22–23 MARCH 2013 I ISSUE 4 I ART DUBAI EDITION

Continued on page 3 >

AYYAM GALLERY (A45), which re-hung their booth, sold New Guernica by Oussama Diab for between $50,000–60,000 and Memories of War and Hope by Nadim Karam for between $55,000–65,000 to undisclosed buyers. New York-based Lombard-Freid Projects (J16) sold an oil on linen by Tala Madani for $60,000 to a regional collector.

London-based Pillar Corias (J29) had a busy booth, selling works by Shahzia Sikander and Tala Madani that were not on display. Bangalore-based Tasveer (J28) had another good day, selling four small pieces and one large work at their solo booth of photographs by Karen Knorr; prices range from $8000–14,500.

Adelaide and Berlin-based GAGprojects Director Paul Greenway was extremely pleased with the interest in the works at the booth. The gallery had sold Intrigues of Long Duration No 1 by Ariel Hassan for $50,000 to a Middle Eastern buyer new to the gallery.

London-based Grosvenor Vadhera (J22) had sold a mixed media on canvas work by

SOLD

FADI YAZIGI, LIKE many other Syrians in the country, hasn’t slept well for months, courtesy the rattling gunfire and deafening explosions. On 17 March, he went through eight checkpoints during the four-

hour drive from Damascus to Beirut, from where he flew to Dubai to attend the fair. Yazigi, one of a handful of Syrian artists who choose to remain in the country despite the ongoing violence, is adamant about staying put. “Someone’s got to stay,” he asserts. “Someone’s got to create art, make music

Ali Cherri. (Detail) Le Pyromane. 2011. Burnt matches. 185 x 40 cm. Image courtesy Galerie Janine Rubeiz, Beirut. Continued on page 4 >

Sales at the fair's second public day saw more mid-range works snapped up.

SYRIA: JASMINES AND FLAMESSyrian artists continue to create work inspired by the ongoing conflict in their homeland.

Fadi Yazigi. Fork. 25 x 3 x 5 cm. Knife. 25 x 5 x 6 cm. Spoon. 25 x 5 x 3 cm. 2012. Bronze. Editions of 12. Images courtesy the artist and Atassi Gallery, Damascus.

22–23 MAR 2013 I CANVAS DAILY I ISSUE 4 I ART DUBAI EDITION03

Continued from page 1 >

Sharazad Ghaffari for $6000 to a Dubai-based collector new to the gallery. Dubai-based Grey Noise (A5) sold a work on paper by John Jones Work on Paper Award 2013 winner Fahd Burki to a European private collection. The gallery also sold Snow White and Grey Sand by Pakistani artist Ehsan Ul-Haq for $3000 to an Australian collector.

Atassi Gallery (J20) sold works to collectors from the Middle East familiar to the gallery – an ink and acyrlic piece on paper by Ali Mukawwas for $15,000 and a work on paper by Fadi Yazigi for $8000. Berlin-based Campagne Premiere (A13) sold two editions of Mecca by Fayçal Baghriche for between $10,000–15,000 and a sculpture by the same artist for between $20,000–25,000 to a different Dubai-based collector.

Brussels-based Rodolphe Janssen (A15) sold Baked Stereo by Farhad Moshiri for $35,000 to a Gulf-based collector. The gallery also sold a diptych by Walead Beshty for $45,000 to a young Saudi collector. Beirut-based Agial Art Gallery (A9) sold a work on paper by Salem Al-Dabbagh to an American collector for an undisclosed price. Istanbul-based Galerist (J10) sold two works on paper by Haluk Akakçe for $11,000 each as well as a work by Rasim Aksan for $3300.

London-based Bischoff/Weiss (A10) sold a sculpture by Rana Begum to an undisclosed collector for $8,800. Dubai-based Lawrie-Shabibi sold three works by Nadia Kaabi-Linke to a Turkish institution for between $10,000–20,000 as well as a work by Adel Abidin not available at the booth for $20,000.

New Delhi-based Exhibit 320 (A33) sold an untitled piece by Sachin George Sebastian for $8000. Dubai-based Etemad Gallery

(A34) sold Cube, a video work by by Morteza Ahmadvand for $5000 to an undisclosed buyer. Jakarta-based Edwin’s Gallery (A36) sold a piece by Yi Hwan Know for an undisclosed price to a regional collector. London-based Paradise Row (J4) sold Shezad Dawood’s Cut Out for $27,000 as well as several small textile works, also by Dawood, for $6300 each.

Paris-based Galerie Imane Farès (A38) sold five works by Moroccan artist Younes Rahmoun for a combined total of $15,500. New York-based Leila Heller Gallery (39) saw brisk sales; the gallery sold Gate of Narcissus: Motherboard Gold by Rachel Hovnanian to a local collector for $74,000 and two works by Iranian artist Farideh Lashai – Based on Francisco Goya, The Disasters of War and Catching

the Moon for $61,000 and $33,000 respectively along with two works by Hadieh Shafie for between $18,000–26,000.

Dubai-based The Third Line (A40) sold Number 357 by Rana Begum and a Decagram by Hayv Kahraman for undisclosed prices to collectors from the region. Beijing-based Platform China (A41) sold Shi Jinsong’s Inner Garden for $10,000 to a collector from Abu Dhabi. Pace Gallery (J14) sold Maya Lin’s Red Sea to a regional collector for an undisclosed amount.

Galerie Krinzinger (J1) sold Ahmed Mater’s Evolution of Man for $8000 to a local collector. Galerie Janine Rubeiz (J9) sold a work made of burnt matches by Ali Cherri for $4500 to a local collector. Istanbul-based Galeri Non (J15) sold Extrastruggle’s Rind and Zahid and Key To The Soul That Has Been Locked By The Mind for undisclosed prices to a Turkish collector.

TODAY (22 MARCH)14:00–15:00

14:00–14:15

14:15–14:45

14:30–15:30

14:45–15:30

15:30–15:45

15:45–16:00

16:00–17:00

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16:00–17:00

17:00–17:30

17:00–18:00

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17:30–18:00

17:30–18:30

18:00–18:30

Workshop: Sheikha Manal Little Artists Shadow Puppet Workshop (Ages 5–10). Repeated at 15:30–16:30

Global Art Forum_7: Frant: Frankenethics. By e-flux editor Brian Kuan Wood.

Global Art Forum_7: Presentation: Autobiography. Tristan Bera and Dominique Gonzalez–Foerster.

Tour: Sheikha Manal Little Artists Discovery Tour (Ages 10–14)

Global Art Forum_7: Discussion: Place (Lagos). Co-hosted by Bisi Silva and HG Masters, with Emeka Ogboh and Tolu Ogunlesi.

Global Art Forum_7: Polemics: Freezone. Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, Manal Al-Dowayan and Parag Khanna.

Global Art Forum_7: Frant: National Art. Reem Fadda.

Global Art Forum_7: Discussion: Freezone. Hosted by Turi Munthe with Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, Manal Al-Dowayan and Parag Khanna.

Tour: Art Dubai Projects*Meet curators and artists participating in a dynamic programme of new commissions, performances, radio and other projects featuring over 40 artists from across the Middle East, Asia and Africa.

Discovery Tour (Ages 5–10)

Tour: Marker*Join Bisi Silva on a tour of the curated section of concept stands which focus on West Africa.

Workshop: Sheikha Manal Little ArtistsShadow Puppet Workshop (Ages 5–10). Repeated at 18:30–19:30

Tour: Sculpture on the BeachVisit the sculpture park on the Mina A'Salam Beach to see works selected by guest curator Chus Martinez.

