Latest news with #LeilaHellerGallery
The National
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The National
Weekly UAE museum & gallery guide: Last chance to see Malaysia's artistic transformation
This week's exhibitions are rooted in specific cultural geographies. From the Persian traditions in Reza Derakshani 's paintings to a group exhibition that offers a cross-section of Middle Eastern contemporary art and Malaysia's journey to modern nationhood, each show is informed by the visual language of its place of origin. Here are three exhibitions to look out for. I Paint Your Grace, I Paint Your Pain, I Paint Love at Leila Heller Gallery Reza Derakshani 's first solo exhibition in five years brings together pieces from three bodies of work by the Iranian-American artist. In The Hunt / Rider series, he draws from Persian miniatures and poetry and the artist's experiences growing up in north-eastern Iran. The series features horses as a metaphor for the pursuit of meaning and freedom. The Day and Night / Fig Leaf series embeds imagery from Persian conceptions of paradise. In the Migration / Grey Zone series, meanwhile, Derakshani blends abstraction and figuration to trace his movement across various geographic and artistic landscapes, including symbols such as turtles and fragmented maps of Iran. I Paint Your Grace, I Paint Your Pain, I Paint Love is a sharp entry point into Derakshani's practice, showcasing his deft exploration of personal and socio-political topics through Persian artistic traditions. Monday to Friday, 10am-7pm; Saturday, 11am-7pm; until September 15, Leila Heller Gallery, Dubai Tajammul at XVA Gallery Tajammul is a group show that spans painting, sculpture, photography and mixed media. It brings together works by 16 artists including Basil Alkazzi, Hussein Almohasen, Imran Channa, Behdad Lahooti, Colleen Quigley, David Howarth, Debjani Bhardwaj, Elizabeth Dorazio, Moussa Tiba, Richard Ketley, Morteza Zahedi, Charlotte de Bekker, CC (Alireza Asbahi), Mahmoud Hamadani and Oussama Garti. The show's title is drawn from the Arabic word for beauty and, according to the exhibition literature, offers a snapshot of the contemporary artistic landscape of the Middle East, celebrating aesthetic diversity and layered cultural narratives. Tajammul is curated by Carina Vicente. Monday to Sunday, 10am-6pm, until September 11, XVA Gallery, Dubai To Know Malaysia is to Love Malaysia at the Cultural Foundation To Know Malaysia is to Love Malaysia: Highlights from the AFK Collection is now in its last month. The group exhibition at the Cultural Foundation features works by influential first-generation Malaysian contemporary artists, selected from the AFK Collection, one of the most extensive archives of Malaysian art from the 1980s to the present. Artists represented include Ahmad Shukri Mohamed, Ahmad Fuad Osman, Ali Nurazmal, Anniketyni Madian, Yusof Ghani, Zulkifli Yusoff and others. The exhibition traces Malaysia's transformation from a newly independent, rural society to a modern nation. While spotlighting individual artistic practices, it also explores how these works engage with the country's evolving social, cultural and political narratives. Blending diverse styles and perspectives, the show offers visitors a rich journey through Malaysia's contemporary art landscape and its deeper reflections on identity, progress and national heritage.
What's On
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- What's On
6 exhibitions to check out at Alserkal Avenue this summer
If you frequent art exhibitions in Dubai, then you probably know all about the uber cool, uber trendy Alserkal Avenue. This is Dubai's hotspot for all things culture, alternative and artsy, filled with galleries, contemporary spaces, pop-up shops, wellness, music and loads of homegrown brands. This summer, head on over to discover a stunning programme of art exhibitions in Dubai opening across the district, spotlighting some incredible artists, both regional and international. I PAINT YOUR GRACE, I PAINT YOUR PAIN, I PAINT LOVE by Reza Derakshani Marking the Persian artist's first solo exhibition in half a decade, this collection follows themes of memory, identity, and transformation, and combines Persian artistic traditions with personal and socio-political themes. Much of the series draws inspiration from Persian miniatures and poetry, reflecting both medieval grandeur and memories of his childhood in northeastern Iran. Location: Leila Heller Gallery, Warehouse 86/87 Duration: Until September 15 Times: Monday to Friday, 10am to 7pm Contact: (0) 4 321 6942 @leilahellergallery A Memorial in Fragments by Majd Arandas A tribute to a creative passed – this exhibit showcases an extensive body of work by Majd Arandas, who was killed by an airstrike near his home in the Deir al-Balah in central Gaza on Wednesday, November 1, 2023. The exhibit serves to examine how work created in one's lifetime is not a record for the present, but a testimony for the