Daniel Arsham @ Perrotin Dubai - 'What Remains' Inaugural Exhibition of the New Gallery

Daniel Arsham

What Remains

Perrotin Dubai

October 30, 2025 – January 10, 2026

Daniel Arsham

Members of the Future, Cenote Exploration, 2024 

Acrylic on canvas panel 

Unframed: 121.9 × 147.3 × 5.7 cm | 48 × 58 × 2.25 in. 

Framed: 110.5 × 134.6 × 5.7 cm | 43 1/2 × 53 1/2 × 2.25 in. 

Photo: Guillaume Ziccarelli 

© Daniel Arsham. Courtesy of the artist and Perrotin

Daniel Arsham

Audio Bonsai 003, 2025

Copper wire, wood, speakers

153 × 132.1 × 101.6 cm | 60 1/4 × 52 × 40 in

© Daniel Arsham. Courtesy of the artist and Perrotin

Perrotin Dubai presents a debut solo exhibition What Remains by American artist Daniel Arsham. This exhibition marks the first solo show since the opening of the Perrotin Dubai gallery. What Remains features several new series from Arsham's extensive practice, including sculpture, painting and drawing, and a new sound installation, focusing on themes of cultural memory, and the passage of time.

Daniel Arsham transforms the gallery into a sonic installation with his latest sculptural series of copper wrapped bonsai tree sculptures. Doubling as functional stereo speakers, these works will play ambient music throughout the exhibition. This new series pays homage to Japanese Zen Buddhist culture and Arsham’s past presentations of sand zen gardens, which he has exhibited around the world at the Lotte Museum, South Korea and the Musée Guimet, France, among others.

Daniel Arsham

Stairs in the Labyrinth, 2025

Sand. 72 × 44.5 × 45.7 cm | 28 3/8 × 17 1/2 × 18 in.

© Daniel Arsham. Courtesy of the artist and Perrotin

Daniel Arsham also unveils a new suite of works relating to his recent Labyrinth series. Composed in cast sand, Arsham’s Stairs in a Labyrinth draws influence from artists like M.C. Escher and Renee Magritte’s maze-like works to create a sculptural double portrait. From head-on the work appears as a portrait bust of a sitter, transforming in the profile view into a maze of architectural levels and stairwells. Alongside the sculpture, Daniel Arsham presents a stilllife painting of another labyrinth bust and a selection of charcoal prepatory drawings. In this series, Daniel Arsham beckons viewers to navigate intricate compositions, suggesting an interplay of layers and pathways reminiscent of archeological sites where the past reveals itself in unexpected ways.

Alongside these new series, Daniel Arsham expands his decades-long project of “Fictional Archaeology,” where the artist examines objects from the twentieth century that are containers for collective cultural memory. Cast in his signature materials of geologic crystals and pigmented hydrostone, patinated bronze, and fiberglass, Daniel Arsham presents objects like a Rolling Stone magazine eroded with pink quartz crystals, a NY Yankees hat that appears to be emerging out of the architecture of the wall, and a bronze scaled replica of a 1985 DMC Delorean car - immortalized in the film Back to the Future.

Daniel Arsham has spent over twenty years cultivating an artistic universe that challenges conventional perceptions of time and reality. His works often evoke a sense of nostalgia and imaginative exploration, encouraging viewers to reflect on our collective history and the artifacts that shape our cultural identity. 

Artist Daniel Arsham Biography

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1980, New York based artist Daniel Arsham’s work explores the fields of fine art, architecture, performance, design and film. Raised in Miami, Daniel Arsham attended the Cooper Union in New York City where he received the Gelman Trust Fellowship Award in 2003. Soon thereafter Daniel Arsham toured worldwide with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company as the company’s stage designer. The experience led to an ongoing collaborative practice which continues as Arsham works with world renowned artists, musicians, designers, and brands including Moët & Chandon, Tiffany’s, Porsche and Dior, among others. In 2021 Arsham was appoint ed the role of creative director of the Cleveland Cavaliers, becoming the first ever fine artist to hold a position of this nature.

Arsham’s uchronic aesthetics revolves around his concept of fictional archaeology. Working in a multitude of disciplines he creates and crystallizes ambiguous in-between spaces and situations, and stages what he refers to as future relics of the present. Always iconic, most of the objects that he turns into stone refer to the late 20th century or millennial era, when technological obsolescence unprecedentedly accelerated along with the digital dematerialization of our world. While the present, the future and the past poetically collide in his haunted yet playful visions between romanticism and pop art, Arsham also experiments with the timelessness of certain symbols and gestures across cultures.

Daniel Arsham has presented solo exhibitions at the Lotte Art Museum in Seoul, South Korea; Sculpture Center, Cleveland, Ohio; Orange County Museum of Art, Costa Mesa and the Petersen Automobile Museum, Los Angeles, California; Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Leeds, U.K.; Musée Guimet, Paris and MAMO Cité Radieuse Arts Center, Marseille, France; UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, Dune, Beidaihe, and HOW Museum, Shanghai, China; MOCO Museum London and Amsterdam; Contemporary Arts Center Cincinnati, Ohio; and the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia, among others.His work has been presented at MoMA PS1, The New Museum and LongHouse Reserve in New York, Norton Museum in Palm Beach, The Athens Biennale in Athens; Musée Fenaille in Rodez, La Defense in Paris, and Carré d’Art de Nîmes in France, and SCAD Museum of Art in Savannah, Georgia, among others.

Arsham’s works are in the public collections of Blanton Museum of Art, Texas; Centre Pompidou, Paris; Georgia Museum of Art, Athens; ICA Miami, Florida; Musée Guimet, Paris; National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia; National Museum of Qatar, Doha; Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), Florida; Rhode Island School of Design (RISD); and the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis.

PERROTIN DUBAI

DIFC, Gate Village, Building 5, Unit 1, Podium Level, Dubai

www.perrotin.com

The Only Way Out Is Through: The Twentieth Line @ The Third Line, Dubai - 20th anniversary Exhibition curated by Shumon Basar

The Only Way Out Is Through: The Twentieth Line 

Curated by Shumon Basar

The Third Line, Dubai

18 September - 7 November 2025

Graphic Design by UBIK

Courtesy The Third Line

The Third Line presents The Only Way Out Is Through: The Twentieth Line, a project curated by Shumon Basar, marking the gallery’s 20th anniversary. Taking inspiration from the phrase often invoked in times of hardship—both as a mantra of endurance and a fatalistic admission of reality—The Only Way Out Is Through looks back on two decades of The Third Line’s story in relation to global cultural, political, and economic shifts through a retrospective exhibition, program of conversations, and “Flash Sales Specials”—a series of 48-hour pop-up sales of thematically grouped, long-unseen works from the gallery’s archive.

The exhibition component features every artist currently represented by The Third Line, with early and recent works drawn from the gallery’s extensive two-decade archive—much of which has not been shown to the public. Many of the early works reveal how some artists’ practices have evolved over the years, while others show artists whose visual language and concerns emerged fully formed and have remained strikingly consistent.

Selected pieces are arranged into four chronological sections—2005 to 2009/ 2010 to 2015/ 2016 to 2020/ 2021 to 2025—each contextualized by a timeline running across the gallery’s floors that delineates key political, economic, and cultural moments, ranging from the global financial crisis, through uprisings across the Arab world and the COVID-19 pandemic, to the present moment shaped by intersecting global crises. The exhibition opens and closes with statistical analytics that frame the narrative arc of the past two decades.

The 20-year portrait of The Third Line is completed by a series of conversations with key protagonists from the gallery’s history.

In celebrating the gallery’s 20-year journey, a tradition from its earlier years is resurrected as Flash Sales Specials. Shumon Basar selects long-unseen works from the gallery’s archive, groups them by “Search Word” themes, and displays them in the gallery’s Viewing Room for 48 hours only at a time, like vanishing Instagram Stories. The Flash Sales Specials will be announced via The Third Line’s social media platforms over the course of the exhibition.

The Third Line was founded when contemporary art from the Middle East was yet to gain recognition internationally the way it has today. Similarly, Dubai was just beginning to assert itself as a centre for culture and commerce. In 2005, the city’s ambitions were often met with international skepticism. Twenty years on, however, Dubai has now become a focus for shaping postwestern cultural discourse. The Only Way Out Is Through: The Twentieth Line invites visitors to time travel—through the many trajectories of contemporary art from the region over the past two decades, but also through the crises that have shadowed it—and reflect on the complexities and contradictions that make up the early 21st century.