Book Launch: If I Forget You, Don't Forget Me.Manal Al-Dowayan. Arena Foyer

Discovery Tour (Ages 10–14).

Tour: The Abraaj Group Art PrizeCurator-led tour of extra | ordinary

For more information visit www.artdubai.ae

Proceeds from ticket, catalogue and bag sales at Art Dubai will be donated to the

World Food Programme operations to assist families in need through the Arab world, particularly those affected by the

conflict in Syria. Follow us on Twitter @CanvasTweet Like us on Facebook www.facebook.com/CanvasMagazine

Follow us on Pintrest canvasmag Follow us on Instagram @CanvasTweet

THE POWER50

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IN THE CANVAS MARCH/APRIL ISSUEFive neon colours celebrate our second annual Power 50 edition, which presents the movers and shakers who galvanise the regional art scene. In tribute to the late Farideh Lashai, each cover features a rabbit from her Catching the Moon artist book.

Gallery feature on Nathalie Obadia's three spaces and

eclectic roster.

Inside Iranian artist Reza

Derakshani’s Dubai studio.

Tunisian-born Nadia Kaabi-

Linke's conceptual practices.

Palestinian artist Shadi Habib

Allah's exploration of new media.

Lebanese-born Abraaj Group Art Prize 2013 winner Rayyane Tabet.

Exclusive preview of Youssef Nabil's

Mediterranean Women.

SOLD (CONT.)

Farhad Moshiri. Baked Stereo. 2007. Glitter and gold leaf on melted stereo. 70 x 50 x 60 cm. Image courtesy Rodolphe Janssen, Brussels.

Shezad Dawood. (Detail) Cut Out. 2012. Acrylic on vintage textile. 195 x 125 cm. © Shezad Dawood. Image courtesy Paradise Row, London; Tala Madani. (Detail) Dirty Starts. 2008. Oil on linen. 195 x 195 cm. Image courtesy the artist and Lombard Freid Projects, New York.

*Book a place on the tour at any of the information desks.

All Global Art Forum_7 sessions are held at Fort Island.

SUBSCRIBE TO CANVAS NOW!VIEW OUR EXCLUSIVE

SUBSCRIPTION PROMOTION

ON PAGE 21

04 22–23 MAR 2013 I CANVAS DAILY I ISSUE 4 I ART DUBAI EDITION

MADE IN THE UAEThe dXb Store returns to Art Dubai this year, showcasing limited edition items all designed and made in the UAE.

Mosaic Ring by Amal Haliq.

Metroplex Tray by WTD Magazine.

Abjad Hawaz Fanan Book by Nasir Nasrallah.

Teth Stool by Nayla Romanos Iliya.

375 AED/$103

1260 AED/$345

20 AED/$5

7000 AED/$1,917

Continued from page 1 >

SYRIA (CONT.)

and write poetry.” Despite the many challenges, art remains his saving grace, and Yazigi’s days are characterised by a routine: a few hours at his studio and a bulk of time watching the news with his family. The latter part of his daily schedule is what inspired his Fork, Knife and Spoon bronze works, which he created at the (currently) only operating foundry in Damascus. “We eat while we watch the news,” he explains. “The scenes are revolting and the cutlery we use almost seems to morph and mutate and make you choke, hence the thorns, leaves and skulls in my pieces.” It takes more time, says Yazigi, to create work, and where once his sculptures and paintings featured brighter colours and happier tones, recent pieces are dark and sombre.

The father of two shows a number of works in various media through Damascus-based Atassi Gallery (J20), one of two spaces from the Syrian capital participating at Art Dubai. Atassi, like its counterpart Ayyam (A45), has halted activity given the escalating hostilities. “The decision to stop wasn’t mine,” says Mona Atassi of her eponymous space. “It’s impossible to stage exhibitions. There’s no work. There’s war. As a matter of fact, I don’t know if this is a war or a revolution.” Atassi, a stalwart of the Modern and Contemporary Syrian art scene, relocated to Dubai last October. Once more, the decision wasn’t hers. While visiting family members in the emirate, followed by her gallery’s regular participation at Abu Dhabi Art, the news from home confirmed that a return was impossible. Atassi, like the Samawi family who operate Ayyam’s branches in Dubai, London and Jeddah, had foreseen the destruction, though none imagined such a rapid downhill spiral. At the strife’s onset, both dealers began slowly shipping their inventories out of Syria, but when Emirates Airline halted flights to Damascus, they struggled. “I was terrified,” says Atassi. “Forget the monetary value of these works, it’s the intellectual and emotive aspect – I have lived there for decades and this collection of Modern and Contemporary pieces that I shipped out was the history of Syria, a historical narrative of the country.”

The Samawis emptied out their warehouse at the start of the clashes, but were preoccupied with the safe passage of their artists. “Not many wanted to leave in the beginning,” says Jouhayna Samawi. One of the gallery’s star artists, Safwan Dahoul, relocated to Dubai seven months ago, while Mouteea Murad and Mohannad Orabi moved to Cairo. Ammar Al-Beik and Tammam Azzam now live in Dubai, where the latter produced an image of a bullet-riddled building in Syria superimposed with Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss. The work went viral, attracting thousands of online views and has been sold to a Saudi collector for $20,000. Azzam intends on producing a limited edition of the image. Works at Ayyam’s booth are, says Samawi, “not obviously inspired by conflict, but looking a little closer, one can see that the theme laces the pieces.”

The gallery’s Oussama Diab, Kais Salman and Abdul Karim Majdal Al-Beik have moved to Beirut, much like many Syrians; it has been reported that a million people have sought shelter in Lebanon. Naturally, many artists are seeking representation and have been

exhibiting their works at two new spaces in the Lebanese capital, Art on 56th and Art Lab. They have also approached Agial Art Gallery, who presents works by Nazir Ismail and Basil Saadi at its booth. “I get dozens of emails on a daily basis, not to mention the number of walk-ins,” says the gallery’s Saleh Barakat. Among the numerous cultural side-effects to the Syrian crisis is the nature of the work produced by the country’s Contemporary artists, but also, the potential increase of Modern pieces coming into the market. “People generally rush to see what conflict will do to Contemporary art,” says Barakat. “I’d rather wait and see how artists will interpret this at a later stage.” He has been offered Modern pieces and has heard rumours of robberies too. “Paintings are being drip-fed into Beirut,” says Barakat, a point raised by Samawi, who believes that more Modern pieces will surface in the market. “Why do you buy art?” she asks. “For a rainy day.”

"Forget the monetary value of these works,

it’s the intellectual and emotive

aspect – I have lived there for decades and

this collection of Modern and Contemporary

pieces that I shipped out was

the history of Syria, a historical

narrative of the country."

Above: Tammam Azzam. (Detail) Syrian Museum – Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss (Freedom Graffiti). 2013. Digital print and mixed media on canvas. 140 x 140 cm. Image courtesy Ayyam Gallery. Left: Nazir Ismail. Landscapes. 1986. Mixed media on carton. Each 9 x 20 cm. Images courtesy Agial Art Gallery, Beirut.

06 22–23 MAR 2013 I CANVAS DAILY I ISSUE 4 I ART DUBAI EDITION

AN ODE TO THOMAS EDISON

Canvas Daily gathers artworks on the theme of light showing at the fair.

