Latest news with #AlMazrou
Al Etihad
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Al Etihad
Beyond containment: Emirati artist Shaikha Al Mazrou explores form, fragility in minimalist campaign
13 May 2025 21:46 SARA ALZAABI (ABU DHABI)Minimalism is a signature of Emirati contemporary artist Shaikha Al Mazrou, and as she returns to the 17th edition of Abu Dhabi Art, she brings forth a new vibrant, thought-provoking campaign as she leads the fest's visual identity."Returning to Abu Dhabi Art as this year's visual campaign artist feels like both a return and a progression - an opportunity to reflect on how my practice has grown while remaining rooted in my artistic landscape," Al Mazrou told to be held from November 19-23 at Manarat Al Saadiyat, Abu Dhabi Art will feature a dynamic programme of exhibitions, commissions and education her latest campaign, Al Mazrou worked with powder-coated steel, inflated forms, along with fabricated surfaces that challenge conventional notions of mass and weight."The themes-suspension, fragility, and containment-are articulated through the material language of contradiction: steel structures that evoke lightness, inflatables fixed in static form," said the artist who first took part in Abu Dhabi Art in a piece of square metal folded in half, forming neat, symmetric lines that are striking - and almost illusory."It plays with the idea of forms caught in transition - on the edge of balance or collapse, solidity or suspension," Al Mazrou said."The visual identity captures this, inviting viewers to question what is fixed and what is in flux."Al Mazrou's artistic language remains grounded in a stripped-down, intentional aesthetic."My practice is guided by a focus on precision, restraint, and material intentionality," she said. "Rather than embellishment, I gravitate toward what is essential, allowing materials and their interactions to speak for themselves."One of her featured works at the fair, "Beyond All Measures", exemplifies her poetic approach to form and meaning."It is a refusal of containment. The title is a provocation-what lies beyond quantification, beyond containment, beyond the rational logic of systems," she piece draws on the metaphor of the horizon-both as a visual boundary and as a philosophical metal oxidation techniques, Al Mazrou creates gradients on copper tiles to reflect "the disorientation and boundlessness of this space".It is the exploration of materiality and colour through oxidised copper, inspired by the horizon as both a physical and symbolic gradients that mimic the mutable horizon, the piece begs viewers to think about perception, ambiguity and the way our notions are made by circumstances."I want the campaign to offer an open invitation for visitors to engage. It is not about directing them toward a specific narrative, but rather encouraging them to pause and allow themselves to experience the subtle tension it evokes," she said. Drawing Inspiration Al Mazrou is among the talented artists who do not keep a fixed, linear source of inspiration. To her, it often emerges from a wide variety of things, from architecture and natural erosion to silence - or even failure."Inspiration is not confined to a discipline or even necessarily to art-it's a form of realisation of forces, contexts, and contradictions that demand a response," she this Emirati talent, art "can often be the most powerful way to engage with reality" - an advice she would tell younger artists. "I hope young emerging artists learn that practice is a long game, one that requires patience and persistence. That rigour can be expansive, and it's okay not to explain everything," she said.