Artists Included: Abbas Akhavan, Ala Ebtekar, Amir H. Fallah, Anuar Khalifi, Arwa Abouon, Bady Dalloul, Farah Al Qasimi, Farhad Moshiri, Fouad Elkoury, Hassan Hajjaj, Hayv Kahraman, Huda Lutfi, Joana Hadjithomas & Khalil Joreige, Jordan Nassar, Kamran Samimi, Laleh Khorramian, Lamya Gargash, Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, Nima Nabavi, Pouran Jinchi, Rana Begum, Sahand Hesamiyan, Sara Naim, Sarah Awad, Shirin Aliabadi, Slavs and Tatars, Sophia Al-Maria, Tarek Al-Ghoussein, Vian Sora, yasiin bey, Youssef Nabil

Curator Shumon Basar

Shumon Basar is a writer, thinker, and curator with two decades' experience working in the Gulf. After landing in Dubai for the first time in 2005, Basar became a Contributing Editor at Bidoun magazine, with whom the book, With/Without: Spatial Products, Practices and Politics in the Middle East — co-edited with Antonia Carver and Markus Miessen — was published in 2007. In the same year, Basar’s other book, Cities from Zero, also came out, analysing new urban languages in Dubai and China. Shumon Basar has been Commissioner at Art Dubai’s renowned Global Art Forum since 2011, overseeing hundreds of speakers, across Doha, Kuwait, Singapore and London. He was Curator-at-Large at Jameel Arts Centre, Dubai, where his 2021 exhibition with Douglas Coupland and Hans Ulrich Obrist Age of You was critically acclaimed.

Other roles have included founding member of Fondazione Prada’s Thought Council; Special projects at Prada and Miu Miu; Curator of Public Program at Art Week Riyadh 2025; Expert Advisory Group for the Royal Commission of AlUla; Chief Narrative Officer and co-founder at web3 startup Zien; Public Programs Director at the Architectural Association. He is currently working on establishing Ibraaz, a London-located space for art, culture and ideas from the global majority, initiated by Lina Lazaar and the Kamel Lazaar Foundation. 

Shumon Basar is co-author of the modern-classics, The Extreme Self (Franz and Walter Koenig) and The Age of Earthquakes (Penguin), both with Douglas Coupland and Hans Ulrich Obrist. Lastly, Shumon Basar has held editorial positions at the magazines TANK, 032c, Flash Art, and as Curator-in-Residence at Zora Zine, produced a trilogy of pieces around his viral neologism, 'Lorecore.'

THE THIRD LINE

Alserkal Avenue, Warehouse 78, Street 8, Al Quoz 1, Dubai, UAE

thethirdline.com

Lala Rukh @ Grey Noise Gallery, Dubai - "The importance of staying quiet" - Lala Rukh I [First Part of the Exhibition]: Photographic archives

Lala Rukh I [First Part of the Exhibition]

The importance of staying quiet

Grey Noise Gallery, Dubai

 September 18 – November 5, 2025

In 2014, The importance of staying quiet was exhibited in Hong Kong as an attempt to acknowledge a minimal vocabulary within Pakistani art. Conceived by Saira Ansari and Umer Butt, the presentation brought together works spanning six decades, between the 1950s and 2010s, and included Anwar Jalal Shemza (1928–1985), Zahoor ul Akhlaq (1941–1999), Lala Rukh (1948–2017), Rashid Rana (b. 1968), Hamra Abbas (b. 1976), Sara Salman (b. 1978), Ali Kazim (b. 1979), Ayesha Jatoi (b. 1979), Fahd Burki (b. 1981), and Iqra Tanveer (b. 1983).

Rather than showing signature works often associated with these artists – most of whom are not minimalists – the exhibition highlighted moments where they pared form and image down to their most distilled elements. The proposition was that minimal vocabularies in Pakistan are not anomalies or exceptions, but part of a more layered understanding of artistic abstraction in the region.

A decade later, The importance of staying quiet returns as a year-long dialogic exchange between Butt and Ansari and will include a series of presentations shaped through discursive encounters. This time, the programme will examine the development of practices that have deliberately engaged minimal or abstract strategies. This exercise is not only about tracing a lineage of abstraction, but about sustaining a way of looking that requires deeper reading and slower appreciation. 

The first exhibition of The importance of staying quiet opens with Lala Rukh’s photographic archives from her years at the University of Chicago (1974–76).

While pursuing a second master’s degree at nearly thirty, Lala Rukh already had a trained eye, but these images reveal the sharpening of her framing and the intent of her gaze. This exhibition revisits that gaze, bringing together early works that carry a cinematic sense of composition before arriving at her later language of minimal abstraction.

Photography was central to Lala Rukh’s life yet largely unseen by the public until Sagar (2017) offered a first glimpse into how her retinal memory developed. The exhibition included photographic documentation of rivers and seas across India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Burma, shot during her travels between 1992 and 2005. Each composition follows a specific format, where water bodies, the horizon, and the sky feature in varying proportions. The absence of people and objects is consistent. Among the countless images she took, Lala Rukh’s selection for the exhibition revealed solitude and an intimacy with the waterscapes, preserving fleeting moments in time. 

The Chicago photographs, however, are different. They are not minimal or abstract. They contain architecture, people, animals, objects, and most importantly, construct narratives. Additionally, the ‘set’ and direction recall filmic technique. Where a person or an animate body is absent, the scene is weighted with arrival or departure. These photos document Lala’s new surroundings and influences. The artist was broadening her perspective, and encountering art, music, and politics that encouraged experimentation. While these elements are present in the photographs, they are not the main subject of this presentation. Instead, the elemental techniques of printing – resized reproductions of film negatives, and pairing frames in diptychs, triptychs, and other polyptych sequences – are centred. 

Lala Rukh’s works on photo paper and other forms of mixed media printing are more clearly offshoots of her photography practice. But her characteristic affinity for rigour, design, and precision can also be seen at play here. Together they foreshadow the ways her later works were composed, executed, and presented. 

These images mark an artist testing how vision and perception could be distilled into structure, laying the foundations of a radical practice. Nearly half a century later, they allow for a nuanced reading of an artist whose early experiments in framing, sequencing, and looking shaped her language of abstraction. Connections between these photographs and her later works, particularly in their use of colour and compositional discipline, will be explored in Lala Rukh II, the second part of this exhibition.

Although Lala Rukh produced these images with intention – prepared and perhaps shown during her university years – she never formally presented them as artworks. The editors of this presentation therefore frame them carefully as reflective studies within her archive, read in retrospect as a way to trace her process.  

Artist Lala Rukh 

Lala Rukh (b.1948, Lahore; d. 2017, Lahore / Lived and worked in Lahore, Pakistan) studied art at Punjab University, Lahore, Pakistan (MFA) and University of Chicago, USA (MFA). She taught for 30 years at Punjab University, Department of Fine Art and the National College of Arts where she set up the MA(Hons) Visual Art Program in the year 2000. After retiring from teaching, Lala Rukh devoted her time in her studio in Lahore and to activism. She was amongst the foremost feminist activist artists of South Asia.

A selection of exhibitions includes: Göteborg International Biennial For Contemporary Art, Gothenburg, Sweden / In Our Own Backyard, Asia Art Archive, Hongkong / Lala Rukh: In the Round, Sharjah Art Foundation, Sharjah, UAE / After Rain, Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia / Notations on Time, Ishara Art Foundation, UAE / Line, beats and shadows, Kiran Nadar Museum Art, India / Luogo e Segni, Punta della Dogana, Italy / Artist’s Rooms: Lala Rukh, Jameel Arts Centre, Dubai, UAE / Peindre La Nuit, Centre Pompidou – Metz, France / Documenta 14, Athens, Greece and Kassel, Germany / For an Image, Faster Than Light – Curated by Bose Krishnamachari, Yinchuan Biennial, Yinchuan, China / The past, the present, the possible – Curated by Eungie Joo, Sharjah Biennial 12, Sharjah, UAE.  

GREY NOISE GALLERY

Unit 24, Alserkal Avenue, Street 8, Al Quoz 1, Dubai, UAE

www.greynoise.org

A Retrospective of Mona Al Khaja @ Aisha Alabbar Gallery, Dubai - "Caravan of Colors Through Time" Exhibition

Caravan of Colors Through Time: A Retrospective of Mona Al Khaja 

Aisha Alabbar Gallery, Dubai

September 19 – November 5, 2025

Aisha Alabbar Gallery presents Caravan of Colors Through Time, a landmark retrospective celebrating over four decades of work by Mona Al Khaja (b. Sharjah, 1958), a pioneering figure of Emirati modern art.

Mona Al Khaja belongs to the first generation of Emirati artists whose creative pursuits began at a time when the UAE’s cultural identity was still in its earliest stages. Her work stands as a vital record of the region’s artistic development, bridging the foundational years of formal art education in the Gulf with the emergence of a distinct and independent visual language.

