In vibrant, social-friendly event, Dar Al Funoon hosted its 3rd Affordable Art Night – Young Artists Edition on January 21st featuring a wide collection of paintings, collage, photography, sculptures, drawings and fine jewelry.
The 3rd Affordable Art Night – Young Artists Edition was dedicated to support young artists and shed lights on their talents, calling emerging artists from Kuwait and Middle East to participate in exhibition which eventually showcased artworks by: Ali Al Mutairi, Faisal Mohammed, Mohammed Sharaf, Farah Al Kandiri, Farah Khajah, Maha Al Askar, Khaled Al Najdi, Khalid Al Sahaly, Zena Dabbous, Yousef Al Qoud, William Anderson, Ghadeer Ali, Mohammed AbuHakmeh, Philip Kamble, Roa Al Shaheen, Usra AlMadhoun, Immanuel Rhema , Mohammed Razzoqi and Jacquelin Talotta.
The Good & The Excellent!
Two things I totally loved about the event and I will tell you why: selection of artworks and excellent curating! Let’s start with curating: with over 30 pieces to display; varied between digital art – paintings – photography – installations … etc , the artworks were tidy hanged & well-organized way, the space didn’t feel over crowded or missy, visitors were not distracted, everything felt like it was placed in harmony.
Most importantly there were no huge price tags tangling from artworks, which is a mistake some galleries don’t pay attention to! Huge tag prices makes the gallery look like a bazaar and lowers the value of artwork itself. If an Affordable Art Night would be done, it should be curated the way Dar Al Funoon did because it was done perfectly.
The Daring… Innovative… And Captivating
As I said, the second thing I love was selection of artworks. It was a mixture of contemporary and modern; some very daring like Mohammed Sharaf’s sociopolitical digital art, Yousef Al Qoud painting. Innovative like William Anderson’s ‘China Trade Tile’ series where he used cobalt blue paint, decal and transfer print on porcelain.
But the most art piece that caught my mind was ‘Over Population’ installation by Roa Al Shaheen (below): a fish jar filled with water cluttered with fishes, they all seemed dead because the ones at bottom were smashed by the above who were floating as there was no room for them to swim and breathe.
The significance of this artwork is it depicts the consequences of jamming people in small corner and pressuring them, they will all fight for surviving and exceeding but in the end non reach it. Al Shaheen, who is also an architect and interior designer, represented this in-human situation in a symbolic, contemporary installation so simple yet deep.
The Conclusion!
Dar Al Funoon’s 3rd Affordable Art Night – Young Artists Edition, was a success: exposing new talents, emphasizing others and giving opportunity for viewers to witness unique creativity, that must not be underestimated or taken for granted Looking forward to see what all these artists will present in the future!
Al Mahha Art Magazine 