Galerie Janine Rubeiz

“A Day In The Life Of A Pomegranate” Film by Afaf Zurayk and Cornelia Krafft

What: “A day in the life of a pomegranate” is a dual journey of love, violence and time, captured in ink and film by Afaf Zurayk and Cornelia Krafft. The series of fifteen ink drawings is the key to the film unfolding “a day in the life of a woman.”
In the film Cornelia translates Afaf’s two- dimensional rendering into a physical relationship that explores the symbolism of this timeless fruit.
The work of both artists is a collaboration about intimacy and opulence that is driven by a deep need for clarity concerning the use of the female body.

In their hands the pomegranate becomes the symbol for womanhood that emerges in layers reflecting the beauty and mystery of love and life within a zoomed frame of eternity.
The drawings by Afaf Zurayk and the short film by Cornelia Krafft with Alana Mejia Gonzalez and camera by Lea Najjar will be on view at the Janine Rubeiz Gallery

Opening Reception:  Wednesday, May 22 at 6 PM

Duration: May 22 – 25, 2013

Location: Galerie Janine Rubeiz, Beirut.

Etemad Gallery

MEMORIAL | SADEGH TIRAFKAN

What: With the passing of Iranian artist Sadegh Tirafkan on May 9 at the age of 48, the art scene has lost a truly talented artist. With so many others who knew and loved Sadegh, Etemad Gallery offers their deepest sympathy to his family and friends. Praising what is lost makes the rememberance dear and invite well-wishers, friends and family to join a celebration of the life and art of Sadegh Tirafkan.

When: May 22 from 6 – 8 PM

Where: Etemad Gallery, AlQouz, Dubai.

JAMM

Parvaneh Etemadi

What: JAMM Art is pleased to announce an exhibition, curated by Ali Bakhtiari, of collages on paper by renowned Iranian artist Parvaneh Etemadi. In her recent series of collages, Etemadi brings alive the familiar inanimate objects (pomegranates, knives and delicate hand-woven textiles, termeh) and combines them with ancient Iranian myths, fables and literature, thus revealing her attention to and criticism of the social air of contemporary Iran.

A kind of artistic improvisation of fantastic free dancing outfits often breaking through the surface and the frame of the canvas, moving and suspended in the air, these repetitive patterns are a product of intense concentration, allowing the painter to become lost in a universe of her own. Unique in their intensity, vitality and dynamism, Etemadi’s collages pulse with beauty, humour, joy and mischief.

Opening Reception: May 14 from 6 – 8 PM

Duration:  14 May until 13 June 2013.

Location: JAMM Art Gallery, AlQouz, Dubai.

AP Contemporary

 OLEG TSELKOV: UNOFFICIAL ART

What: AP Contemporary is pleased to present OLEG TSELKOV: UNOFFICIAL ART, which recalls Moscow’s fecund period of underground creativity by displaying recent work of iconic artist Oleg Tselkov. He was one of the artists who were active in the experimental art in the Soviet Union during the 60s and 70s. Till now both Tselkov’s remarkable work and dramatic life have received international attention.

Tselkov’s work consists of very different components. There are elements of the theatre of absurd in his work, or tragic buffoonery. He is a genius to invent his own theater, where inflatable rubber puppets that look like homunculi are created to perform various scenes – funniness, horror and tragedy. The somnambulistic atmosphere of his paintings is matched by a mysterious luminescence of colors that reminds us of Rembrandt, and a slight vibration of the background, created with the use of the barely noticeable relief of the canvas.

Opening Reception: May 23 at 6 PM

Duration: May 23 – June 30

Location: AP Contemporary, Hong Kong.

FA Gallery

I Am Spring

What: An innovative fund raising exhibition bringing together artists to produce a short film in support of women’s rights and empowerment. The event will be attended by the film’s Writer & Director Rami Yasin and Producer Alexander Waddouh. Participating artists are:

Shurooq Amin, Amira Behbehani, Thuraya Al Bqsami, Sheikha Sana, Suhaila Al Najdi, Suzan Bushnaq, Dina Qabazard, Heba Abed, Mona Kurdi, Sheda Azari, Hilda Hiary, Rola Dally, Aya Kanafani, Mariam Sami and Farah Maarafi

Opening Reception: May 25 at 7 PM

Location: FA Gallery, Kuwait.