A graduate of the Faculty of Fine Arts in Cairo, Mona Al Khaja immersed herself in the vibrant artistic scene of Egypt during the 1970s and 1980s. Under the mentorship of pioneering artists such as Dr. Najat Makki and Abdulrahim Salim, she explored the expressive possibilities of abstraction, symbolism, and the evocative power of color. These early influences would become the foundation for a practice that has remained deeply committed to painting as a means of articulating both personal memory and collective history.

The exhibition presents paintings from every stage of Mona Al Khaja’s career: early works created during her student years in Cairo, pieces produced upon her return to the Emirates, and recent compositions in which landscapes dissolve into contemplative visions. The desert’s vast horizons, the intricate patterns of architecture, and the ephemeral shimmer of light are transformed into quiet meditations on time, place, and belonging.

Through her steadfast dedication to her craft, Mona Al Khaja has shaped a distinctly Emirati voice within the broader narrative of Arab modernism. As one of the first Emirati women to pursue a professional career in the visual arts, she has paved the way for generations to follow her work revealing how the visual language of abstraction can convey what spoken

language often cannot.

Reflecting on her lifelong practice, Mona Al Khaja writes:

“The brush and colors speak when the tongue is silent.”

Shilan Samaei, Gallery Director at Aisha Alabbar Gallery, reflects: “Visiting Mona in her studio was an unforgettable experience. Leafing through old photographs, images of her as a young painter beside pioneers like Dr. Najat Makki and Abdulrahim Salim was like stepping into a pivotal moment in the UAE’s cultural history. It was a time when an entire generation was not only creating art but also laying the very foundations of the nation’s artistic identity. This exhibition stands as both a tribute to that unwavering dedication and a testament to the enduring influence of Mona’s work

Caravan of Colors Through Time offers both a celebration of Mona Al Khaja’s remarkable artistic legacy and an invitation to consider how art like memory can become a vessel through which we understand ourselves and the places we call home."

Artist Mona Al Khaja

Mona Al Khaja (b. Sharjah, 1958) is an Emirati painter. Having graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts of Cairo of Helwan University, in 1981, Mona Al Khaja studied under influential artists and educators from the Arab World including Hamed Nada, Mohammed Riyadh, and Ahmed Nawar. She is considered among the founding artists of the contemporary art scene in the UAE.

As one of the first generation of UAE artists, Mona Al Khaja’s approach to painting is the result of formal study in the history of art, training in Egypt alongside artists such as Dr. Najat Makki and Abdulrahim Salim, as well as mastering techniques unique to Islamic culture. These sources provide her with abundant inspiration that she translates to the Emirati present, often blending symbolism and impressionist abstraction into her signature style. Mona Al Khaja uses figuration and abstraction, deliberately layering and blending colours and strokes to capture simplicity so elaborately. The artist mirrors her experience observing and recollecting acts of life at home and abroad.

She has had several solo exhibitions in the UAE, including a solo presentation at Abu Dhabi Art, Aisha Alabbar Gallery, Manarat Al Saadiyat, Abu Dhabi (2021); Observe + Absorb, Majlis Gallery, Dubai (2019); Harmony: Aesthetics of Ornamentation in Emirati Heritage, Sharjah Heritage Museum, Sharjah (2019); and Chromatic Horizons, Sharjah University, Sharjah (2015).

Mona Al Khaja is a member of the Emirates Fine Arts Society and has continuously participated in its Annual Exhibition since its founding in 1980, in addition to participating in its international exhibitions in Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt, Qatar, France, Japan, Spain, Germany, Singapore, Iran, India and Morocco.

She participated in numerous exhibitions in the UAE, including 7 + 7, Sultan Bin Ali Al Owais Cultural Foundation, Dubai (2020); Artists and the Cultural Foundation: The Early Years, Cultural Foundation, Abu Dhabi (2018); The Perpetual Kingdom: Contemporary Arabic Calligraphy, Gallery Ward, Dubai (2016); Sikka Art Fair, Dubai (2015); Her Colourful Papers, Sharjah Calligraphy Museum, Sharjah (2010); and Sharjah Biennial (2001 and 1999). Internationally, Mona Al Khaja participated in notable exhibitions, including Kunooz Fine Art Exhibition and Auction, Bvlgari Hotel Knightsbridge & Christie’s, London, UK (2015); Jewels from the Emirates, Delta City Mall, Podgorica, Montenegro (2011); The Reflective Mirror, United Nations Headquarters, New York, NY, USA (2010); The International Exhibition of the Renaissance and Great Masterpieces of World Art, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan (2009); Cairo Biennial (2004); Kuwait Biennial (2002); and Oman Art Biennial (1990).

Mona Al Khaja has received multiple awards, including the Al Owais Award, Dubai (2019 and 2004); and L’Officiel Arab Women Award, Dubai (2010). She also participated in the Fujairah International Arts Festival Residency in 2018.

The artist sold her first two paintings at age 14 to a prominent art patron in the UAE. Today, her works are in important collections in the UAE including, Barjeel Art Foundation, American University of Sharjah in Sharjah; Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cultural Foundation, Mubadala Investment Company and Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage in Abu Dhabi; Dubai Collection, Sultan Bin Ali Al Owais Cultural Foundation and Commercial Bank of Dubai in Dubai; and internationally in The Museum of Modern Art in Kuwait and The Jordan Museum in Amman, Jordan. Her works are also in private collections in the UAE and abroad.

AISHA ALABBAR GALLERY

Warehouse C-19, Alserkal Avenue 17th Street, 

Al Quoz Industrial Area 1 - Dubai, UAE

www.aishaalabbar.art

Elias Izoli @ Ayyam Gallery, Dubai - "Inside Out '25" Exhibition

Elias Izoli

Inside Out '25

Ayyam Gallery, Dubai

18 September - 7 November 2025

Ayyam Gallery presents Inside Out '25 an exhibition featuring Elias Izoli’s most recent body of work. After a long hiatus from painting, Izoli returns with a new body of work centered around the circus of life.

A childhood fascination evolved into a profound reflection on the unpredictability and complexity of life as a Syrian citizen. In his latest series, Izoli uses the circus as a metaphor: its performers, from tightrope walkers to clowns and magicians, embody the tension between joy and survival. The circus and its family become a symbol of the broader social body, with each character representing the individuals who comprise the state’s fabric. With concealed motives that slowly unravel under closer inspection, Izoli reveals an environment we, as spectators, have only observed from the outside. He invites us inside the fortress-like walls, offering a view from within.

Rendered in his signature fragmented color style, each painting presents a portrait that speaks to resilience, illusion, and the spectacle of existence. Figures of entertainment, marred by despair and sadness, mirror Izoli’s reflections on the toll conflicts have on everyday life. Some hide behind curtains, others peer out, offering viewers a guarded gaze from within a fortress-like world. Each character remains confined within their own space, some carry suitcases, others’ gaze looms over the big top. Every gesture reflects the emotional heaviness and psychological barriers imposed by our world. The figures seem unable to escape or engage with a reality beyond their own, a world that exists within the fragile yet resilient walls of the circus tent.

Beyond their colorful attire, the circus troupe imagined by Izoli reveals deeper emotions: manipulation, sorrow, and anxiety juggle between the characters’ hands. Distraught feelings resurface, and the figures cease to represent joy or entertainment. Instead, they juggle life’s weight together with their daily struggles. Balance is key to this new take on Izoli’s distinctive use of collage-style painting. It emerges through the interplay between the vibrancy and coolness of his color palette, the joy and sorrow expressed through his chosen characters, and the tension between manipulation and the direct figurative clarity of his themes.

The roundness present in their bodies does not reflect an idealized physiology, but rather the emotional and psychological weight borne by these characters. A symbol of the quiet toll exacted by prolonged conflict and persistent worry in a world imposed upon us. It is this gravity that tethers them, making it difficult to envision an end to their actions as they juggle, balance, and navigate day-to-day realities that offer little to no means of escape.

This series marks a new direction in Izoli’s practice, yet remains rooted in the influence of those who came before him. The theme of balance resurfaces through a contemporary reinterpretation of Da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi, now reimagined in the shape-shifting form of a clown. Like a joker card in a game, the two paintings featuring this clown figure act as wildcards, capable of ending this tumultuous spectacle of emotions. Manipulation takes center stage in these works: vibrant colors, playful acts, and magical illusions draw the viewer in, only to mask the deeper realities beneath the surface. In this swirling performance, joy and despair are intertwined, both performed and concealed at once.

Artist Elias Izoli

Hypnotizing in their emotional depth, Elias Izoli’s works captivate viewers through melancholic facial expressions that reflect intrinsic thoughts.

