that exist within Qatar. Highlighting the sentimental and emotional value of items handed down across generations, the exhibit will showcase both rare and precious objects alongside new pieces from three generations of Qatari artists.

The contemporary arts section will reveal artwork by local artists. It will allow young talents show their works alongside more well-known and established names. It will be an opportunity for visitors to see and interact with an array of visual treasures while promoting dialogue about the country’s development and its burgeoning art scene.

For more information, please click here.

Gallery Isabelle Van Den Eynde, Dubai: While Lies Beneath; a group show of emerging Iranian artists

Date: October 10, 2012

Dates: September 10 - October 10

The 2nd edition of 'What Lies Beneath' follows up on the development of the six emerging Iranian artists featured in the 1st edition in 2011. As a continuation, we will be exhibiting artists' latest works, and are pleased to welcome three new talents to the show. All of the artists, whose rich work ranges from light boxes to fine embroidery, sculptures, paintings, calighraphy, and film, ultimately create poetic expressions of their personal reflections and insights grounded in a wider collective reality.

For more information, click here.

AB Gallery, Zurich: Extended Space a show by Jos Van Der Beek and Hazem El Mestikawy

Date: October 9, 2012

Contrary to their heavy presence, Hazem El Mestikawy’s objects are of an surprising lightness. His trademark is a reduced color, objects made of paper and cardboard. Some are left in their decent color, others create a wild contrast by using loud colors such as the bright yellow that contrasts the texture of the paper. Although speaking of lavishness, waste and recycling the artistic language is quiet, structured, allowing the form to become the dominant expression of the object. The large- scale installation Alif Beh consists auf sixty pieces which are fixed onto wall and floor creating sculptured fields that are compiled of pieces that interact with each other by their negative- positive contrast. Hoping to be able to create a new whole one is left to the reality of the artwork that is not allowed to be touched.

In contrast to these sculptural pieces Jos van der Beek’s paintings are consequently held in white and grey colors, modulated in soft and light shades. His completely abstract approach that is based on the nuances of reduced colors is interrupted by intense colorful brush strokes; deep green, orange or yellow are appearing all of a sudden, unexpected: These highlights are essential to his paintings – creating a dynamic yet dreamy and quiet composition. Van der Beek’s paintings follow their own rules, their own omnipresent imagination.

For more information, please click here.

Shahnameh Festival Coming this Fall at UC, Irvine and Irvine Barclay Theater

Date: October 6, 2012

The Farhang Foundation is excited to announce that they will be hosting a day-long festival on the Shahnameh together with the Samuel Jordan Center for Persian Studies and Culture on UCI campus, followed by a live performance at the Irvine Barclay Theater on October 6, 2012. Please mark your calendars and stayed tuned for more details as they become available. In the meantime, for a list of confirmed speakers, please click here.

Nour Festival of Arts, London

Date: October 5, 2012

The Nour Festival of Arts today announces ambitious new plans to bring dazzling contemporary artistic talent from the Middle East and North Africa to London audiences during October-November 2012. For the first time the festival is to expand beyond Leighton House Museum to include a stellar cast of participating cultural organizations.

New festival partners include the Victoria & Albert Museum, the Science Museum, the Ismaili Centre, the Mosaic Rooms, the Muslim Cultural Heritage Centre and The Tabernacle. A significant new feature of Nour 2012 is the organizers’ call to cultural organizations, big and small, across Kensington and Chelsea to get involved with events that:

reflect and celebrate the arts and culture of contemporary Middle Eastern and North African regions
promote film, literature, music, visual arts, fashion, dance, cuisine
demonstrate artistic excellence and work that is thought-provoking and challenging.

To learn more about the festival and its highlights, please click here.

Beirut Art Center Fundraising Auction

Date: October 3, 2012

Beirut Art Center (BAC) is a non-profit space dedicated to contemporary art in Lebanon. The center opened its venue in January 2009 aiming to produce, present, and promote local and international contemporary artistic and cultural practice throughout the year in Beirut.

Over the past four years, BAC has established itself as a key cultural venue in Lebanon and the region. It has presented the first ever solo shows in Lebanon for established local, regional and international artists, and has supported emerging artists with an annual exhibition entitled Exposure.