Influenced by Modernist design and minimalism, Chilean-born New York-based artist Ivan Navarro sabotages everyday objects into neon sculptures with an underlying message exploring socio-political issues. Plunder, from his Heaven and Las Vegas series, is inspired by skyscrapers and architectural floor plans. With a self-explanatory title, Plunder is a commentary on globalisation, industrialisation and how humans do not have a united front, but are rather spoiled, looted and robbed of their kindness, empathy and honesty.

Exploring a realm between figuration and abstraction, the German-born artist’s works express narrative and sensual

imagery full of vibrant colours and forms. Charlotte Mumm's work, Hello, I’m Nobody and Who are You? is a multimedia installation composed of neon lighting, drawings and paper

as well as wall drawings which immerses the viewer into a primitive childlike space. The question ‘who are you?’ is a

bold and strong one, which forces the viewer to self reflect on its power and brute honesty.

3

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1. Ivan Navarro. Plunder. 2011. Neon, wood and mirror. 249 x 103 x 17.8 cm. Edition one of three plus one artist’s proof. Photography by Thelma Garcia. Image courtesy Galerie Daniel Templon, Paris (A44). 2. Zoulikha Bouabdellah. Any Resemblance to Actual Persons, Living or Dead, is Purely Coincidental. 2012. Powder coating paint on aluminium light box. 148 x 120 x 14 cm. Image courtesy Gallery Isabelle Van Den Eynde, Dubai (J3). 3. Fayçal Baghriche. La Ifham. 2006. Neon tube. 20 x 50 cm. Edition of three of five plus two artist’s proofs. Image courtesy Galerie Campagne Première, Paris (A13). 4. Haegue Yang. Manteuffelstrasse 112 – Single and Solid (bedroom radiator – left). 2010. Aluminium Venetian blinds, powder-coated steel frame, perforated metal plates, light bulbs and cable. 45 x 98 x 16 cm. Edition one of five plus two artist’s proofs. Image courtesy Galerie Chantal Crousel, Paris (A27). 5. Charlotte Mumm. Hello, I’m Nobody and Who are You? 2011. Neon lights, drawings on paper, two Leporello folds and wall drawings. Variable dimensions. Image courtesy Galerie Tanit, Beirut/Munich (A23).

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Expanding her practice of appliance sculpture, which she created with works such as 5, Rue Saint Benoit, Doubles and Couples–Version Turin and Version Berlin, Haegue Yang based Maunteffelstrasse on the heater in her home in Berlin. The Korean artist’s work addresses and interprets the domestic environment as a physical and psychological field where the private and public interact. Yang’s abstraction of domesticated devices represents the point where the two spaces converge and at the same time, imbues a warmth to the appliance that leaves only a slight trace of the traditional functionality of the heater.

Drawing on fundamental principles of image rhetoric, Fayçal Baghriche’s

artworks usually question the schema that organises human

societies. La Ifham – a neon sign written in Arabic meaning ‘I Do

Not Understand’ proves to be quite an anarchic and playful sign as the

Algerian-born and Paris-based artist does not speak Arabic and neither

did the people who created this neon piece in China. Baghriche

cleverly turns the Arabic language, specifically the words La Ifham, into an abstracted form stripped of any

historical reference or meaning.

Always looking to free the individual from political, social and moral restraints, Zoulikha Bouabdellah references cross-cultural issues and tensions in her work, which in turn reflects her tumultuous upbringing. Born in Moscow to Algerian parents, Bouabdellah’s disclaimer – presented as a Broadway billboard sign – is a commentary on the border between reality and fiction as well as private and public existence and space. The original disclaimer was created as a result of a lawsuit filed by Russian Princess Irina Yusupov against the 1930s movie Rasputin and the Empress. The film, based on Yusupov’s life, was inaccurate, and as a result, she sued for invasion of privacy and defamation. Bouabdellah’s work fuses reality and illusion and provokes the viewer to question issues of truth and falsity.

2

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08 22–23 MAR 2013 I CANVAS DAILY I ISSUE 4 I ART DUBAI EDITION

Shafic Abboud. (Detail) The Book

of Sands. 1973. Tempera and sand

on carton. 20 x 30 cm each. Image

courtesy Agial Art Gallery, Beirut.

Price: $150,000

Lebanese Modernist Shafic Abboud studied in the ateliers of artists such as Jean Metzinger and Fernand Léger and was deeply inspired by literature and abstraction. The Book of Sands is a never-before seen installation comprised of 16 mixed media works on carton.

Mona Hatoum. Baluchi (orange and brown). 2012. Wool. 112 x 190 cm. Image

courtesy Galerie Chantal Crousel, Paris.

Price: $154,820

Galerie Chantal Crousel’s Lucille Fay says Palestinian artist Mona Hatoum’s work is a depiction of distribution of land mass in its true proportions, as opposed to the more common maps drawn from a Western-centric perspective. "The ground appears to have been eroded, leaving a negative space in the form of the Peters Projection world map," she says.

PRICE POINTArt Dubai's seventh edition offers art collectors a wide spectrum of both artworks and price brackets.

Anselm Reyle. Untitled. 2011.

Mixed media on canvas and

acrylic glass. 71 x 60 x 15 cm.

Image courtesy Almine Rech

Gallery, Brussels/Paris.

Price: $53,000

"Compared to other works by Anselm, this piece is particular because it’s small, it’s like a jewel," says the gallery’s Amelie Reisinger. Part canvas

and part foil, the neon pink piece has been drawing a great deal of interest at the fair. "People from all around the world have been taking pictures and asking for details," adds Reisinger. "Anselm’s foil paintings are very recognisable and this piece's size makes it all the more precious."

OVER $50,000$5000–25,000

Alessandro Balteo Yazbeck in collaboration with Media Farzin. Chronoscope, 1951,

11pm [Stelae]. 2009–11. 12 C-prints on Diasec mounting with aluminium frames.

91 x 320 cm. Edition of five plus two artist’s proofs. Image courtesy Green Art

Gallery, Dubai.

Price: $14,000

Chronoscope won the Moving Image Award last year at London’s Moving Image Art Fair and was acquired by Tate Modern. "This specific series deals with infotainment during the 1950s in the USA, specifically of chat shows that would invite panels of experts to come in and offer their opinions on current affairs," explains the gallery’s Aquamarina Adonopoulou.

LESS THAN $5000

Olaf Breuning. (Detail) Black and White Pattern. 2013. C-print. 120 x 150 cm.

Image courtesy Carbon 12, Dubai.

Price: $18,000

This new work by Swiss-born Olaf Breuning, says the gallery's Nadine Knotzer,"features five men in sentai suits lying on top of each other on the same pattern as their suits." The incredible optical effect that this image brings on recalls the work of Victor Vasarely. Breuning, a recognised photographer who specialises in installation-based photography, stages a solo show at the gallery's space in Alserkal Avenue.

Karen Knorr. (Detail) The Survivors. 2012. Pigment print. 122 x 152 cm. Image

courtesy Tasveer, Bangalore.

Price: $19,000

"Karen has been granted access to rooms and palaces in India that normally aren’t open to tourists," explains the gallery’s Abishek Poddar, who says that the process behind these images is a complicated one. "This work is actually a progression of her earlier series called Fables, where she inserted animals, both taxidermied and superimposed. With digital technology, she’s actually been able to make more ambitious work."

UBIK. Rant #7. 2012. Laser-engraved wood and white lacquer. 50 x 35 cm.

Edition of three. Image courtesy Sabrina Amrani Gallery, Madrid.