Izoli’s painting technique can be described as a hybrid, interweaving traditional painting methods with elements of collage. Canvas cutouts form the base pattern upon which his subjects emerge. From children to circus performers, Izoli continuously shifts his focus to different figures while maintaining a consistent intention: to draw viewers into the emotional world of his subjects and create an environment in which both artwork and audience emotionally co-exist. Izoli’s subjects provoke a subtle sense of intrusion, yet they foster a strong empathetic connection with the viewer. The melancholic atmosphere, combined with his signature muted palette, invites the audience into these intimate and emotionally charged spaces.

His fascination with his predecessor, Louay Kayyali, led him to create a series using the same techniques and muted color palette that have defined his work since the beginning of his career. In this series, Izoli adopts Kayyali’s curvaceous, fluid forms to depict human figures, reflecting on the consumerist state of the world, a condition that erodes compassion and empathy, themes omnipresent in Izoli’s art.

After a long hiatus caused by the emotional and psychological toll of the Syrian conflict, Izoli has reclaimed his artistic voice, breathing new life into his canvases. His recent depictions of circus performers place life in a delicate balance, echoing the instability and tension inherent in each act portrayed. Melancholy once again pervades the works, etched into the grimaces of characters who, despite being symbols of joy and entertainment, radiate nostalgia and deep sadness.

Born in 1976, Elias Izoli lives and works in Damascus, Syria. Since 1993, his works have been showcased in numerous solo and group exhibitions, including several at Ayyam Gallery in Beirut and Dubai (2010, 2012, 2013, 2016, and 2018). 

AYYAM GALLERY 

B11, Alserkal Avenue, Street 8, Al Quoz Industrial 1, Dubai

www.ayyamgallery.com

Tajammul @ XVA Gallery, Dubai - An exhibition that capture the evolving art landscape in the Middle East

Tajammul

A Summer Show

XVA Gallery, Dubai

July 1 - September 11, 2025

XVA Gallery presents 'Tajammul', a group exhibition bringing together sixteen artists that capture the aesthetics of the evolving art landscape in the contemporary Middle East.

Exhibited Artist:

Basil Alkazzi

B. 1938. Basil Alkazzi is a Kuwait-born British visual artist, of Saudi Arabian-Kuwaiti heritage. His passion for art began in early childhood, he attended the Central School of Art in London (now Central Saint Martins, a constituent college of the University of the Arts London). In 1986, he established the Basil Alkazzi Scholarship at the Royal College of Art in London; and a year later in 1987, established the Basil H. Alkazzi Award for young and emerging American painters. Through the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA), Alkazzi established in 2010 two biennial awards.

Hussein Al-Mohasen

B. 1971. Visual artist Hussein Al-Mohasen has been active in the art world in the Gulf region since his first appearance in 1999 at the Al-Janadriya Festival in his native Saudi Arabia, since then he has since then occupied a place alongside the pioneering Saudi artists. Behind the obvious simplicity of his works lurks a decades-long journey shaped by poetry from the Arab world and the complex intersections between modern spaces and personal freedoms. Al Mohasen’s work is visually global and overcomes regional paradigms, presenting the contemporary Arab experience after the fashion of the poetry and music that inspired him: In the end, we all speak the same language. Hussein Al Mohasen’s work has been exhibited all over the Middle East since 1999.

Charlotte de Bekker

Charlotte de Bekker is an award-winning filmmaker and artist based in the Netherlands. She spent the majority of her childhood in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates, going on to study both Film and Philosophy at NYU Abu Dhabi. Charlotte uses what she has learnt from her basis of being a filmmaker in the science, education and documentary fields, and ties this in with themes of futurism, nature, and folklore.

Debjani Bhardwaj

Debjani Bhardwaj was born in Kolkata, India and completed her Masters in Business Management at Birla Institute of Technology, Ranchi , India . She started her career as a financial analyst in New Delhi. She later moved into the field of art in the year 2007 and completed MA Fine Arts at the Open College of the Arts, UK. She is a multidisciplinary artist and expresses herself through sculpture (ceramics, paper), illustration, papercuts and printmaking. She has illustrated two children’ s books “World Tales “, a book of folk tales written by the students of Dubai International Academy (2009 ) and “A Magic Place” , a book of short stories used by middle school children in India (2010).

CC (Alireza Asbahi)

Born in 1969 in Tehran, CC’s artistic journey is a fascinating blend of personal experiences and cultural influences. At a young age, CC had to take the responsibility of being the head of his family, which shaped his outlook on life and his creative pursuits. It was during his time working at a clothing manufacturing company that he discovered his passion for art. Drawing inspiration from his father, who was a tailor, CC began experimenting with collaging and layering techniques, using an old sewing machine as his tool to craft intricate pieces. CC’s art is a reflection of his deep connection to Iranian history and culture, with a particular focus on exploring the aesthetics and symbolism of traditional iconography, such as the Lion and the Sun. His works exude a raw and powerful energy, blending patterns and colors in a way that is both understated and impactful. With a distinct and recognizable style, CC has established himself in the art world. His ability to breathe new life into ancient forms while preserving their timeless beauty is a testament to his skill and unwavering dedication to his craft.

Imran Channa

B. 1981. Imran Channa is a Pakistani visual artist. Channa’s primary interest is in historical documentation and how that documentation creates narratives, information and misinformation. He finds that historical narratives and the documents that create or support them are limited in scope and complexity. He uses drawing, moving image, installation and digital technology as means to re-examine historical documents and their influence, so inviting audiences to contemplate the contradictions of how we record and understand history.

Elizabeth Dorazio

The artist was born and raised in Araguari, deep in the Brazilian hinterland. Currently residing in Dubai, she works between Brazil and the UAE. Her practice draws on the visual cultures and popular techniques of both “homes”. Dorazio studied Visual Arts at the Guignard University of Art (Fundação Escola Guignard) in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, later specializing in Ancient Italian Art Techniques at the Institute for Art and Restoration (Istituto per L’Arte e il Ristauro), Florence, Italy, and finally, in Germany at the Abendschule, Staedelschule. She studied art history under Rodrigo Naves, one of Brazil’s foremost art critics and scholars. Dorazio’s practice centers on mixed-media works and installations. To skim through her myriad bodies of works is to glimpse a fascination with instability, shifting surfaces, the cosmic, the organic, the cellular, and skin. While she remains faithful to a certain technical classicism (drawing, etching, the use of egg tempera), she also disrupts through material (x-ray fragments, chair caning) and scale. Upstream, her works are process-driven; on reception, they seem urgent and interactive. The artist has exercised her skills as a curator in the exhibitions Existenzielle Korrespondenzen (Frankfurt am Main/São Paulo, 2016), Blue Connection (Frankfurt am Main/São Paulo/Sorocaba, 2010-11) and Schweizer 9 (Frankfurt am Main, 2008).

Oussama Garti

Born in Rabat, he is a Moroccan architectural designer and artist trained at the Architectural Association in London. Fascinated by the infinite amount of similarities between macro and micro elements around him, Garti explores the idea of perception and works with an extensive research to produce his work. His environment and observations fuel his creative process. He also uses numerous tools to explore remote locations and builds a digital library of natural textures in different scales. He magnifies “moments” and celebrates their complexity on his canvas. With his immersive work, Oussama Garti takes us on a journey full of poetry and lyricism. Oussama is also the co-founder of INTERVAL, a non-profit cultural initiative that aims to widen access to art, invite different actors to debate around a range of topics, and support projects with high social impact in the MENA region.

Mahmoud Hamadani

B. 1958 Iran, lives in New York. Mahmoud Hamadani’s works have been shown at The British Museum, The New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York, as well as numerous solo and group exhibitions in New York, London, Dubai, Lausanne, Beirut and Hong Kong. He is in the permanent collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The British Museum. He is a recipient of Pollock-Krasner Foundation grant. Hamadani earned a BA in Mathematics from State University of New York and a Masters degree in Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

David Howarth

Associate Dean and Associate Professor in Graphic Design at the College of Arts & Creative Enterprises – Zayed University, Abu Dhabi. David earned an MA in Communication Design from the University of Salford, England. David is currently working on a Typography project connected to Land Art, inspired by the ecology of Sir Banyas Island.

Richard Ketley

B. 1964, Johannesburg, South Africa. Richard has painted since a young age and held his first solo exhibition while in school at Hyde Park High School, Johannesburg. During his early years he exhibited at Artist in the Sun, at the Sandton Gallery, Johannesburg, and also participated in an exhibition at the National Galley in Kampala, Uganda. Today Richard works principally in charcoal, acrylic and oil, and seeks to develop images that are drawn from life but extend the viewer’s imagination.

