{"id":55849,"date":"2025-04-18T06:04:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-18T06:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/highlights-from-art-week-riyadh\/"},"modified":"2025-04-18T06:04:00","modified_gmt":"2025-04-18T06:04:00","slug":"highlights-from-art-week-riyadh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/?p=55849","title":{"rendered":"Highlights from Art Week Riyadh\u00a0\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Art Dubai\u2019s 18th edition marks UAE\u2019s rise as key market for contemporary art\u00a0<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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\n\tDUBAI: The Madinat Jumeirah is alive once again with the invigorating buzz of collectors, artists, gallerists and art lovers all gathered for the 18th edition of Art Dubai, which runs until April 20. There is the familiar sound of a multitude of languages and accents, reflecting Dubai\u2019s ever-growing international population as gallerists from around the world, including North America, China, South and Central Asia, Africa and from across the Middle East, showcase works that reflect the artistic breadth and culture of their respective countries.<\/p>\n
\n\tOf note are the 30 new exhibitors at Art Dubai, hailing from around the world, forming part of the 120 galleries taking part this year. The quality of works on display, underlined artistic director Pablo del Val, are particularly noteworthy this year and, he says, evoke a sense of escapism and surrealism as if to provide refuge from the uncertainty of today\u2019s times.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe quality of works and international range of galleries also reflect the changing nature of Dubai.<\/p>\n \n\t
\n\t\tMohasses, Untitled, 50 x 70 cm. (Supplied)<\/figcaption>
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\n\tRather than take up residence in Dubai for a short-term period of a few years, new residents are coming to the city with plans, it seems, to stay for longer. At the same time, there has been notable investment in cultural infrastructure within the UAE that is now paying off, resulting in a plethora of new museums, galleries, institutions and initiatives offering visitors to Art Dubai a wealth of cultural activities outside the fair.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cToday there is a change in the architecture (of Dubai), with residents desiring more state-of-the-art homes with more space,\u201d del Val told Arab News. \u201cWhen these people move to Dubai they are doing so with a long-term version. This gives a sense of stability to the city and necessitates a different kind of art collecting.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tAmong the newcomers to the fair was Richard Saltoun Gallery, which has branches in Rome, London and New York.<\/p>\n \n\t \n\t\tMohasses, Untitled, 70 x 100 cm. (Supplied)<\/figcaption>
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\n\t\u201cThis will be our first participation at Art Dubai and we are thrilled to be participating. Dubai, and the UAE in general, is one of the most interesting and growing markets that we work with,\u201d Niamh Coglan, sales director at Richard Saltoun Gallery, told Arab News. \u201cThe institutional collections, foundations and private collections are curious, active and engaging to work with. Having worked with several major museums and foundations over the past few years in the region, we knew we had to take a more active role and be more present.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tAmong the artists the gallery will show at the fair is Mozambican modernist Bertina Lopes, whose work is on display in the exhibition Kings and Queens of Africa at the Louvre Abu Dhabi.<\/p>\n
\n\tAmong the notable works at the fair was a large 196 x 363 cm painting by the late Iranian artist Bahman Mohassess and New York-based Leila Heller Gallery\u2019s booth portraying two abstract figures locked in a passionate embrace, one colored red and the other off-white next to a group of stones and an abstract black bird flying overhead. The work, which has garnered great interest among collectors, is being sold for $2,650,000.<\/p>\n \n\t \n\t\tMohasses, Untitled.25 x 35 cm. (Supplied)<\/figcaption>
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\n\tIn the Bawwaba section of specially commissioned works for the fair, Saudi artist Abdullah Al-Othman is showcasing a solo project in the form of a large installation work of signs, symbols and photography from around Riyadh as part of his series Manifesto: the Language & the City (2011). The work is being displayed through Iris Art Projects, the only GCC gallery exhibiting in the section.<\/p>\n
\n\tShowcasing works from the African continent and diaspora is Efie Gallery, a Dubai-based gallery that recently moved to Alserkal Avenue. The gallery\u2019s booth presented a mixed media presentation that is thoughtfully and serenely curated featuring works by Abdoulaye Konate, Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons, Hugh Findletar and J.K. Bruce Vanderpuije.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWe love being in the Middle East and Dubai because it has offered us a clean slate as opposed to the West, where we need to deconstruct narratives,\u201d said co-founder of the gallery Kwame Mintah. \u201cHere we are offered the space to construct the narratives.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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