Price: $3000

Part of Dubai-based Indian-born UBIK’s Rant series is one of the artist’s laser-engraved Conceptual works. "They are thoughts of the artist that he treats with humour," says the gallery’s Sabrina Amrani. "The idea was to explore the legacy of his own words and create commemorative plaques of these random thoughts."

Younès Rahmoun. (Detail) Darra-Rebat (Atome-Rabat). 2012. Photography, ink

jet print on Diasec mount. 150 x 150 cm. Unique edition. Image courtesy Galerie

Imane Farès, Paris.

Price: $3622

The ethereal works of Younès Rahmoun unassumingly draw in the viewer. Leaning in for a closer look, one can see subtle nuances that are deeply personal to the artist. "Darra means atom in Arabic. Rahmoun likes to see the beauty in small things to keep as reminders of cherished moments. These orbs that he can hold in his hands are actually memories," explains the gallery's Lisbeth Van Mol.

Haig Aivazian. Vertical Earth

Kilometer (Burj Khalifa). 2013.

Wood, glass replica of Burj Khalifa

and sand from each of the seven

emirates of the UAE. 26.7 x 16.5 x

8.3 cm. Image courtesy the

artist and Lombard Freid Projects,

New York.

Price: $5000

This artwork combines two souvenirs from the UAE: a crystal statuette of the world’s tallest tower and a frame containing a shifting dune comprised of sands collected from each of the seven Emirates. The piece, says the gallery's Alia Fattouh, "is inspired by a work created by American artist Walter Di Maria."

Louvre Abu Dhabi presents

22 April – 20 July 2013Manarat Al Saadiyat, Saadiyat Cultural District, Abu Dhabi

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10 22–23 MAR 2013 I CANVAS DAILY I ISSUE 4 I ART DUBAI EDITION

Soheila Sokhanvari. (Detail) Moje Sabz. 2012. Taxidermy Horse, Jesomite blob, automobile paint. 170 x 230 x 140 cm. Image courtesy the artist and The Moving Museum, Dubai.

:

I would first take him/her to a private tour of a museum with a curator, followed by dinner and a lengthy discussion. I would also take him/her to see Reza Derakshani’s studio and if that doesn’t inspire him/her to collect, I may as well as close Salsali Private Museum!

Ramin Salsali, Founder, Salsali Private Museum

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ONE ON ONE WITHHOSSEIN VALAMANESHTHE FIRST TIME the region saw works by Hossein Valamanesh was at Art Dubai last year through his London dealer Rose Issa Projects (A21) . The Iranian artist’s works return to the Middle East through the same space, but also through his Adelaide gallery, Greenaway Art (J19) and Grey Noise (A5), which also present the artist’s first solo show in the Middle East at its Alserkal Avenue space. Spanning over two decades of Valamanesh’s practice, the exhibition presents 14 pieces, carefully selected by the artist himself, who left Iran in 1973 and emigrated to Australia where he lives and works.

How does Iran and its culture filter into your work?It’s something that is within you. There are deeper connections that you have with a culture; they’re personal and become universal. It’s not a specific notion of Iranian-ness; I was born there and went to school there, it is a part of me. A lot of the materiality of my work comes from nature and also from the indigenous cultures in Australia. I take a little from wherever I travel. I still carry that Iranian-ness in me, it’s just me and I just do it. I don’t question the ways in which I make art.

What kind of story are you telling through your show at Grey Noise?It’s an introduction, it’s saying ‘hello, here I am, this is where I’ve been’. It’s my work of 23 years. My achievement in my practice has been gradual and here, I am saying, my name is Hossein and this is my work and this is the beginning of a longer conversation with this region.

How involved in curating or designing this show were you?I wanted to show a diversity of my practice and different areas of my material use. I normally create a maquette of the gallery, so I put on pictures on the wall, like a doll’s house. I go about designing the exhibition to see how the works converse with each other and in visual terms, how this show will act as a narrative.

After it’s all made up, how do you attempt to fill in any gaps?The show features a combination of three photographic works, one video and a few installations, and I created a very large piece, Lotus Walt, especially for this exhibition. The image came from a photograph of a dome’s ceiling in a mosque in Isfahan as I am interested in patterns of Islamic art. The linear design reminded me of indigenous Australian painting – there’s a naiveté in it and a beautiful rhythm of lines. I had made a smaller version of this work but then made a bigger one using lotus leaves, which I regularly use and that I bought from a Chinese supermarket.

Your mind seems to function like an image database that makes visual links. It’s like the journey of life and work – you pass through somewhere and the sand from that place empties elsewhere. The way memory works is quite beautiful. We are very fortunate to be able to make art and do what we love. Art is an excuse to have conversations with the world. I am having a chat with everybody.

DUBAI – Aya Mousawi and Simon Sakhai present The Moving Museum’s first exhibition, TECTONIC, featuring 300 works by 24 Contemporary artists at DIFC from 18 March–24 April. The show, staged in collaboration with Traffic, The Pavilion, The Archive and The Shelter will present talks, film screenings, workshops and site-specific projects and is accompanied by a publication. Participating artists include Evan Penny, Haroon Mirza, Holton Rower, Ivan Argote, James Capper and Jeremy Deller.

ART NEWS

LONDON – Tate Modern will present a major exhibition of the works of pioneering Lebanese Abstractionist Saloua Raouda Choucair on 17 April. Over 130 pieces – many of which have never been shown before – will comprise the exhibition, curated by the gallery’s Jessica Morgan. The show will present a combination of the 97-year-old artist’s paintings, sculptures and jewellery, among other objects. Inspired by a combination of Western Abstraction and Islamic aesthetics, Choucair has become an icon of Lebanese Modernism.

LOS ANGELES – Moroccan artist Latifa Echakhch repeats her 2007 seminal work A Chaque Stencil Une Revolution (For Each Stencil a Revolution) for Los Angeles’s Hammer Museum in which hundreds of sheets of carbon paper are treated with a solvent that causes the ink to run off the pages. Echakhch references Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who, in the 1960s commented on the proliferation of political demonstrations when carbon paper was used to print multiple copies of revolutionary documents, as well as Yves Klein by the use of monochrome and the colour blue. The exhibition runs until 18 July.

HOW WOULD YOU ENCOURAGE SOMEONE TO COLLECT ART?

Saloua Raouda Choucair. Poem Wall. 1963-5. Wood. 80 x 164.5 x 30 cm. Image courtesy Saloua Raouda Choucair Foundation.

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It’s something within you when a piece naturally draws you to it. Love what you buy and buy knowing it doesn’t affect your finances. Once you want to collect more, seek advice. Look at galleries, auction houses and different genres – Western, Middle Eastern, Asian etc; make it your hobby and embrace the culture. Enjoy the experience throughout your life and you’ll never look back.

James Khazaei, Collector

People love to be individuals, surrounding themselves with beauty that makes them stand out. In doing so, they can help the community, shape the lives of artists and build a diversified portfolio of assets. Art is a great way to achieve this. Buying art should be driven by love, and not treated as a commodity.

Hala Khayat, Head of Sales, Associate Director, Modern and Contemporary Arab, Iranian and Turkish art, Christie’s.

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The processes of collecting, the places it takes you and the people you meet along the way can be really enriching. Begin by looking, training and expanding your eye, researching and asking questions. Build relationships with curatorial-led galleries and buy what you love. Peggy Guggenheim shared sound advice when she said, “I listened, how I listened! That’s how I finally became my own expert.”

Zain Masud, Assistant Fair Director, Art Dubai.

Hossein Valamanesh. (Detail) Mast o Mast. 2010. 50 x 70 cm. Edition of 10 plus two artist’s proofs. Images courtesy Grey Noise, Dubai.