Behdad Lahooti

B.1976. Behdad Lahooti is an Iranian sculptor and an active member of the association of Iranian sculptors. He has years of experiences as director and general secretary of Tehran Sculpture Biennial, national Sculpture Expositions, and other sculpture-related events under his belt while cooperating with various Iranian art galleries, such as Aaran Art gallery and Hedayat Art Gallery as an artist and has had several solo and group exhibitions so far. He has experienced with a wide variety of materials over his long years of activity as a sculptor. Although his skill in working with varying kinds of metals has been particularly appreciated, he frequently uses wood, plaster, resin, ceramic, fabric, and many others in his creative process. New materials and techniques are always welcomed in Lahooti’s pieces and his art is characterized by implementing modern techs and processes. Distinctive and varied periods can be seen in the works of this prolific artist, distinguishable for one another in terms of forms and manners of dealing with subject matters. Nonetheless, social issues remain the key theme in his works and events in the world and Middle-East, wars, and news exert a big impact on him. Lahooti’s work has been well received by art enthusiasts dues their aesthetic qualities, both formal and visual, as well as their skillful construction. Although his works fascinate viewers by their sheer beauty at first sight, they provoke thought in all of them too.

Colleen Quigley

Colleen Quigley is a Japanese-American visual artist based in Tucson, Arizona. Her practice encompasses a broad range of media including sculpture, installation, painting, encaustic, and digital fabrication. Colleen Quigley’s research interests include postmodern strategies of making in relation to themes of materiality, perception, memory and place, and the transcultural flow of objects. Her work has been exhibited in Italy, Japan, Singapore, the United States, and the U.A.E.

Tor Seidel

Tor Seidel is a German artist, curator, and lecturer with extensive experience teaching art at universities, as well as in the gallery and exhibition sectors.

Moussa Tiba

B. 1939 D. 2014. Moussa Tiba studied at the Beirut Fine Arts Institute and later pursued further education in London, Rome, and other regions, exploring various artistic mediums. His style transitioned from figuration to abstraction in the 1970s, with watercolor becoming central to his work. Tiba’s art reflects a fusion of Western and Eastern influences, focusing on themes of creation, peace, and the regeneration of life. Tiba’s work has been exhibited internationally in Lebanon, France, Germany, Norway, Egypt, Kuwait, and Brazil. His pieces are held in major collections, including the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Chartres, the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris, and UNESCO in Beirut. His family home in Qana has been converted into a museum dedicated to his art and also displays works by other prominent artists.

Morteza Zahedi

Born in 1978, Rasht, Iran and lives in Tehran. He started his artistic career at the age of 15, working as a professional graphic designer, children’s book illustrator, painter and sculptor. As of 2011, he is also an outsider art collector, curator, and gallerist.

XVA GALLERY

Al Fahidi Neighborhood, Bur Dubai, Dubai, UAE

www.xvagallery.com

Nima Nabavi @ The Third Line, Dubai - "Sunrise at the Vortex" Exhibition

Nima Nabavi: Sunrise at the Vortex 

The Third Line, Dubai 

15 June – 27 July 2025

Nima Nabavi 

Roswell2223, 2023 

Ink on Canvas, 549 x 182 x 2 cm

© Nima Nabavi, courtesy The Third Line

The Third Line presents Sunrise at the Vortex, the second solo exhibition by Nima Nabavi at the gallery. Featuring a selection of new works made by the artist between 2022 and 2025, the show marks a significant evolution in his practice, both conceptually and technically. Rooted in his travels to sites across the world considered to be energy centers by different communities, the works reflect Nabavi’s deepened commitment to introspection, geometry, and modes of making that embrace technology alongside traditional tools.

Spending quiet time in these sites, the artist forged a stronger connection to himself and the universe, which prompted a turn to his practice as a way for meditation and self-exploration. Created in concentrated, inspired bursts within makeshift studios in Roswell, Brooklyn, Los Angeles, and Dubai, the resulting works exude increasing complexity and intensity in both form and color.

Roswell2223 (2023), the largest handmade piece Nima Nabavi has created to date, consists of countless lines that create a brilliant, crystalline surface. Drawn painstakingly over the course of a year—often while crouching over the canvas to trace each line, assisted only by a nine-foot ruler—the piece reflects the artist’s belief in life: “If the intention to maintain a pattern is there, then over time, all these lines will form the pattern—like life, in the sense that if we maintain the intention to live with kindness, openness, and consistency, we will lead that kind of life, even if we may have some bad days on the way.” Collectively, the geometric forms of the work map out a universe that invite viewers to lose themselves in.

Simultaneously, reflections on the meaning of artmaking have inspired the artist to broaden the scope of his methodology. Nima Nabavi has experimented with various new media and technology in recent years, creating works such as Signal (2025), a site-specific Digital Façade Commission by Art Jameel, displayed at Jameel Arts Centre, Dubai, UAE in April 2025.

In Sunrise at the Vortex, Nima Nabavi presents a series of works made using an architectural pen-plotter typically employed to print building blueprints. Hand-drawn digital compositions are rendered line-by-line by the machine utilizing the same tools as the artist, resulting in richly layered pieces that retain his signature intricacy while allowing for greater depth. Far from reducing his practice, technology becomes a means of enriching it, as it enables the artist to conceive and realize geometric forms that would otherwise be impossible. 

As Nima Nabavi recounts: “Growing up, I witnessed my grandfather, who was a self-taught geometric artist, no longer being able to execute his ideas – which were becoming ever-complex over the years – as his body grew weaker with age.”

This memory underscores the artist’s decision to integrate technology into his process as one not to delegate creativity, but to carve out space for introspection and experimentation, as well as to ensure its sustainability and expansion. Collectively, the works in the exhibition reflect Nabavi’s evolving relationship with his practice – one that honors both his past and the possibilities ahead.

Artist Nima Nabavi

Born in Iran in 1978, Nima Nabavi is a self-taught artist based between Dubai and New York. His practice centers on geometric abstraction and its connection to the natural world, quantum processes, and psychedelic phenomena. Drawing on an ever expanding set of tools – ranging from the traditional to the technological – Nima Nabavi creates grid-based compositions of elaborately layered, ordered forms, inspired by his grandfather, who was a master geometer for over 50 years. Nabavi’s mathematical approach and repetitive numeric symbolism rely heavily on advanced planning, precise calculations, and self-developed methodologies to ensure the vital structural accuracy of each work. This contemplative execution of intricate geometries aims to build complexity out of simple forms and reveal the emergent harmony and inherent beauty of our shared reality.

Selected solo exhibitions include Sunrise at the Vortex, The Third Line, Dubai, UAE (2025); Visiting, Roswell Museum, New Mexico, USA (2023); and 1,2,3, The Third Line, Dubai, UAE (2018). Nima Nabavi’s group exhibitions include Geometry and Art in The Modern Middle East, Misk Art Institute Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (2023); Sharjah Islamic Arts Festival – ‘Gradate’, Sharjah Museum of Art, Sharjah, UAE (2022); Ways of Seeing Abstraction - Works from the Deutsche Bank Collection, Palais Populaire, Berlin, Germany (2021); There is Fiction In The Space Between, The Third Line, Dubai, UAE (2020); Crafting Geometry: Abstract Art from South and West Asia, Sotheby’s, New York, USA (2020); Fragments, Yesterday and Today, Gateway, Abu Dhabi Art, Abu Dhabi, UAE (2019); Your Favorite Artist's Favorite Artist #2, Joshua Liner Gallery, New York, USA (2019); Horizon, Sharjah Islamic Arts Festival, Sharjah, UAE (2018).

Nima Nabavi’s work is part of private and public collections, including the Deutsche Bank Collection, Berlin, Germany and the Jameel Arts Centre, Dubai, UAE.

THE THIRD LINE

Alserkal Avenue, Warehouse 78, Street 8, Al Quoz 1, Dubai, UAE

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Huda Lutfi @ The Third Line, Dubai - "Unraveling" Exhibition

Huda Lutfi: Unraveling

The Third Line, Dubai

15 April – 27 May 2025

Huda Lutfi

Missing Shoe, 2018 

Mixed media on paper, 70 x 50 cm

© Huda Lutfi, courtesy The Third Line

The Third Line presents Unraveling, Huda Lutfi’s fourth solo exhibition at the gallery. Bringing together works from three of her recent series—When Dreams Call for Silence (2019), Our Black Thread (2020–2021), and Healing Devices (2020-ongoing)—the exhibition traces the deepening introspective qualities of Lutfi’s practice over the recent years. Unraveling also features a selection of previously unshown miniature collages that precede Healing Devices, offering insight into Lutfi’s artistic experimentations that culminated in these sculptural abstractions. The exhibition includes a new video work, The Seven-legged Demon of the Night (2025), made in memory of Lutfi’s mother, whose lifelong work as a seamstress inspired the artist’s practice centered on thread and fabric.