future, as well as the role of photography as tools of evidence. Location: Gulf Photo Plus, Warehouse 36 Duration: Until August 13 Times: Monday to Saturday, 10am to 7pm Contact: (0) 4 380 8545 @gulfphotoplus Architectures of the In-Between : Group Exhibition This exhibit brings together the work of Nevine Hamza, Atefeh Majidi Nezhad, and Layla Juma – three artists who share a foundation in architecture that branches out into distinctive visual languages. The pieces explore the threshold between structure and sentiment, material and memory, between what is seen and what is sensed, combining the different architectural languages of all three. Location: Aisha Alabbar Gallery, Warehouse 19 Duration: Until August 23 Times: Monday to Saturday, 10am to 6pm Contact: (0) 4 344 7747 @aishaalabbargallery Sunrise at the Vortex by Nima Nabavi The second solo exhibition by this Iranian artist, this collection is inspired by his extensive travels to sites across the world considered to be energy centers by different communities, charted in geometry. Nabavi employed an architectural pen-plotter typically used to print building blueprints, and the result is hand-drawn digital compositions rendered line-byline by the machine. Location: The Third Line, Warehouse 78 Duration: Until July 27 Times: Daily, 11am to 7pm Contact: (0) 4 341 1367 @thethirdlinedxb I PUT MY BRAIN ON PAUSE! by Ihab Ahmad This solo exhibit by Lebanese artist Ihab Ahmad showcases a bold shift in the artist's career – for the first time, Ihab introduces smiling faces into his paintings inspired by the people and moments in your life. There is also a series of totem-like wooden sculptures that gives life to Ahmad's cast of surreal characters. Location: Firetti Contemporary, Warehouse 29 Duration: Until August 20 Timings: Daily, 11am to 7pm Contact: (0) 55 228 6475 @ No Trespassing : Group Exhibition This exhibition brings together six UAE-based and South Asian artists – Fatspatrol (Fathima Mohiuddin), H11235 (Kiran Maharjan), Khaled Esguerra, Rami Farook, Salma Dib and Sara Alahbabi – to explore their relationship with the street. The show has been curated by Priyanka Mehra and channels the aesthetics of the streets into a white cube space. Location: Ishara Art Foundation, Warehouse 3 Duration: Until August 30 Timings: Monday to Saturday, 10am to 7pm Contact: (0) 4 223 3001 @isharaartfoundation Images: Social Media Channels
The National
27-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The National
Weekly UAE museum and gallery guide: From art inspired by Emirati heritage to one created from chicken wings
This week's round-up of exhibitions is filled with artworks crafted from unexpected objects. From a satirical reflection of the fast-paced lifestyle in a contemporary city to a porcelain tribute to a work by the 13th century poet Rumi, here are three exhibitions to see this week. Lantian Xie is an artist who has a penchant for producing artworks that use unconventional materials to reflect upon experiences in a contemporary city. His newest exhibition at Grey Noise can be seen as a critique of the daily bustle in a fast-paced city, whether it's the anxiety of manoeuvring traffic, stopping at a gas station for food and fuel, or even taking on the city by foot. The exhibition features a panoply of objects that aren't traditionally used to create art: from chicken wings to a shirt and shorts. The centrepiece of the exhibition is a video that draws from Mass Traffic, a book that Xie wrote with Sabih Ahmed, featuring sequences of texts that reflect upon the speed of daily life in contemporary urban environments. Tuesday to Saturday, 11am-7pm; until March 29; Grey Noise, Dubai Melis Buyruk's exhibition at Leila Heller Gallery draws inspiration from the story of the four birds that is found in the fifth book of Rumi's Masnavi. Each of the birds in the story represents a facet of the human condition, including desire, fear, attachment and the yearning for freedom. Buyruk uses porcelain to materialise these concepts. Among the works is a series four oval frames that feature floral designs rendered that embody the qualities represented by the birds. Monday to Friday, 10am-7pm; Saturday, 11am – 7pm; until March 9; Leila Heller Gallery, Dubai Reflections and Inspiration from Emirati Heritage came about as a collaboration between Sharjah Heritage Museum and University of Sharjah's College of Fine Arts and Design. The exhibition opened in November 2023 and, after more than a year of being on show, it will soon draw to a close. Students from the college reflect upon elements in UAE heritage designs and across dozens of unique works to bring a refreshed look to these traditional motifs. Patterns found in traditional handicrafts like Sadu and Talli are rendered with vibrant paintings and sculptures. There are also works that reimagine the heritage elements in modern fashion designs. Saturday to Thursday, 8am-8pm; Friday, 4pm – 8pm; until April 15; Sharjah Heritage Museum, Sharjah