Latifa Echakhch. A Chaque Stencil Une Revolution. 2013. Ink on carbon paper. Variable dimensions. Image courtesy the artist, kamel mennour, Paris and Galleria Francesca Kaufmann, Milan.

WE WILL MISS YOU FARIDEHWE WILL MISS YOU FARIDEH

12 22–23 MAR 2013 I CANVAS DAILY I ISSUE 4 I ART DUBAI EDITION

GLOBAL ART FORUM_7

Canadian writer and artist Douglas Coupland gave a humorous talk on Futurity and said, “As a race – as a

species we have never been as intelligent as we are now,

but we have also not been as stupid as we are now.”

The Serpentine Gallery’s Hans Ulrich Obrist hosted a discussion on score with Tarek Atoui, Tristan Bera, Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster and Andre Vida. “Improvisation is not so much fun when it comes out of this illusion of freedom, it’s more fun when it comes out of restriction,” said Bera.

Hans Ulrich Obrist asked, "Was there music before the writing of music?" during his discussion on score.

“I wanted to have a relationship with writing that has an open end, not one with any restrictions,” said Tarek Atoui during his lecture on Arabic score.

“Purity manifests itself in the things we want,” said Egyptian artist Hassan Khan during his discussion on the matter.

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Shumon Basar, Guy Mannes-Abbot and Ramallah-based artist Shuruq Harb, involved in the discussion Place (Ramallah). Basar asked, “Can a place be a place without having a name attached to it?” Harb responded, “the way you define a place is always through its people.”

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14 22–23 MAR 2013 I CANVAS DAILY I ISSUE 4 I ART DUBAI EDITION

OTHER NATIONAL PAVILIONS FROM THE MIDDLE EAST* INCLUDE:

7 AT 55 A survey of Middle Eastern Pavilions at the 55th Venice Biennale.

INSIGHTMassimilano Gioni on curating the 55th Venice Biennale

I was in Mumbai the day that I was called by the Venice Biennale board and notified of my appointment as curator of the 55th Venice Biennale. I was happy, but immediately stressed and lit a cigarette, although I had quit. That was 31 January 2012: it’s an easy date to remember. Since then, it feels like I’ve been running a marathon, but at the speed of a 100-metre dash. And given the budget, it’s as though you can’t afford sneakers: you have to run in your slippers instead.

By May, I had decided on the show’s title and theme – The Encyclopaedic Palace – inspired by Marino Auriti’s mid-1950s project of an enormous skyscraper that would house all of mankind’s achievements and discoveries. I then put together reading lists and reading groups and assigned a team of people to research artists and help me expand the exhibition’s intellectual background. By enlarging the team and distributing the work, you gain time.

The Venice Biennale is almost a city within a city: with 88 national pavilions and the international exhibition, the show becomes a citadel of art and a microcosm on its own. The Biennale is really one of the world’s few exhibitions that takes place on an almost urban scale, and its scale – paradoxically – makes it less monolithic: the Biennale is really a polyphony of voices in which different ways of being contemporary are shown next to each other. Everyone – the artists, the curators and the many different audiences – come to Venice with their own perspectives, knowledge and criticism. That turns the Biennale into a sort of rite of passage; it has to be criticised, destroyed even; it has to be consumed, so we can move on and divert our attention elsewhere.

It’s really amazing to see how generous artists are when it comes to the Biennale. The conditions are always difficult and the budget always too tight, but they just want to be part of the history of the institution and are being really fantastic. I am incredibly grateful to them. It might not sound like much, but we don’t even have the resources to pay for plane tickets and yet, artists are flying in on their own to see the space. When going through the main pavilion, I often think that in 1905, Gustav Klimt was showing in these very same rooms. That’s quite mind-blowing.

Everyone expected me, as the youngest director in the 110-year history of the Biennale, to present young artists, but today, being contemporary also means living in a synchronic world in which the past and history seem constantly accessible. That’s why I’ve organised an exhibition in which different examples from different periods of time can co-exist. I’m curious to build a show that is an intellectual adventure in which people come to see artworks not for their economic value or decorative power, but more as stories and existential adventures. I hope that will succeed. After all, I like works that tell stories and The Encyclopaedic Palace is an exhibition of storytelling.

Letter To A Refusing PilotCurators: Sam Bardaouil and Till FellrathArtist: Akram ZaatariCommissioner: Association for the Promotion and Exhibition of the Arts in Lebanon Venue: ArsenaleWhen curators Sam Bardaouil and Till Fellrath were given the green light for Lebanon’s second participation at the Biennial, they knew their focus would be on one artist. “The best way to do it is to make one strong statement and grab people’s attention,” says Fellrath. He adds that while he and Bardaouil did a lot of research on Lebanese artists from all over the world, they came back to what the duo deemed as “the strongest” – Zaatari. This year’s Pavilion coincides with Lebanon's 70th anniversary of independence.

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Welcome to Iraq Curator: Jonathan WatkinsArtists: Abdul Raheem Yassir, Akeel Khreef, Ali Samiaa, Bassim Al-Shaker, Cheeman Ismaeel, Furat al Jamil, Hareth Alhomaam, Jamal Penjweny, Kadhim Nwir, WAMI (Yaseen Wami & Hashim Taeeh)Commissioner: Tamara Chalabi from the Ruya Foundation for Contemporary Culture.Venue: Ca' Dandolo, San TomàThe theme for the Iraq Pavilion involved two choices: tell the stories of Iraq from outside or inside the country. Jonathan Watkins chose the latter, after visiting Iraq several times and speaking to 400 artists who often felt depressed and neglected in their communities. Some, from Baghdad and Basra to the more remote areas of the country, didn’t know what a curator was. The 10 artists are working with Chalabi and Watkins to present their project which integrates their art into an existing Venetian space.

IRAQ

ResistanceCurator: Emre BaykalArtist: Ali KazmaCommissioner: Istanbul Foundation of Culture and ArtsVenue: Arsenale Ali Kazma’s biennale project grew from one of his works, Obstructions, which showed at C24 Gallery in New York as part of IN IT, his first solo show in the Big Apple last November. Resistance will draw from the series of videos that investigate human labour, which Kazma began producing in 2004–05. The artist isn’t privy to nationalism, but he was chosen by Erme Baykal and prefers to say he is having a “one-person show at the Turkish Pavilion”.

TURKEY

Curator: Reem FaddaArtist: Mohammed KazemCommissioner: Lamees HamdanVenue: ArsenaleThe UAE’s third national pavilion sees Mohammed Kazem present a work inspired by his highly conceptual Directions series curated by Reem Fadda, Associate Curator for Middle Eastern Art at the Guggenheim. Fadda and Kazem will reveal the true extent of the history of Conceptual art in the UAE through the artist’s work, who bridges his practice with that of artists from generations preceding and following his – namely Hassan Sharif, who Kazem considers his mentor and the founder of Conceptual art in the UAE.

UAE

BAHRAINIn a World of Your OwnCurator: Melissa Enders-BhatiaArtist: Mariam Haji, Waheeda Malullah and Camille ZakhariaCommissioner: Sheikha Mai Al-Khalifa, Minister of CultureVenue: Arsenale

EGYPTTreasures of KnowledgeArtist: Mohamed Banawy and Khaled ZakiCommissioner: Ministry of Culture Venue: Giardini

*No further information was released at the time of press.