Owing to her background as a cultural historian, Lutfi’s work has long engaged with the sociopolitical currents of her surroundings, particularly her longtime home, Cairo. In her earlier works, human figures—often fragmented, dismembered, or punctured through her signature collage technique—serve as both reactions to and reflections on the crises that unfolded during moments of political unrest in Egypt. In her series When Dreams Call for Silence (2019), the human figure remains but is now set within surreal domestic scenes or immersed in poignant silence, marking a shift in Lutfi’s practice toward stillness and introspection, as described by writer and curator Sara El-Adl.

This contemplative direction deepens in Healing Devices (2020-ongoing), where Lutfi moves toward assemblages of organic and geometric paper cutouts carefully arranged against delicate silver or gold backgrounds. The series is inspired by Ismail al-Jazari, a 12th century Arab designer and polymath, whose manuscript, The Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices (1206), contains over 100 illustrations. Initiated during the COVID-19 pandemic—a period of global uncertainty and isolation—Healing Devices embodies a sense of quiet resilience, healing, and spiritual reflection. Complementing this body of work, the exhibition also presents a selection of previously unseen miniature collages—spontaneous experimentations with form that preceded the Healing Devices series. These compositions offer a glimpse into the intuitive, exploratory process that became the foundation for the series.

In the Our Black Thread (2020-21) series, Huda Lutfi further leans into the act of making as a healing practice. What began as a casual exercise at home—improvising with thread on used teabags and car-filters—evolved into a fully-fledged practice rooted in materiality, intuition, and ritual. Utilizing the mobility afforded by the medium’s lightness, Huda Lutfi sewed both at home and in her studio, creating a multitude of minimalist compositions with a restrained palette of black, white, gray, and off-white. The works not only amplify the introspective meditation that fueled their making but also evoke the historical association of craftsmanship as feminine labor and its complex relationship to art.

Gallery Two presents The Seven-legged Demon of the Night (2025), a new video made in memory of Huda Lutfi’s mother, Su’ad Hanim ‘Abdul ‘Aziz Wali, who was a seamstress. The work captures Su’ad’s hands during a period of her illness, engaged in the miming of sewing and cutting. Interwoven with texts reflecting on her mother’s relationship with sewing, the video invites contemplation on what sewing signifies to a female body, its ties to memory and healing, as well as kinship.

Collectively, the works in Unraveling offer a compelling portrait of Huda Lutfi, whose embodied, deeply meditative practice remains ever relevant in a world increasingly grappling with political strife and violence. In the words of Huda Lutfi: “Art is a healing practice. You forget yourself—the burden of the ego, as well as its anxieties and desires—when you immerse yourself in a work of art.”

Artist Huda Lutfi

Cultural historian Huda Lutfi is a self-taught artist. An Associate Professor at the American University, Cairo, Lutfi holds a PhD in Islamic Culture and History. Her artistic practice is closely aligned with her research, both of which reflect upon history and traditions as they exist in the contemporary world. In considering the present-day interpretations and misinterpretations of the past, Lutfi investigates the human psyche as it relates to remembrance. Her practice has always been in conversation with a larger political context, incorporating strong elements of popular culture, political insignia, and a play on slogans and language. The human figure has also been an essential part of her language. In the recent years, her works have taken a more self-reflexive and inward turn.

Selected solo exhibitions include Healing Devices, Dallas Museum of Art, Texas, USA (2021); Our Black Thread, Gypsum Gallery, Cairo, Egypt (2021); When Dreams Call for Silence, The American University in Cairo, Tahrir Cultural Center, Cairo, Egypt (2019); Still, The Third Line, Dubai, UAE (2018); Magnetic Bodies: Imaging the Urban, The Third Line, Dubai, UAE (2016); Cut and Paste, Townhouse Gallery, Cairo, Egypt (2013).

Selected group exhibitions include: Imagine Climate Dignity, Kunstlerhaus Wien, Vienna, Austria (2025); The Circle Was a Point, Foundry Downtown, Dubai, UAE (2024); Being and Belonging, The Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada (2023); Islamic Arts Biennale, Jeddah, KSA (2023); Women Defining Women In Contemporary Art Of The Middle East And Beyond, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, USA (2023); History Leads to Twisted Mountains, ARD for Art, Cairo, Egypt (2022); Reflections on contemporary art of the Middle East and North Africa, The British Museum, London, UK (2021); There Is Fiction In The Space Between, The Third Line, Dubai, UAE (2020); Occupational Hazards, Apexarts, New York, USA (2019); Tell me the Story of all These Things, Villa Vassilieff, Paris, France (2017); The Turn: Art Practices in Post-Spring Societies, Kunstraum Niederoesterreich, Vienna, Austria (2016); La Bienal del Sur, Caracas, Venezuela (2015); Terms & Conditions, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore (2013); and My World Images, Festival For Contemporary Art, Copenhagen, Denmark (2010) to mention only a few.

THE THIRD LINE

Alserkal Avenue, Warehouse 78, Street 8, Al Quoz 1, Dubai, UAE

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Slavs and Tatars @ The Third Line, Dubai - "Simurgh Self-Help" Exhibition

Slavs and Tatars: Simurgh Self-Help

The Third Line, Dubai

4 February - 4 April 2025

Slavs and Tatars

Rabbit's Blood, 2025

Woollen yarn, 400 × 300 cm

© Slavs and Tatars, courtesy The Third Line

The Third Line presents Simurgh Self-Help, their third solo exhibition with the artist collective Slavs and Tatars. This exhibition presents a new body of work inspired by Marcel Broodthaers’ Musée d'Art Moderne - Département des Aigles (1968-1972), one of the most influential works of conceptual art of the 20th century. In Simurgh Self-Help, Slavs and Tatars embark on an inventive ‘translation’ of the eagle through the lens of Simurgh, a mythical bird deeply rooted in Turkic and Persianate folklore, Sufi traditions, and the literature of the Caucasus and Central Asia.

Gallery One is dedicated to exploring the mythology of Simurgh, a winged creature often depicted with the body of a peacock and the head of a dog. Simurgh is both female and male, though most frequently portrayed as female, and is said to have witnessed the destruction of the world three times over. The exhibition juxtaposes the eagle and the Simurgh to offer a speculative history, presenting an alter-ego for contemporary societies dealing with dilemmas about national identity and nationalism. Through this ‘translation’, Slavs and Tatars expand Broodthaers’ critique to include the often-overlooked region of Central Asia and the Caucasus, an area historically situated between fading empires - Russian, Ottoman, and Persian - and contemporary revanchist forces. If the eagle serves as a repository for nationalism and empire, rooted in geopolitical concerns, the Simurgh evokes an empire of senses and a dominion of the otherworldly, bridging the affective and the extractive.

In Gallery Two, the exhibition pivots to explore melons as Central Asian repositories of value, knowledge, and world-building. Writing, central to Slavs and Tatars’ practice, appears in the texture of melon skins and within the pages of books. Here, the melons, depicted as glass lamps or mirrors, tell the story of the region via flora, rather than fauna.

Slavs and Tatars have long been drawn to the peripheries of knowledge, the edges of belief systems, and the margins of rituals - places where syncretism and hybridity thrive. Today, however, they also seek to activate and redeem what unites us, as much as what distinguishes us.

Simurgh Self-Help is the first significant new body of work by Slavs and Tatars since Pickle Politics (2016-2023). Following its regional debut at The Third Line, Slavs and Tatars’ new body of work will feature in solo presentations at Kunsthalle Baden-Baden, Germany, and Frac Pays de la Loire, France, in 2025.

Artists Slavs and Tatars

Slavs and Tatars is an art collective devoted to an area East of the former Berlin Wall and West of the Great Wall of China, termed Eurasia. Their practice is primarily based on three activities: exhibitions, books, and lecture-performances. Since its inception in 2006, the collective has shown a keen grasp of polemical issues in society, clearing new paths for contemporary discourse via an idiosyncratic form of knowledge production including popular culture, spiritual and esoteric traditions, oral histories, modern myths, as well as scholarly research with a particular focus on cultures marginalized by Russian and Soviet imperialism. With a heady mix of high and low-brow humor, the artists turn to sculptures, installations, and text to excavate and explore a geography that is equally imagined as it is political. In 2020, Slavs and Tatars opened Pickle Bar, a Slavic aperitivo bar-cum-project space a few doors down from their studio in the Moabit district of Berlin, as well as a residency and mentorship program for young professionals from the region.

The collective’s work has been exhibited at major museums and biennials internationally, including Tate Modern, London, UK; Centre Pompidou, Paris, France; Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland; 58th Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy; 10th Sharjah Biennial, Sharjah, UAE; 8th Berlin Biennial, Berlin, Germany; 3rd Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki, Greece; 9th Gwangju Biennale, Gwangju, South Korea; and currently at the 2nd Islamic Art Biennial, Jeddah, KSA.