BAC has also organized thematic exhibitions featuring works by artists that critically engaged with relevant topics. Recognizing the scarcity of contemporary art spaces in Beirut and the need to strengthen collaborative ties between existing cultural organizations, BAC has also offered its venue to guest curators and other artistic associations.

As a non-profit, Beirut Art Center relies on donations from individuals, private institutions, and sponsors as well as grants from foundations. In October, BAC is holding its second fundraising auction, the proceeds from which will allow us to secure part of the funds required for our operating costs and upcoming activities. The artworks included in the auction have been generously donated by artists who have exhibited at BAC. For more information and to see images of the auctioned work, click here.

Barjeel Foundation, UAE: 'Alienation' a group show

Date: September 28, 2012

Date: March 24 - September 28, 2012

Alienation, a state of being detached or estranged, can refer to how people are excluded or marginalized due to barriers in language, culture, religion, social disposition, sexuality or political views. That which is familiar to a mainstream of a society is valued while elements regarded as foreign or "alien" are treated with suspicion.

The consequences of these barriers take shape in various contexts, including ties between nations and ideological clashes between individuals. As authorities make decisions to draw borders and stipulate regulations and rights in the foreground, alienation seeps into the background and can be viewed in the individual stories of people affected by it.

Works in this exhibition highlight how alienation is manifested in scenarios as diverse as geopolitical relations and personal daily experiences. The works investigate the banalities of immigration processes, as well as ideas of national identity, urbanisation and the human condition.

For more information, click here.

National Geographic: All Roads Film Festival screening of Tomorrow We Will See

Date: September 28, 2012

Over the past several decades, conflict has erupted in Lebanon sporadically. Soraya Umewaka’s film portrays the working lives of ten artists whose creativity and passion help contribute to this cultural renaissance that is helping to change Lebanon, specifically the capital city of Beirut.

The artists’ mediums vary from architect to musician, choreographer to writer. Their artistic achievements showcase their rich cultural pride and progressive artworks to the rest of the world. This upbeat film is not only thought-provoking, but also incredibly engaging and inspiring. Many of the artists interviewed are survivors of war, while others emigrated during times of war and have since returned. Their vibrant personalities shine through, and the film admirably captures the spirit of these individuals impacting the changing landscape and flourishing artistic community of Lebanon. A discussion with director Soraya Umewaka Tomorrow We Will See will follow the screening.

Soraya Umewaka is of Japanese-Lebanese descent and was born in Tokyo. She graduated from Princeton University in 2006 with a degree in comparative politics. A Noh actress (traditional Japanese theater), she has performed at the National Noh Theatre since the age of three. Through a lifetime of Noh training, she has attuned her observations of the nuances, symbolism, and subtleties of expression found in the arts. Her cross-cultural documentaries often highlight human dignity against a backdrop of social and political challenges.

For more information, click here.

Alwan for the Arts, 3rdi NY, and Cinemarosa: Screening of "A few Days of Respite" by Amor Hakkar

Date: September 27, 2012

"A Few Days of Respite" (Amor Hakkar, Algeria, 2010, 80 min)

Co-presented with 3rdi NY and Cinemarosa

Inspired by an article in the French press, Algerian-born writer/director Amor Hakkar (who also plays Mohsen) explores the relationship of two men as it develops amid a repressive regime. After escaping Iran, where their relationship means a death sentence, Hassan and Mohsen make it all the way to France. While stopped over in a small town to await their train to Paris, Mohsen befriends the lonely, but warm, Yolande, who offers him employment, kindness, and the possibility of a peaceful life. Amor Hakkar directs and stars as the aging man torn between a security he has never known and his passionate connection to his younger lover. A minimalist film that nevertheless feels visually and emotionally full, without forced sentimentality or manufactured drama, A Few Days of Respite questions the nature of love and happiness and the sacrifices we may make to achieve either. In this film directed and written with precision and economy, Hakkar allows us to know these characters in a single line of dialogue, and feel their conflict within the power of a glance.

For more information, click here.

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ArteEast | Middle East + Art