KUWAITNational WorksCurator: Ala YounisArtist: Sami Mohammad and Tarek Al-GhousseinCommissioner: Mohammed Al-Asoussi (National Council of Culture, Arts and Letters)Venue: Palazzo Michiel, Sestriere Cannaregio, Strada Nova

Organised by:

BE PART OF MODERN. CONTEMPORARY.ABU DHABI ART.20 - 23 November 2013UAE Pavilion and Manarat Al SaadiyatSaadiyat Cultural DistrictAbu Dhabi, UAE

Applications now open for modern and contemporary art and design galleries.

Application closing date: 3 April 2013For more information call +971 2 406 1501 or email abudhabiart@tcaabudhabi.ae

abudhabiartfair.ae

16 22–23 MAR 2013 I CANVAS DAILY I ISSUE 4 I ART DUBAI EDITION

OFF THE WALLCanvas Daily searches the fair for the unconventional, eccentric and quirky.

IMA: MAKING WAVESIt may be at the heart of Europe, but IMA's Director General is making sure that the institute has solid roots in the Arab world.

CHANGE COULD BE felt in the Institut du Monde Arabe’s (IMA)programming, even before Jack Lang, France’s ex Minister of Culture was recently appointed as the organisation’s president. IMA staged a series of exhibitions last year – some of which will, and have travelled, to various cities across the Arab world. To remedy what she describes as “limited interaction” between the Arab world and IMA, its Director General Mona Khazindar says that travelling exhibitions are one way to be present in the region. “I don’t want IMA to be an institution only based in Paris, but one that is located throughout the Middle East as well,” she says. To celebrate its 25th anniversary last year, IMA presented 25 Years of Arab Creativity, a show curated by Ihab El-Laban that featured works by around 40 Contemporary artists from the Middle East including Nadim Karam, Doris Bittar, Diana Al-Hadid, Jowhara Al-Saud and Jafar Islah. Today, the show is in Abu Dhabi at Emirates Palace through a collaboration with the Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Foundation until 31 March, and will travel to the National Museum of Bahrain in July. “I want us to be more present in the Middle East, especially since its cultural landscape has changed,” explains Khazindar. “It’s not like it was 25 years ago; now there are people and institutions that one can work with.”

Although IMA usually conceives exhibitions and exports them internationally, on 23 April it will be the Paris institution’s turn to receive one of the region’s most groundbreaking shows: Tea With Nefertiti, curated by Till Fellrath and Sam Bardaouil for Doha’s Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art. The show marks the first time that a museum exhibition is exported from the Arab world and is also the first show that IMA welcomes. In the same ‘welcoming’ vein, this year the institute will also present a portion of Hajj: Journey to the Heart of Islam, the landmark exhibition curated by The British Museum’s Venetia Porter.

In October, IMA will stage a retrospective for Egyptian artist Hamed Abdullah, which will later travel to Copenhagen and Doha’s Mathaf. IMA will round off 2013 with Ya Leil Ya Ain, an exhibition presenting the works of 10 artists on the theme of the night, curated by Khazindar. The Saudi-born Director General has been working at IMA since 1986; the time for greater growth and change, she says, is now.

Yasam Sasmazer. Black Sly Fox. 2013. Wood. 127 x 47 x 42 cm.

LAWRIE SHABIBI (J23) – Turkish artist Yasam Sasmazer examines the human psyche by cleverly juxtaposing a carved sculpture of a young girl against her shadow. The shadow however, is not a reflection of her, but rather suggestive of a wolf, proving that things are not always what they seem to be.

Gabriel Kuri. J5000. 2012. Black marble, 5000 Lebanese Pound note. 100 x 135 x 5 cm.

SFEIR-SEMLER (J18) – Originally made of a horizontal and vertical slab with a 5000 Lebanese Pound note wedged in between them, the vertical piece fell to the ground and broke as a person pulled the note that was stuck between the two pieces. Dubbed by the artist as an ‘accidental intervention’ – Gabriel Kuri decided to keep the artwork broken, leaving the vertical pieces scattered on the ground.

Rachel Lee Hovnanian. (Detail) Dinner for Two: Gold. 2013. Mixed media installation. Variable dimensions.

LEILA HELLER GALLERY (A39) – This multimedia work by New York-based Rachel Lee Hovnanian is a commentary on contemporary culture, in which human communication has changed from being physical and personal to detached and impersonal. During this digital dinner for two, there are cell phone message alerts, music, as well as typing sounds without the two people at the dinner table exchanging a single interaction.

GALERIE JANINE RUBEIZ (J8) – The long tentacle creations by Lebanese artist Marya Kazoun are not in fact abstracted compositions, but a self-portrait of the artist. Kazoun's distorted, almost spider-like pieces represent her insides, no longer confined to her body. By abstracting herself into a form not connected to the human body, she removes the physical referential trace of her existence.

Marya Kazoun. (Detail) Self Portrait. 2012. Murano Glass, and cloth. Variable dimensions. Image courtesy Janine Rubeiz, Beirut.

OCTOBER GALLERY (A43) – Originally created for an exhibition in London at the Institute for Contemporary Art called AKA Peace Exhibition, Palestinian artist Laila Shawa transforms a decommissioned AK-47 rifle into a trivialised and feminine object, attempting to represent peace through decontextualising a symbol of war and aggression.

Laila Shawa. Where Souls Dwell V. 2012. Steel, wood, Swarovski crystals, rhinestones, feathers and Japanese gold pigment. 35 x 90 cm. All photography by Tulip Hazbar unless otherwise specified.

Clockwise from top: Ala Younis. Nefertiti. 2008. Installation. Photography by Ahmed Kamel. Image courtesy the artist; Nida Sinnokrot. KA (JCB, JCB). 2009. 2 JCB 1CX Backhoe Arms. 460 x 255 cm. Image courtesy Sharjah Art Foundation; Terenuthis-Stela. Standing Adorant with Horus and Anubis. First Century AD. Limestone. 35 x 29.5 x 4.5 cm. Photography by Sh Shalchi. Collection of Roemer- und Pelizaeus-Museum Hildesheim.

18 22–23 MAR 2013 I CANVAS DAILY I ISSUE 4 I ART DUBAI EDITION

DUBAIAlif Art Gallery

Until 31 March

Myths and Legends

A solo show by Russian artist

Timur D’Vatz.

Tel: +971 505280150

www.alifgallery.com

Art Couture

Until 30 March

Figure It Out

Figurative art featuring works by

French artists Corine Pagnys, Yolanda

Hessenbruch and Guillaume Delorma.

Tel: +971 46010101

www.artcoutureuae.com

Art Sawa

Until 7 April

Bug Soldiers

Zena Assi examines the Arab uprising

and its effects on the common man.

Tel: +971 43408660

www.artsawa.com

Twitter @ArtSawa

Artspace

Until 10 April

Saudi Group Show: A Line in the Sand

In collaboration with Athr Gallery, six

emerging Saudi artists exhibit works

through a variety of media.

Tel: +971 43230820

www.artspace-dubai.com

Twitter @artspace

Ayyam Art Centre (Al-Quoz)

Until 4 April

Popcornographic

Kuwaiti-born artist and poet Shurooq

Amin alludes to the practice of the

subjective censorship of artworks.

Tel: +971 43236242

www.ayyamgallery.com

Twitter @AyyamGallery

Ayyam Gallery (DIFC)

Until 25 April

The Wrong Women

Iranian-born Afshin Pirhashemi

presents work examining the

hardships of modern Iran.