Ayyam Gallery

Safwan Dahoul’s Repetitive Dream

What: Ayyam Gallery London is delighted to announce Syrian painter, Safwan Dahoul’s first solo exhibition in the United Kingdom, ‘Repetitive Dreams’. Firmly established as one of the most prominent Arab artists working today, he will present the first series of paintings he has created since leaving Damascus for Dubai last year. Artist Talk, Book Launch and Preview will be in Edge of Arabia – London, on Wednesday May 8 at 6:30 PM

The exhibition title, ‘Repetitive Dreams’, refers not only to the subject of Dahoul’s works, but to the enduring influence that dreams have had in his career. He first started titling his paintings ‘Hulum’, or ‘Dream’, 25 years ago and sees the process of consistently re-interpreting the theme as an artistic challenge which inspires creativity. Essential to the artist’s work is the universality of dreaming, and the dream’s potential for multiple interpretations: in responding to Dahoul’s dreams as they would theirs, the viewer is able to form their own, unique understanding of the artist’s meaning.

Dahoul’s exhibition at Edge of Arabia’s London space marks a collaboration between the not-for-profit art initiative and Ayyam Gallery. In addition to the work, the artist has also produced eight new limited edition prints, which will be on sale throughout the exhibition.To RSVP click here.

Opening Reception: Thursday, May 9 at 6 – 9 PM

Duration: 9 May – 15 June 2013

Location: Ayyam Gallery, London

Dar Al Funoon

Abdulla Saab ‘s Boundaries

What: Boundaries is an exhibition by conceptual designer Abdullah Al Saab showcasing a bold photographic series along with an exclusively designed clothing line. Together, the pieces fuse fashion and art to create bold statements on social issues in region today. The images also represent hope; for it is through the acknowledgement of such issues we are able to create a positive future for the country.

Opening Reception: Monday 6th May 2013 from 6-9pm

Duration: May 6 – 9, 2013.

Location: Dar Al Funoon, Kuwait.

JABAL

Group Show of Emerging Artists

What: JABAL, Jeunes Artistes des Beaux Arts du Liban, is back this year for a brand new edition. Discover 25 young very talented artists who may be the next celebrities in the art scene! Artists exhibited :

ABLA Badeeh
ADAIMY Rita
AL HAMWI Fadi
ALI Nour
AOUNI Walid
BALLOUK Nour
DABAJI Hala
GAUTIER Cyrine
GHOUSSOUB Sabyl
GOSSIAN Paul
HADDAD Tamara
HAGOPIAN Janet
HALAWI Wafa’a Celine
HALWANI Yazan
HOURIE Nada
MATHES RABBATH Liane
MOUSSA Jinan
NACHABE Yasmine
NEHME Youssef
NYSTEN Anastasia
NYSTEN Yasmina
RABAH Louma
SAAD Mhamad
TAHTAH Marwan
TAMER ABILLAMA Sibylle

Opening Reception: Thursday, May 9 at 4 PM

Duration: From May 9 to 12 everyday from 4 pm to 9 pm and Sunday between 2 pm and 6 pm.

Location: Hotel Le Gray, Beirut.

Desert Design Art Gallery

30×30 Group Show

What: It s our greatest pleasure to invite you to our art exhibition which will take place at Desert Designs in Alkhobar.
Zaman Jassim who is the curator brought together prominent Arab artists to show case their works. The title of the exhibition is 30 x 30 which means every piece is the same size, at the same time we made it so it can be affordable by everyone. It will commence on Wednesday 1st of May and it will run for one week. The participants are:

Abdallah Hammas Saudi Arabia,

Abdulaziz Bube Ashir Somalia,

Abdulla AlMarzooq SaudiArabia

Abdullah Al-Shaikh Saudi Arabia,

Areej Rajab Bahrain,

Awatif Alsafwan Saudi Arabia,

Bassem Al Sharqi Saudi Arabia,

Fahad Alniemah Saudi Arabia,

Fahad Kholaif Saudi Arabia,

Faisal ALkhudaidi Saudi Arabia.

Fatimah Alnemer Saudi Arabia,

Jaffar Aloraibi Bahrain,

Jamal Abdelraheem Bahrain,

Maha Khoury Jordan,

May AlSaad Kuwait,

Mohammad Al Atiq Qatar,

Mohammad Alamri Jordan,

Mohammed Al Homran Saudi Arabia,

Moosa Omar Oman,

Najlaa AlSaleem Saudi Arabia,

Ola Hejazi Saudi Arabia,

Rashid Diab Sudan,

Tagreed Al Bagshi Saudi Arabia,

Zaman Jassim Saudi Arabia,

Zine El Abidine El Amine Morocco.

Opening Reception: Wednesday, May 1st, 2013.

Duration: May 1 – 8, 2013.

Location: Desert Design Art Gallery, Khubar, KSA.

Art Basel Hong Kong

What: From emerging talents to the Modern masters of both Asia and the West, the premiere edition of Art Basel in Hong Kong will trace twelve decades of art history across its four sectors: Galleries, Insights, Discoveries, and Encounters. On display will be the highest quality of paintings, sculptures, drawings, installations, photographs, video and editioned works from the 20th and 21st centuries, by more than 2,000 artists from Asia and around the globe. The show will also offer extensive opportunities for intellectual discovery, through discussions and presentations, creating a platform of cross-cultural exchanges for artists, gallerists, collectors, and visitors.

