ABU DHABI ART MAKES A SPLASH
The Capital is bringing together the best artists and exhibits for a new renaissance
The UAE’s Capital is rapidly developing into the central hub for art and culture in the region. With the revival of the art scene and the construction of spectacular museums, including Louvre Abu Dhabi, Guggenheim and Zayed National Museum, the city is certainly becoming the centre of the modern art renaissance.
Last week, it saw the opening of Abu Dhabi Art in Manarat Al Saadiyat. The fair revealed a distinctive platform that celebrates the vitality of the region and the changing contemporary art scene, while embodying culture, creative ambitions and talents of local and international artists.
Khaleej Times spoke to Emirati artists who are taking part in this year’s Abu Dhabi Art about the city’s dynamic art scene.
Amalie Farag Beljafla said the Capital’s collaboration with local and international artists certainly nurtures a rich multicultural environment.
The 25-year-old artist, who completed her studies at the Central Saint Martins College in art and design in London, said it is important for her to create work that represents unity and religious tolerance.
“I’m exhibiting a piece called Religions United, which shows how art has evolved around the world, and how the UAE accepts and tolerates all cultures and religions.”
The young artist, who is donating a percentage of all her proceeds from sales to the newly launched Ameera Fund, which supports cancer patients around the world, noted that artists today are breaking boundaries and revealing their true talents.
“My artwork includes symbols of various cultures and religions, including Islam, Christianity, Hinduism and Judaism. The fact that my piece is hanging in Abu Dhabi Art is a statement on how the UAE welcomes and tolerates all cultures.”
“It is amazing seeing artists come together. Abu Dhabi is certainly growing into one of the main districts for art and culture,” she added.
Saif Ali Al Sadah also highlighted the new energy here. “The museums that will open in the Capital are really changing the position of Abu Dhabi and elevating peoples’ involvement and talent.”
The 39-year-old said taking part in this year’s exhibition allowed him to express his passion, which honours the UAE’s heritage and culture.
“The theme that I focus on is UAE’s culture. I reveal our traditions but in a contemporary manner, so foreigners can see our way of life — through a different perspective.”
Michelle Farrell, Abu Dhabi Art organiser, said it is crucial to develop an art scene that can reach out to a wider community.
“Abu Dhabi Art celebrates the vitality of the city. The inclusion of local and international artist, as well as cultural programmes, performing arts and design, contribute to Abu Dhabi as a multicultural hub.”
abu dhabi — Art lovers are anticipating the opening of Louvre Abu Dhabi, currently in its final stages of construction. The museum will be a universal one that aims to translate the exchange of cultures through art works from ancient to contemporary eras.
With over 8.3 million visitors, the Louvre in Paris was ranked the world’s most visited museum in 2015; however, Louvre Abu Dhabi is also set to take the rank.
Designed by French architect Jean Nouvel, the museum represents an Arab city with its 23 permanent galleries, temporary exhibition space, a children’s museum, as well as a research centre. The contrasting series of white buildings, as well as the magnificent iconic dome, inspired by the shadows of overlapping palm trees in UAE’s oases, and with its location overlooking the sea, visitors will witness the airy sense of light the building oozes.
The art works originate from civilisations all over the world, highlighting universal themes, rather than being segregated, as is often shown in Western museums. Themes include the portrayal of power by rulers, representing the divine, exploring unknown lands and the dawn of globalisation.
Louvre Abu Dhabi has acquired more than 600 pieces of art in 23 galleries, including series and collections, some of which will be exhibited with 300 loaned works from 13 leading French institutions.
Masterpieces by the Italian Renaissance man himself — Leonardo Da Vinci — will be on display, as well as those of French Impressionist Claude Monet, and masters Vincent Van Gogh and Matisse.
Lourve Abu Dhabi has also commissioned two internationally acclaimed artists to create site-specific artworks that will be displayed in the museum when it opens in 2017. Jean Nouvel’s ‘museum city’ with its streets, plazas and waterways, will feature art exhibited both inside and outside the galleries. Giuseppe Penone and Jenny Holzer have worked closely with the Louvre Abu Dhabi team to develop sculptures and installations reflecting the universal stories of the museum. These are only the first of a number of commissions.
Mohammed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority, said the museum’s vision is to reflect the universal nature of art making. “We have commissioned contemporary works by internationally renowned artists Giuseppe Penone and Jenny Holzer. The artists’ works are inspired
The artworks I have developed for Louvre Abu Dhabi aim to inscribe themselves in the place, underscoring aspects of its architectural form and content. The pieces that make up Germination echo the museum’s universal spirit.” Giuseppe Penone, Italian artist
by the museum’s iconic architecture and diverse stories and play an important role in connecting the cultures and civilisations of our past with the relevant ongoing conversations and artistic practices of today.”
Italian artist Penone, one of the youngest members of the Arte Povera movement, has created ‘Germination’, a four-part installation that reveals the artist’s fascination for organic materials, such as trees, to highlight the connection between man, nature and art.
The central element of the installation is Penone’s ‘Leaves of Light’, a vast bronze tree, which interacts with Jean Nouvel’s architectural design through mirrors placed on its branches, reflecting the rain of light. Soaring towards the dome covering the museum’s outdoor walkways, the tree becomes a symbol of life. Penone explained the importance of merging art with the museum’s architecture:
“The artworks I have developed for Louvre Abu Dhabi inscribe themselves in the place, underscoring aspects of its architectural form and content. The pieces that make up ‘Germination’ echo the museum’s universal spirit.”
Through an exceptional collaboration with the workshops of Sèvres — Cité de la céramique, Penone has also created several works including ‘Propagation’, a wall of porcelain tiles representing concentric circles drawn by hands. The lines of the drawing germinate from Shaikh Zayed’s fingerprint to show how a simple action can create an infinite space.
American artist Holzer, has created three engraved stonewalls of texts from important historical sources from across the world. These walls will feature excerpts from Ibn Khaldun’s Muqaddimah from the Atif Efendi Library collection in Istanbul, the Mesopotamian bilingual (Acadian Sumerian) Creation Myth tablet from the Vorderasiatisches Museum in Berlin, and the 1588 annotated edition of Michel de Montaigne’s Essais from the Bordeaux Municipal Library.
“Louvre Abu Dhabi set an ambitious agenda for itself, and raises lively questions about museums and civilisations. It’s a privilege and a challenge to realise an installation that joins Jean Nouvel’s architecture and that speaks with the fantastic works the museum will display,” said Jenny Holzer. “I made my walls in close relation to Nouvel’s building, which I saw as an ideal village under a most beautiful futuristic sky dome.”
Works from the permanent collection will be displayed alongside these commissions in the outdoor areas of the museum. Recreating the atmosphere of an Islamic courtyard, an Ottoman octagonal fountain and pavement (18th Century, Damascus, Syria) will be integrated in a contemporary scenography flooded with light.
Other museums coming up
Another magnificent museum to look forward to is Zayed National Museum, also located at the centre of Saadiyat Cultural District.
It will become a national museum, sitting alongside Louvre Abu Dhabi and Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, and will be a place for Emiratis to honour their cultural heritage, explore and affirm their identity.
Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, also in the making, will be the preeminent platform for contemporary art and culture, encompassing art from the 1960s to the present day.
jasmine@khaleejtimes.com