Tel: +971 44392395

www.ayyamgallery.com

Twitter @AyyamGallery

Carbon 12

Until 30 April

Camelops Femina

Olaf Breuning presents a series of

photographs going back 10,000 years

in history to excavate an extinct species

of camels.

Tel: +971 43406016

www.carbon12dubai.com

Twitter @Carbon12gallery

Cuadro Fine Art Gallery

Until 2 May

3. 13

A monographic exhibition showcasing

the works of seven artists including

Manal Al-Dowayan, Athier and

Mohammed Ahmed Ibrahim.

Tel: +971 44250400

www.cuadroart.com

Twitter @CuadroArt

Dubai Community Theatre and

Arts Centre

Until 10 April

MinD/Body

This exhbition showcases the works

of several artists including Abdullah

Al-Saadi, Anas Al-Shaikh and

Mohammed Kazem.

Tel: +971 43414777

www.ductac.org

Twitter @DUCTAC

The Empty Quarter

Until 25 April

Open Wounds

Four Lebanese artists, George Awde,

Rhea Karam, Sirine Fattouh, Rima

Maroun and Randa Mirza examine life

in war-torn Lebanon.

Tel: +971 43231210

www.theemptyquarter.com

Twitter @EmptyQuarterUAE

Etemad Gallery

Until 27 April

Defaced

Portraits by Shohreh Mehran tackle

themes of body language, resistance

and defiance.

Tel: +971 43468649

www.galleryetemad.com

Twitter @etemadgallery

Green Art Gallery

Until 5 May

Evacuated Containers

Shadi Habib Allah’s first solo at the

gallery stems from an incident when

he was interrogated about his work at

Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport.

Tel: +971 43469305

www.gagallery.com

Twitter @greenartgallery

Grey Noise

Until 30 April

Hossein Valamanesh: Selected Works

1992–2013

Surveying the Iranian artist’s personal

history and other aspects of his life

through over two decades of works.

Tel: +971 43790734

www.greynoise.org

Twitter @GreyNoiseDXB

Gallery Isabelle Van Den Eynde

Until 21 April

Beginning at the End

The multimedia practice of Idris Khan

responding to the works of ninth-

century Islamic philosophers.

Tel: +971 43235052

www.ivde.net

thejamjar

Until 23 March

Out of the Box

This film screening is part of a series of

experimental contemporary films.

Tel: +971 43417303

www.thejamjardubai.com

Twitter @thejamjar

JAMM

Until 18 April

Marilyn

Images of the iconic Marilyn Monroe

by legendary American photographer

Bert Stern.

Tel: +971 43285169

www.jamm-art.org

Khak Gallery

Until 13 April

From Modern to Contemporary

A group exhibition of works by Iranian

artists such as Fereydoun Ave, Reza

Derakshani and Kourosh Shishegaran.

Tel: +971 43475050

www.khakgallery.com

Lawrie Shabibi

Until 18 April

Symphony

A solo exhibition by Adel Abidin

examines the stoning and killing of

90 Iraqi students in Baghdad in March

last year.

Tel: +971 43469906

www.lawrieshabibi.com

Twitter @LawrieShabibi

Meem Art Gallery

Until 2 May

Moving Forward by the Day

Inspired by Ancient Egyptian

iconography, Khaled Hafez's

works focus on ideas relating to

personal and collective identities

and memories.

Tel: +971 43477883

www.meemartgallery.com

Twitter @MeemGallery

Mojo Gallery

Until 25 April

Happening Now

A collective exhibition of works by

Viye Diba, Mohammed Abouelnaga

and Sonya Rademeyer.

Tel: +971 43477388

www.themojogallery.com

Twitter @MojoGallery

Mottahedan Projects

Until 18 April

Direction

Peter Halley’s new series centres on

the idea of the Ka'aba.

Tel: +971 43805525

www.mottahedan.com

The Pavilion

Until 18 March 2014

Annual Banner Commission: Change

Multimedia artist Ayman Yossri

Daydban in collaboration with

Jeddah's Athr Gallery.

Tel: +971 44477025

www.pavilion.ae

Twitter @PavilionDubai

Rira Gallery

Until 13 May

Lines & Links

Two solo exhibitions by Iranian artists

Parviz Kalantari and Ali Shirazi.

Tel: +971 43699339

www.riragallery.com

Salsali Private Museum

Until 9 July

Reza Derakshani

The Iranian artist presents new

work, drawing from his heritage

and modern-day conceptual

preoccupations.

Tel: +971 43809600

www.salsalipm.com

Twitter @SalsaliPrivateM

Sikka Art Fair

Until 24 March

Al-Fahidi Historical

Neighbourhood

The fair's third edition features over

70 commissioned works by Emirati and

UAE-based artists.

Tel: +971 507383932

www.sikkaartfair.ae

Showcase Gallery

Until 18 May

RECONNECT

In collaboration with South Africa-

based KZNSA Gallery, Hendrik

Stroebel explores the use of pattern

and texture in the Islamic and Arab

art world.

Tel: +971 43790940

www.showcaseuae.com

Twitter @showcasedubai

The Third Line

Until 19 April

Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian

Presenting over a decade of works by

the renowned Iranian artist.

Tel: +971 43411367

www.thethirdline.com

Twitter @thethirdline

Traffic

Until 15 April

Art After Democratism: A Project

by Jonas Staal

A solo exhibition that sees Dutch

visual artist Jonas Staal explore new

forms of art practices.

Tel: +971 43470209

www.viatraffic.org

Twitter @viatraffic

XVA Gallery

Until 30 April

Eternal Love

A solo exhibition showcasing unseen

photographic works by Iraqi artist

Halim Al-Karim.

Tel: +971 43585117

www.xvagallery.com

Twitter @XVAGALLERY

SHARJAH

Barjeel Art Foundation

Until 22 November

RE: ORIENT

The exhibition examines Modernism in

the Arab world between the 1950s–70s.

Tel: +971 65566555

www.barjeelartfoundation.org

Twitter @BarjeelArt

Maraya Art Centre

Until 31 December

The Hierarchy of Being

Wafaa Bilal explores the visual

culture of pioneering Islamic

sciences and examines how it has an

impact on current thinking.

Until 31 December

Art Production in a Post Arab

Spring Era

Artists Adel Abidin and Wafaa

Bilal combine art, photography,

architecture and science.

Tel: +971 65566555

www.maraya.ae

Twitter @MarayaArtCentre

Sharjah Biennial

Until 31 May

Re: Emerge

The theme of Islamic architecture is

explored in the 11th edition, curated

by Yuko Hasegawa.

Tel: +971 6568 5050

www.sharjahart.org

Twitter @SharjahBiennial

Sharjah Museum

Until 13 May

Journey Through Egypt

Presenting works from the collection

of HH Sheikh Dr Sultan Bin

Mohammed Al-Qasimi, Ruler

of Sharjah.

Tel: +971 65566002

www.sharjahmuseums.ae

Twitter @sharjahmuseums

LISTINGS

Bert SternMarilyn

18 March—18 April 2013

Hasa Road, Street 8Warehouse 11, Al Quoz 1PO Box 127440, Dubai, UAE

jamm-art.org

T: 971 4 328 5169F: 971 4 328 5179info@jamm-art.org

20 22–23 MAR 2013 I CANVAS DAILY I ISSUE 4 I ART DUBAI EDITION

From 21–23 March, the ArtBus leaves from Dubai’s

Souk Madinat Jumeirah roundabout at 10:00,

returning between 17:00–18:00. Tickets are priced at

50 AED per seat per day, and the ArtBus runs three

routes daily.