The National
21-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The National
Shaikha Al Mazrou unveils Dubai's 'largest site-specific art intervention' in Hatta mountains
When Shaikha Al Mazrou was invited to create a site-specific installation in the mountains surrounding Hatta's Leem Lake, she was conscious of not imposing her artworks on the rocky terrain, and instead finding a way to gracefully embed them in the landscape. She also wanted to use her signature approach of coaxing contrasts from unlikely spaces and materials. These two motives seemed paradoxical. How could a public artwork blend with the landscape while simultaneously juxtaposing it? Deliberate Pauses manages to achieve just that. Five round metallic sculptures are thoughtfully placed along the hiking trail around Leem Lake. With each circle measuring five metres in diameter, the work has been described as 'the largest site-specific art intervention in Dubai". It was commissioned by Alserkal Arts Foundation, in collaboration with the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority. The sculptures are in the same shade of red as Al Mazrou's 2022 work Red Stack. That work was displayed in Regent's Park as part of London's contemporary art fair Frieze. Eight large cushions, cast in metal, were piled several metres into the sky. Between the forms of the cushions and the rigidity of the cast metal, the structure appeared hard yet soft at the same time. Deliberate Pauses presents a somewhat similar contrast. The circles lie against the jagged mountain surface with an appealing flatness – the coarseness of the rocks juxtaposing with the smoothness of the reflective steel. The circular frames of untreated metal, meanwhile, seamlessly merge with the iron-oxidized colour of the rocks. In that sense, the redness of the circles are an emboldened version of the surrounding natural hues. 'I had a lot of questions about why it is in red,' Al Mazrou says. 'Aside from it being a signature in my work, but also I was drawing from the language of the mountain and using the colours around me. I could have polished the steel to give it of a different look but I wanted it to camouflage with the landscape and allow the red to push through.' The project has been two years in the making. Al Mazrou took regular hikes in the mountains, sometimes accompanied by architect and academic Faysal Tabbarah, who curated the works. The artist would wake at 5am, reaching Hatta just as the sun would begin to rise. She would walk meditatively through the rocky terrain. Whenever a specific site stood out to her, she would hammer a nail into the rocks and further mark the spot by sprinkling a powder around it. She would then survey the landscape from above, using a drone. 'The work required significant studies, such as understanding the terrain as well as excavations and thinking about the foundations,' Al Mazrou says. The Emirati artist reflected on the work's title, Deliberate Pauses, both in the context of her artistic practice and as a literal representation of the pauses she had take during her hike. The artworks dotted along the hiking trail are very much the traces of her journey through the mountains, as well as an invitation for viewers to follow in her footsteps. 'It has multiple layers of definitions,' Al Mazrou says. Each of the circular artworks is also fitted with light under the frame. The light is powered through solar panels that have been carefully hidden in the mountains. 'We have to think about public engagement through the night, and the light is activated after sunset,' she says. Al Mazrou adds that it was gratifying to have had the opportunity to converse with a landscape that has a personal significance to her, and to bring that relationship to the public sphere. 'I like the challenges that the landscape presented. It wasn't easy. We had to think about excavation and getting archaeological teams,' she says. 'Ultimately, it was about creating a site intervention. The desire was to interact with the landscape, not to simply parachute an artwork on top of it.' Deliberate Pauses is part of a series of large-scale public art commissions aimed at introducing public artworks across famous sites, including the Shindagha Historic District, Al Quoz Creative Zone and Hatta. 'Public art amplifies a sense of place and enables people to understand their environments in ways that are often too subtle to notice without reflection,' Tabbarah said in a statement. 'In trying to highlight the stories of Hatta and Leem Lake, Shaikha Al Mazrou, Alserkal Arts Foundation and I worked collaboratively to ensure the artwork invites reflections about place, connection and wonder.'