The debut show will present more than 250 of the leading galleries from Asia, Europe, the Americas and the rest of the world, chosen by a selection committee composed of renowned international gallerists.

Opening Reception:  Thursday, May 23, 2013.

Duration:  Thursday, May 23, to Sunday, May 26, 2013

Location: Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC), Hong Kong.

Green Art Gallery

Shawki Youssef ‘s Acid Fields

What: Green Art Gallery announces the opening of Acid Fields, Lebanese artist Shawki Youssef’s second solo at the Gallery. In “Acid Fields”, Youssef’s bodies have taken an abstract turn, appearing eerily stagnant and jagged. The fluidity of movement so characteristic of his two previous series, appears to have been replaced by the harsher geometry of bone and limb. The violent civil war in Syria, with its reverberations in the entire region, but mostly so in his native homeland, has taken its toll. This absence of a clear and centralized human form not only reflects the artist’s struggle to depict the extent of the emotional repercussions of these growing social wounds, but also creates a map of small spaces, which invite the viewer to trace, decipher, and find meaning alongside him.

Opening Reception: Monday, May 6 at 6PM

Duration: May 6 – June 23, 2013

Location: Green Art Gallery, Dubai.

Gallery Wendi Norris

Kelly Barrie and Julio César Morales

What: Wendi Norris presents Kelly Barrie’s solo exhibition, Parallel Play and for Julio César Morales’ solo exhibition Forever Now!. There will be an artist talk at the gallery on Saturday, May 4, from 2 – 3PM with Julio César Morales and Kelly Barrie, moderated by Natasha Boas, Curator at the Museum of Craft and Folk Art.

Opening Reception: Thursday, May 2, from 6-8PM.

Duration: MAY 2 – JUNE 29, 2013

Location: Wendi Norris, San Francisco.

Isabelle Van Den Eynde

Poetic & Meaning

What: Gallery Isabelle van Den Eynde presents an exhibition featuring Mohammed Kazem and Fred Eerdekens. In the works on view each artist holds the material and the ephemeral in a tight dialectic to elicit alternative modes of seeing.

Mohammed Kazem creates tangible interpretations of immaterial forces and social experiences that interpret fleeting source material such as the movement of nurses over a courtyard, or the natural phenomenon of wind and sound. The works range in media from colorful cloth pulled tautly over square wooden canvases to a massive assemblage of industrial scales, while a series of scratch paintings probe the boundaries between stillness and fixity, motion and potentiality.
Alongside Kazem’s works, which track immaterial human-driven and natural systems, Eerdekens crafts the intangible forces of light and shadow to renegotiate space with elegant sculptural works comprised of fluid linear forms and playful phrases. The intricate lines of metal sculpture are rendered legible when light is cast on them, to reveal a reflection or shadow of text.

Opening Reception: Monday, May 6th at 6 PM

Duration: 8 May – 8 June, 2013

Location: Isabelle van den Eynde, Dubai.

XVA

Temporary Permanence Group Show by Sri Lankan Artists

What: XVA Gallery is pleased to announce our upcoming exhibition ‘Temporary Permanence’; showcasing the works of 6 incredible artists from Sri Lanka. This exhibition is in collaboration with Saskia Fernando Gallery, Colombo. The exhibition comprises sculpture, works on paper, oil on canvas works and mixed media works. Themes explored by the artists cover issues of change and loss, religion and culture – each artist utilizing a specific technique and style to portray their concerns. Prageeth Manohansa and Kingsley Gunatillake focus on the use of recycled materials in their works – scrap metal and cardboard mediums to create large scale cultural works (Manohansa) and enthralling works on card (Gunatillake).

Opening Reception: May 14th from 6-9pm

Duration: May 15th – June 26th

Location: XVA Gallery, DIFC

Still Running… 

Youssef Nabil solo exhibition at The Third Line – Dubai until June 12.

Nawar Haidar & Yamen Yousef group exhibition at Art on 56th – Beirut until May 11.

Safar (Voyage) Middle East Contemporary art exhibition at Museum of Anthropology – Vancouver until Sept. 2013

Shadi Abosaada solo exhibition at Art Lab – Beirut until May 11

Tahsin Al Zaidy solo show at FA Gallery – Kuwait until May 4

Afsoon solo exhibition at 127 Gallerie – Morocco until May 31

Ginane Bacho solo exhibition at Ayyam Gallery – Beirut until May 31

Asad Arabi solo at Ayyam Gallery – Jeddah until May 30

Abdul Karim Majdal el Beik at Ayyam Gallery – DIFC until June 27

Updates of events, exhibitions and activities will be on Mark Your Calendar page throughout the month.

Cheers