Galleries and spaces on the Al-Quoz route: Art

Sawa, Ayyam Gallery, The Barakat Gallery, Carbon

12, The Cartoon Art Gallery, The Courtyard Gallery,

Create! @ Sofa Studio, Etemad Gallery, Fn Designs,

Gallery Isabelle Van Den Eynde, Green Art Gallery,

Grey Noise, Gulf Photo Plus, J+A Gallery, thejamjar,

Khak Gallery, La Galerie Nationale, Lawrie Shabibi,

Meem Gallery, Mojo Gallery, Mottahedan Projects,

Mussawir Art Gallery, Salsali Private Museum,

Satellite, Showcase Gallery, The Third Line, Total Arts

and Traffic.

Galleries and spaces on the DIFC Gate Village

and Downtown Dubai route: Alif Art Gallery,

Ajyad Gallery, The Ara Gallery, Art Sawa, Artspace,

Ayyam Gallery, Cuadro Fine Art Gallery, Cube Arts,

The Empty Quarter, The Farjam Collection, Opera

Gallery, The Pavilion, Tashkeel and XVA Gallery.

Galleries and spaces on the Jumeirah and Al-

Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood route: The

Archive, Art Connection, Beautiful People from

Mawaheb, DUCTAC, Hunar Gallery, The Majlis Gallery,

Pro Art Gallery, SIKKA Art Fair, Tashkeel Bastakiya

and the XVA Art Hotel.

To book your seat on one of the three

routes, or for more information contact

ArtintheCity on +971 4 341 7303 or email

artbus@artinthecity.com

LOOKING BACK AT MY CAREER IN THE ART WORLD, I WISH I

HAD: Met this world earlier.

IF THERE IS ONE ERA I WOULD GO BACK TO, IT WOULD BE:

The Renaissance.

YOU WOULD BE SHOCKED TO KNOW THAT I: Write poems.

I AM HAPPIEST WHEN: People around me are happy.

MANKIND IS CAPABLE OF GREAT: Inventions.

LIFE WOULD BE MEANINGLESS WITHOUT: Creativity

and challenges.

I OWE MY SUCCESS TO: Believing in others.

MY BEST ART INVESTMENT IS: Alserkal Avenue.

MY FAVOURITE FICTIONAL CHARACTER IS: Tintin.

THE ARTIST I’D WANT MY PORTRAIT CREATED BY: My kids.

BAD ART IS: Commercial.

WITHOUT ART, THE WORLD WOULD: Be a jail.

THE ARTWORK I CAN STARE AT FOR HOURS: Nature.

I WILL ALWAYS SAY YES TO: Travel.

MY FIRST-EVER salaried job was for a museum – a beautiful private collection of Asian art, for which I was a weekend docent. It was at the Hermitage, the one in Virginia rather than St Petersburg, where I learned how to tell stories about art. And at its heart, that is what PR for art and design organisations is – telling stories. Interesting, then, that one of the major challenges in the adoption of PR for arts and culture has been addressing that issue: Why is art important?

Regional media, with a few notable exceptions, do not have a tradition of covering the visual arts – when Christie’s opened its regional office and the Gulf Art Fair (now Art Dubai) was created more than six years ago, journalists weren’t quite clear how to

classify and cover this news. Was it business? Was it lifestyle? Did anyone care? International media with a presence in the Middle East also had to be persuaded that their audiences were keen to learn more about regional art and design.

Equally, one of the most fundamental challenges to successful PR for art and design was, and continues to be, the basic lack of understanding around what PR is and what it does. It’s not advertising or hosting glossy parties or securing heavyweight sponsors, although all of those ways of reaching collectors and other audiences can and do have their place in the region.

Another challenge to art and design PR is the perception that it’s easy – it’s the same refrain which echoes around art fairs: “I (or my kid) could do that.” Just as uninformed audiences may not appreciate the hours which artists spend conceptualising and creating a work, so it is not always apparent that the most effective PR campaigns are thought-out well in advance, considered from every angle and delivered in just the right light and medium.

Once you’ve experienced good PR, like good art and design, it’s tough to live without it. In previous years, the region’s art world may have hoped that the quality of work being produced would obviate the need to invest in PR support. Today, the sheer number of art and design-related events now taking place across the region means that PR is critical to differentiate these events and attract collectors, patrons and the moveable feast of personalities which populate the Middle East’s arts landscape.

‘Bad’ PR, like bad art or design, is thrown together, last-minute, deliberately crass or attention-seeking – you can spot its lack of authenticity at 50 paces. Good PR, by contrast, shows some forethought and a source of inspiration – it engages, tells a compelling story and elicits a response – as does good art and design. The best PR strategies for regional art and design are like well-timed, articulate conversations which enable the work to shine through, unhindered by gimmicks or pre-conceptions about the Middle East. New York-based gallerist (and reality TV pundit) Bill Powers said recently, “The right PR is like suspension in a luxury car. You kind of don’t feel it. And that’s how you know it’s good.”

LIBRARY

EILEEN WALLIS ON THE CHALLENGES OF ART PR

URBAN TOYSText by Nadim Karam. Edited by Kaya Mussack. Published by Booth-Clibborn Editions.This publication showcases Nadim Karam and Atelier Hapsitus’s recent works such as those in Beirut, Prague, London, Tokyo and Melboure. They make up these works “of relief” with their own rules for urban art in cities with increasing societal pressures. Price: AED: 150/$40.

THE ART OF BILL VIOLAEdited by Chris Townsend. Published by Thames & Hudson Ltd.This book explores the oeuvre of video and installation artist Bill Viola since the 1970s. Critics discuss and examine his awareness to the nature of human beings and how he seeks to present that in his works using the most innovative and modern ideas and media. Price: AED 46/$12.

YOUSSEF NABILTexts by Hans Ulrich Obrist and Marina Abramovic. Edited by Julie Rouart. Published by Flammarion. Youssef Nabil’s third monograph, featuring self-portraits, dolls and belly-dancers show the Egyptian artist’s versatility in capturing different subjects and ambiances. The book also includes his latest series, Mediterranean Women of eight veiled women including Catherine Deneuve and Isabella Rossellini, and which will be shown at The Third Line this April. Price: AED 315/$86.

ARTBUSAll books available at Jashanmal Bookstores at Art Dubai.

IN THE ART WORLD, IT’S NEVER TOO LATE TO: Make a deal!

I WAS LOST FOR WORDS WHEN: When my gallery got

into Art Basel.

YOU WOULD BE SHOCKED TO KNOW THAT I: Never studied art.

AT ART FAIRS, I WISH THEY WOULD SERVE: Anything green!

MY BIGGEST PET PEEVE IS: People touching artwork.

THE EXHIBITION THAT LEFT A BIG IMPACT ON ME WAS: Olafur

Eliasson at Tate Turbine.

IF I WEREN’T DOING WHAT I DO, I WOULD HAVE BEEN:

A UN ambassador.

MY FAVOURITE FICTIONAL CHARACTER IS: Lady Chatterley.

THE MOST OVERUSED ART TERM IS: ‘Can I have a discount?’

BAD ART IS: The vulgar kind that is just there to shock or hurt.

I WISH PEOPLE WOULDN’T: Always say, ‘A kid could do that!’

THE ARTWORK I CAN STARE AT FOR HOURS: The Body of the

Dead Christ in the Tomb by Hans Holbein.

I WILL ALWAYS SAY YES TO: More time with my husband.

CREATIVITY CAN BE CRUSHED BY: Ignorance.

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