Their work has also been the subject of solo exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA (2012); Secession, Vienna, Austria (2012); Kunsthalle Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland (2014); Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, US (2014); Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane, Australia (2015); NYU Abu Dhabi Art Gallery, Abu Dhabi, UAE (2015); Blaffer Art Museum, Houston, USA (2016); Salt, Istanbul, Turkey (2017); Albertinum, Dresden, Germany (2018); and most recently MHKA Museum of Contemporary Art, Antwerp, Belgium (2023) and Basement Roma, Rome, Italy (2023).

Their works are in important public and private collections including the Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA; Pinakothek der Modern, Munich, Germany; Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland; Re Rebaudengo Foundation, Turin, Italy; and the Sharjah Art Foundation, Sharjah, UAE, among others.

THE THIRD LINE

Alserkal Avenue, Warehouse 78, Street 8, Al Quoz 1, Dubai, UAE

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Artist Shama Al Hamed @ Aisha Alabbar Gallery, Dubai - "I Jump – Will I Stick the Landing?" Exhibition Curated by Walter Willems

Shama Al Hamed

I Jump – Will I Stick the Landing?

Curated by Walter Willems

Aisha Alabbar Gallery, Dubai

4 February - 5 April 2025

Aisha Alabbar Gallery presents I Jump – Will I Stick the Landing?, the first solo exhibition by SHAMA AL HAMED, curated by WALTER WILLEMS. This collection of paintings, sculptures, and installations offers a deeply personal exploration of the artist’s journey, providing insight into the formative experiences and emotions that have shaped her creative practice and artistic perspective.

In I Jump – Will I Stick the Landing?, Shama Al Hamed uses the metaphor of jumping as a symbol of movement— through time, memory, and emotion. Each leap becomes a reflection of her ongoing efforts to navigate and transcend the spaces that define her, whether driven by joy, individuality, or quiet defiance. 

A recurring theme in her work is the integration of architectural patterns, derived from photographs of buildings that framed her childhood. These designs, transformed through repetition and abstraction, evoke defining memories and the influence of physical spaces on her creative vision.

“This body of work is a visual narrative of resilience and transformation,” said Shama Al Hamed. “Each piece represents a leap, a moment of searching, and an embrace of the uncertainty that fuels my growth.”

I Jump – Will I Stick the Landing? invites viewers to journey through Shama Al Hamed’s reflections, navigating memories, thoughts, and dreams. This immersive exhibition is an opportunity to engage with the textures, forms, and patterns that define her work and to consider the leaps we take in our own lives.

This exhibition is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue, offering new insights into the works on display and the broader context in which they exist.

SHAMA AL HAMED (b. Abu Dhabi, 1999) is a visual artist who earned her Bachelor of Visual Art degree from the College of Arts and Creative Enterprises at Zayed University, Abu Dhabi, UAE in 2022. Her practice centers on capturing moments from her life through paintings and installations. All her work represents self-portraits in a conceptual manner, illustrating the continuous evolution of her mind, including her subconscious. This subconscious reveals different stories and conflicts within her work. She frequently explores self-portraits with a narrative that blends observation with the dreamlike nature of the subconscious. Using painting as her primary medium, she transforms patterns into art, infusing each piece with a unique storyline.

WALTER WILLEMS is a Dutch artist, curator, and entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience in the arts and culture industry. He has curated major exhibitions, managed large-scale interactive public art, and co-founded ArtBarrage, a consultancy specializing in digital contemporary art sales and artist career development. Walter Willems has collaborated with institutions like the Department of Culture and Tourism in Abu Dhabi and Dubai Culture, where he co-curated the 2023 Sikka Art & Design Festival. As an artist, his work has been exhibited internationally and is held in public and private collections across Europe, North America, Australia, and the UAE.

AISHA ALABBAR GALLERY

Warehouse C-19, Alserkal Avenue 17th Street, 

Al Quoz Industrial Area 1 - Dubai, UAE

www.aishaalabbar.art

Vian Sora @ The Third Line, Dubai - "House of Pearls" Exhibition

Vian Sora: House of Pearls

The Third Line, Dubai

31 October – 10 December, 2024

Vian Sora 

Biomimicry III, 2024  

Oil on canvas with mixed media, 213.36 x 152.4 cm

© Vian Sora, courtesy The Third Line

The Third Line presents House of Pearls, their first solo exhibition with US-based, Iraqi American artist Vian Sora. The exhibition presents new paintings and works on paper that explore pearls as a metaphor for achieving stability and the needed structural integrity for life itself to regenerate.

In this new body of work, Vian Sora – an Iraqi-born artist who sought refuge in Dubai following the US invasion of Iraq – explores the fundamental elements of caustic cycles:  the solid and fluid violent states intrinsic to nature from which pearls grow, and examines connectivity as an essential element to humanity's collective consciousness. Drawing on her experiences as a war survivor and immigrant, Vian Sora reflects on the uncertainty and shifting boundaries of existence, capturing the physical, mental, and emotional toll experienced across nations, cultures, and time. Her paintings reveal the complex nature of identity and seek cohesion like the iridescent layers of a natural pearl.

Vian Sora's technique begins with canvases laid flat, mirroring the landscapes she has traversed, before transitioning them upright to assert control. Starting with a minimal palette of three colours, she gradually introduces up to 20 hues through meticulous layering, with each piece featuring up to 50 layers of colours and texture. This process balances spontaneity with precision, capturing the tension between disorder and control in her work. 

Through this layered process, Vian Sora depicts imagined landscapes and ocean scenes marked with distorted Arabic calligraphy and vivid colours, evoking a pearl-like luminosity. Her work captures the vulnerability and courage of displaced individuals, portraying personal and collective traumas and ongoing struggles. By using multiple layers of paint, Sora captures explosive intensity and deep psychological states. Her abstract figures emerge from chaos, revealing inherent beauty. 

“Part of the challenge and intrigue for me is how my intentions start somewhere and it goes somewhere else, then I bring them back to the intention. The discovery and the accident are even more interesting for me than the intention. You dive deep into the subconscious in a way that is impossible to replicate through illustration.” - Vian Sora

Artist Vian Sora

Vian Sora (b. 1976, Baghdad, Iraq) has lived and worked in Louisville, Kentucky since 2009. She received a BS from Al Mansour University in Baghdad, Iraq in 2000 and studied printmaking at the Istanbul Museum of Graphic Art (IMOGA) in Istanbul, Turkey in 2007. Sora’s work has been presented in solo and group exhibitions nationally and internationally including the Baltimore Art Museum, Baltimore, MD; Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, CA; Speed Art Museum, Louisville, KY; Contemporary Arts Center (CAC), Cincinnati, OH; Sharjah Biennale, Sharjah, UAE; IMOGA, Istanbul, Turkey; as well as the KMAC Triennial, Louisville, KY; Grinnell College Museum of Art; among others. Commencing in 2025, Sora will have a travelling solo museum show at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art and the Speed Art Museum.

Sora's work is included in the collections of the Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, MD; Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, CA; KMAC Museum, Louisville, KY; Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, CA; Speed Art Museum, Louisville, KY; Grinnell College Museum of Art, IA; Ministry of Culture Contemporary Collection, Baghdad, Iraq; the Pizzuti Collection, Columbus, OH; Fidelity Art Collection, Boston, MA; and the Shah Garg Foundation Collection, New York, NY; as well as numerous private collections.

THE THIRD LINE

Alserkal Avenue, Warehouse 78, Street 8, Al Quoz 1, Dubai, UAE

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Armin Najib @ Aisha Alabbar Gallery, Dubai - "-continuum" Exhibition

Armin Najib: -continuum

Aisha Alabbar Gallery, Dubai

18 September - 9 November 2024

Aisha Alabbar Gallery presents -continuum, a compelling art exhibition by ARMIN NAJIB (b. Tehran, 1989) that delves into the ongoing evolution of human existence. This collection traces the transformative journey from the fluidity of circles to the rigidity of squares, symbolizing the various stages of life’s profound changes. It reflects humanity’s pursuit of perfection and salvation while embracing the inherent beauty of imperfection.

This exhibition invites visitors to immerse themselves in the human experience, to lean in, learn, and ultimately lead through a deeper understanding of life’s complexities. The collection presents the human journey as a series of ongoing projects—creations, connections, and collaborations that continuously evolve. It serves as a poignant reminder that we are living installations, constantly in progress, shaped and reshaped over time.

“This exhibition marks a new chapter for Aisha Alabbar Gallery, bringing together a remarkable series of works that chart an evolutionary journey,” said Shilan Samaei, Gallery Director. “We are thrilled to open our doors with this exhibition by Armin Najib, where each piece beautifully reveals how shadows of the past merge seamlessly with reflections of the future, offering viewers a profound exploration of transformation and growth.”