Al Etihad
04-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Al Etihad
Abu Dhabi Art announces dates, visual campaign artist for 17th edition
4 Apr 2025 08:26 ABU DHABI (WAM)The 17th edition of Abu Dhabi Art will take place from November 19-23 at Manarat Al Saadiyat. Organised by the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, (DCT Abu Dhabi) the fair will showcase Emirati artist Shaikha Al Mazrou as the Visual Campaign Artist for 2025, highlighting her influential role in the UAE's dynamic art Dhabi Art continues to play a key role in advancing the UAE's growing art market. The fair is the highlight of a year-round programme by Abu Dhabi Art, encompassing commissions, exhibitions, and a strong focus on educational outreach. Each year, the Visual Campaign Artist creates the fair's visual identity. Shaikha Al Mazrou is represented by Lawrie Shabibi Gallery in Dubai. Her appointment as this year's artist is a testament to her groundbreaking contributions to contemporary art in the Nusseibeh, Abu Dhabi Art Director, commented: 'Shaikha participated in our 2017 edition of Abu Dhabi Art as a Beyond Emerging Artist, and we are thrilled to see the progression in her work at this stage in her career. She has become one of the most successful artists of her generation in the UAE. "The series we have chosen to work with for the visual campaign and visual feel of the fair, offers an exploration of materiality, a repurposing of discarded matter from fabrication sites in the UAE, a certain experimentation or playfulness in creating folds in her work with their attendant unfoldings referencing infinite moments of becoming. At the fair itself, we will be showing Beyond All Measures (2024), an artwork of oxidation on brass that explores the horizon as a metaphor for thresholds and a point against which our perceptions are shaped. Like the material itself, which is inherently unstable, its colours forged by heat and oxygen, Beyond All Measures metaphorically invites us to explore new ways of perceiving the world around us and to question our position in it.'Al Mazrou's artistic practice is deeply informed by minimalism and conceptual art, drawing on the influences of Modernist and Bauhaus artists such as Paul Klee, Carle Andre, and Wassily Kandinsky. Her work merges mass-produced materials, like electronic waste and construction materials, with colour and form, creating geometric abstract sculptures that explore notions of space, tension, and Al Mazrou said: "Art isn't about making things. It's about provoking thought. It's a language that doesn't need borders, yet we still insist on them. My work? It's a journey, one that raises more questions than answers, and maybe that's the point. The transformation of materials is just a way of questioning what we think we know.' Al Mazrou's work is part of major international collections, including the RMZ Foundation, Art Jameel, and The Farjam Foundation. She is a winner of the Paulo Cunha e Silva Art Prize (2020) and was shortlisted for the Louvre Abu Dhabi Richard Mille Art Prize. She is also Assistant Arts Professor of Visual Arts at NYU Abu Dhabi.
The National
03-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The National
Abu Dhabi Art announces dates and visual campaign artist for this year's fair
Abu Dhabi Art will return to Manarat Al Saadiyat in November for its 17th year The annual fair, which is organised by the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, will take place between November 19 and 23. The event is a staple in the emirate's cultural calendar. Last year, more than 100 galleries from around the world took part. DCT – Abu Dhabi has also named the visual campaign artist for this year's Abu Dhabi Art. Shaikha Al Mazrou will define the fair's visual identity and her work will inform its marketing campaign. The Emirati artist is a notable figure in the country's contemporary art scene. Her sculptural works are often large and use painted metal to explore form, space and abstraction. Her 2022 work Red Stack, for example, was displayed in Regent's Park as part of London's contemporary art fair Frieze. Eight large cushions, cast in metal, were piled several metres into the sky. Between the pillowy forms of the cushions and the rigidity of the cast metal, the structure appears hard yet soft at the same time. 'Shaikha participated in our 2017 edition of Abu Dhabi Art as a Beyond Emerging Artist and we are thrilled to see the progression in her work at this stage in her career,' Dyala Nusseibeh, director Abu Dhabi Art, said. 'Shaikha has become one of the most successful artists of her generation in the UAE. The series we have chosen to work with for the visual campaign and visual feel of the fair offers an exploration of materiality and a repurposing of discarded matter from fabrication sites in the UAE.' Al Mazrou's 2023 work Beyond All Measures will be among the highlights at the fair. The artwork, using oxidised brass, depicts the horizon while exploring its symbolism as a threshold and point of transformation. 'Like the material itself, which is inherently unstable, its colours forged by heat and oxygen, Beyond All Measures metaphorically invites us to explore new ways of perceiving the world around us and to question our position in it,' Nusseibeh said. Al Mazrou, who is represented by Lawrie Shabibi Gallery in Dubai, has works in several major collections around the world, including the RMZ Foundation, Art Jameel and The Farjam Foundation. In 2022, she won the prestigious Paulo Cunha e Silva Art Prize and was shortlisted for the Louvre Abu Dhabi Richard Mille Art Prize. Al Mazrou is also an assistant arts professor of visual arts at NYU Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi Art is also accepting gallery applications for its 2025 fair. The deadline to apply is April 30.
