What’s Happening around Art Dubai
Art Dubai has established itself as a major cultural event that not only showcases the best of contemporary art from the Middle East and surrounding regions, but also serves as a platform for global artistic exchange. However, the art fair is just one of the many exciting events taking place in and around Dubai during this time.
Here are a few highlights of exciting events taking place in and around Dubai:
Elmarsa Gallery
Elmarsa Gallery presents A Perfect World, the first solo exhibition by leading Tunisian modernist Aly Ben Salem (1910-2001) at Elmarsa Gallery, Dubai, offering viewers a perspective on a pivotal moment in North African art history. Ben Salem represents the first generation of artists to emerge out of Tunisia as the struggle for independence from French rule comes to its successful conclusion.
Ayyam Gallery
A solo exhibition showcasing Sadik Kwaish Alfraji’s latest works, entitled “Those Houses Behind the Army Canal,” is currently on display at Ayyam Gallery. This series represents the second chapter of Alfraji’s project titled “Books of Passage,” which explores the theme of migration across three generations of his family. Previously, the first chapter of this project, titled “The River That Was in the South,” was exhibited at renowned art institutions such as the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, the Ayyam Gallery in Dubai, and the Cairo Biennale.
Custot Gallery
In partnership with Christie’s Middle East, Custot Gallery Dubai is proud to host the highly anticipated solo exhibition of acclaimed French artist Fabienne Verdier in the region. Titled “Energy Lines,” the exhibition represents a significant shift in Verdier’s artistic practice, which has been influenced by her extensive research into the wavelengths of colors found in rainbows, as well as her study of natural lines and their associated memories. This exhibition promises to be a must-see event for art lovers in the region.
Grey Noise
Natural sources by Jochen Lempert, at grey noise warehouse 24. Jochen Lempert’s photographic works capture the natural world in a myriad of contexts, ranging from their natural habitats to museum displays, from zoos to urban environments, and in both remote and mundane settings. Through his art, Lempert has assembled an extensive archive of images, showcasing a diverse range of subjects, from ordinary everyday views to compositions that approach abstraction.
Ishara Art Foundation
Curated by Sandhini Poddar and Sabih Ahmed, Notations on Time stages a dialogue between artistic generations to highlight entanglements between the past, present and future. The exhibition includes works by Soumya Sankar Bose, Sheba Chhachhi, Shezad Dawood, Ladhki Devi, Gauri Gill & Rajesh Vangad, Aziz Hazara, Amar Kanwar, Ali Kazim, Mariah Lookman, Haroon Mirza, Anoli Perera, Lala Rukh, Jangarh Singh Shyam, Dayanita Singh, Ayesha Sultana, Jagdish Swaminatham, Chandraguptha Thenuwara, and Zarina accompanied by an infra-vocabulary from Raqs Media Collective’s book “Seepage”.
Volte Art Projects
Volte Art Projects bring Sheba Chhachhi’s first solo exhibition in the Middle East; Temporal twists. The exhibition presents an extensive overview of artist Sheba Chhachhi’s impressive and varied body of work spanning four decades. Seven significant pieces created by Chhachhi since 1997 will be on display, including photo-video installations, photographs, and her distinctive animated lightboxes. The exhibition offers a thought-provoking exploration of important themes such as the complex dynamics surrounding gendered bodies, the often-overlooked histories of subaltern communities, humanity’s relationship with the natural world, and eco-philosophy, all of which are captured through Chhachhi’s unflinching and aesthetically pleasing art.
Zawyeh Gallery
Zawyeh Gallery is hosting an exhibition by the renowned Iraqi artist Afifa Aleiby from 26 February until 8 May 2023. The exhibition titled “Timeless Echoes” will include some of her latest artworks echoing her own life and tackling multiple societal and humane subjects.
Efie Gallery
Efie Gallery, the Dubai-based contemporary art gallery specialising in artists of African origin, presents Beyond The Fence, Begins The Sky, an exhibition of new works by the gallery’s second artist-in-residence, the Ghanaian painter Isshaq Ismail, running 28 February–29 May, showcasing new paintings created during his residency.
Meem Gallery
200 x 180 cm
(MO39)
Meem Gallery is presenting a solo exhibition of new work by the acclaimed Iraqi artist Mahmoud Obaidi: Mosquito Effects. Speaking truth to power has never been something Mahmoud Obaidi has shied away from in his work. The artist was introduced to the notion of injustice during his adolescence and has since spent much of his life processing the destruction of his homeland and the isolation of exile.
Andakulova Gallery
Andakulova Gallery presents “Memory for the Future,” a solo exhibition featuring the works of Javlon Umarbekov. The exhibition will run from February 23 to April 20, 2023, at Andakulova Gallery in Dubai. Umarbekov avoids postmodern intellectual games and glamorous but fake attractiveness in his work. The creative handwriting of Umarbekov is an individual interpretation of Cubist principles, with bright and sonorous colors. In his paintings there is a kind of retro–memory that can be read in nuances and has connections with the rebellious experiments of modernism as well as with masters of the avant garde of the twentieth century.
Perrotin Gallery
Perrotin gallery presents the debut solo exhibition of French-Beninese artist Jeremy Demester in Dubai. The exhibition titled XXI showcases an array of his latest works, revealing the artist’s creative vision and unique style to the public, it will take place at their Dubai location in DIFC’s Gate Village, Building 5, Unit 1, Podium Level from February 28 to April 8.