Among the highlights of the exhibition is the Me, I and Existence collection. “This selection serves as the DNA of my work,” said Armin Najib. “Like a script for directing a movie, these pieces form a visual narrative of humanity’s shift from a life once content on a round earth to a present where meaning is sought within self-made cubes. This evolutionary journey is captured and celebrated in each piece, showcasing how we cocoon ourselves in layers of history.’’

Armin Najib's -continuum is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue, offering new insights into the works on display and the broader context in which they exist.

AISHA  ALABBAR GALLERY

Warehouse 19C, Alserkal Avenue 17th St, Al Quoz, Dubai

www.aishaalabbar.art

Elham Shafaei, Sara Al Haddad @ Aisha Alabbar Gallery, Dubai - "Thread of Existence" Exhibition

Thread of Existence

Elham Shafaei, Sara Al Haddad

Aisha Alabbar Gallery, Dubai

27 February - 25 April 2024

Aisha Alabbar Gallery presents Thread of Existence, a group exhibition featuring two UAE-based artists: Elham Shafaei, Sara Al Haddad.

 

Sara Al Haddad and Elham Shafaei weave the intricate threads of their artistic journeys, diving deep into the profound themes of loss and belonging through their unique creative expressions. Sara Al Haddad, skillfully crafts delicate objects from yarn and fiber, not just occupying spaces but embodying the passage of time itself. Each piece, whether hung, wrapped, or arranged, whispers stories of Sara Al Haddad's inner struggles, subtly evolving with its environment.

 

Meanwhile, Elham Shafaei, embarks on diverse artistic explorations within her studio, blending painting and stitching to explore the essence of being human. For Elham Shafaei, loss is a universal melody echoing from the very moment of our separation from the maternal embrace. Through her art, she delves into the yearning for connection, intertwining melancholic tales and stitched narratives that mirror life's intricate tapestry.

 

Together, Sara Al Haddad and Elham Shafaei confront the essence of human existence—the longing for connection amid the bittersweet journey of loss. Through their chosen mediums of fiber and paint, they extend a heartfelt invitation to viewers to contemplate the depths of identity and the timeless quest for belonging. In "Threads of Existence," Sara Al Haddad and Elham Shafaei beckon us to journey alongside them, embracing the ebb and flow of time, and embracing the eternal search for our place in the world's rich tapestry.

AISHA ALABBAR GALLERY

S1 Mag Warehouse 101, Al Quoz 2, Dubai

www.aishaalabbar.art

Faisal Samra Exhibition @ Ayyam Gallery, Dubai - "Immortal Moment II - Coping with the Shock"

Faisal Samra

Immortal Moment II - Coping with the Shock

Ayyam Gallery, Dubai

27 February - 15 April 2024

FAISAL SAMRA

PSF-P2, 2023 

Charcoal, Ink & Oil on Canvas, 50.5 x 50.5 cm

© Faisal Samra, Courtesy Ayyam Gallery

Ayyam Gallery presents Immortal Moment II - Coping with the Shock, a solo exhibition featuring Faisal Samra’s recent body of work.

This exhibition showcases the second body of work from the Immortal Moment project, in which Faisal Samra creates artworks through the accumulation of instances, pushing the viewer to question the opportunities of a single moment. In the first chapter of this project, Faisal describes the technique as capturing a moment and immortalizing it in time through gestural performances, serving as an expression of emotions. However, now, he defines the outcome as a “shock”. This exhibition reveals the process of Coping with the Shock. 

While the concept of fight or flight is thoroughly examined in the fields of medicine and psychology, Faisal Samra introduces a novel conceptualisation of it through his artistic practice. At a moment of shock, either the moment dominates and controls us, or we absorb and adapt to it, metamorphosing into a new form. To survive and overcome the shock is what we call coping.

In the spirit of fight, the artist intervenes post gesture to cope with what chance and the laws of physics produce. The study of the improvised creation allows the artist to seek meaning within the abstraction. Therefore creating postshock creatures and figures. In a meditative process, the summation of dots and splashes of color amount to what the artist is looking for. Ultimately, this artistic endeavor becomes an endless cycle of documentation, acts, and gestures that trace time and immortalize it, one overcoming the other.

The cyclic timeline in capturing the essence of moments is evident in his concepts and the evolution of his artistic practice. In the Distorted Reality series (2005/2011), Faisal chose a moment from countless stills of filmed performances. In the subsequent project, Thriving Emotions - Immortal Moment the artist identifies the moment before anything else. The emphasis lay on the emotion conveyed through the spontaneous act of creating marks. The Immortal Moment project comes to a full circle in this exhibition: through gestural mark-making, Faisal Samra restructures the singular moment of action to birth a new series of moments to establish control amidst the unpredictable.

The dialogue between the abstract and figurative, conceptually or formalistically, is essential to Faisal Samra’s work. Time, being one of the most abstract ideas becomes figurative when Faisal visually notes down specific points in time through the use of charcoal and paint. The result is formalistically abstract, but the final creation becomes figurative through several interventions, which represent a culmination of temporal instances. 

FAISAL SAMRA - BIOGRAPHY

Long considered one of the Arab Gulf’s foremost artists and a pioneer of conceptual art in the Middle East, Bahrainiborn, Saudi national Faisal Samra incorporates digital photography, painting, sculpture, video, and performance in a creative repertoire that explores existentialist themes with the figure at its center. Since the mid-1970s, Faisal Samra has tested the conventional functions of media through meticulously structured works with experimentation and research as the guiding principles of his artistic practice. As his oeuvre has progressed and defied traditional modes of representation, he has rebelled against his own understanding of art, transitioning into new works that maintain three essential concepts: spontaneity, dynamism, and secrecy.

In 1974, Faisal Samra emigrated from Saudi Arabia to France to attend the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts (ENSBA), Paris. While studying at the esteemed institution, he immersed himself in the work of modern and contemporary European artists. This initial period of Faisal Samra’s development was distinguished by expressionist drawings and paintings that investigate the body in motion or at rest, establishing a conceptual basis for later videos, photographs, and installations, while also demonstrating his initial rejection of the prescribed forms of figuration. Upon graduating from the ENSBA in 1980, Faisal Samra settled in Saudi Arabia and continued to exhibit abroad. In the late 1980s, he returned to France, where he spent four years as an art consultant at the Institut du Monde Arabe. After nearly a decade of contributing to collective exhibitions across Europe, he held his first solo show at Etienne Dinet Gallery in Paris (1989). This milestone was followed by Le Pli (1991), a critically acclaimed exhibition at the Institut du Monde Arabe that established Faisal Samra as a leading artist from the Arab world. This period of his career was distinguished by early investigations of emotive and sensory approaches to art.

In the 1990s, Faisal Samra’s Heads and Other Body series introduced hanging art objects that blur the lines between painting and sculpture by liberating the treated canvas from the stretcher or frame and incorporating materials such as wire mesh, which create an armature for three-dimensional forms. This enabled Faisal Samra to explore the dynamics of an artwork as it is experienced in a particular setting while presenting constructive materials as its form and content. These formal and conceptual breakthroughs led to influential installation, video, and multimedia works that continued his career-long investigation of life, the space between birth and death, and how time can be reflected through the visual devices of art.

The artist’s selected solo exhibitions include the Ministry of Culture in Bahrain (2016); Bin Matter House, Bahrain (2015); Ayyam Gallery Al Quoz, Dubai (2014); Ayyam Gallery London (2014); Ayyam Gallery Jeddah (2013); HD Galerie, Casablanca (2012); Traffic Gallery, Dubai (2011); Albareh Gallery, Bahrain (2010); Galerie Nathalie Obadia, Paris (2009); XVA Gallery, Dubai (2007).

Recently, Faisal Samra has participated in collective exhibitions at the Bienalsur, Argentina (2019); OFF Biennale Cairo (2018, 2015); Musée Labinet, France (2017); Low Gallery, San Diego, USA (2016); Abu Dhabi Festival, UAE (2015); Busan Museum, South Korea; FotoFest, Houston (2014), Edge of Arabia, London (2012); Mori Art Museum, Tokyo (2012); Maraya Art Center, Sharjah (2010).

Faisal Samra’s works are housed in the collections of The British Museum, London; BuchDruckKunst e.V Art Book Museum, Hamburg; the National Museum, Mexico City; the Modern Art Museum, Cairo; Almansouria Foundation, Jeddah; Jameel Art Foundation, Jeddah; Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts, Amman; Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha; and Bahrain National Museum, Manama, among others. He has participated in biennials in Singapore and Cairo (2008) and is a jury member for the Alexandria Biennale, Egypt.

In 2012, Skira Editore published an eponymous monograph on the artist.

AYYAM GALLERY

B11, Alserkal Avenue, Street 8, Al Quoz 1, Dubai

www.ayyamgallery.com