Works on paper from Barjeel collection - 28/10/2017 - 04/02/2018Drawing, painting, printmaking from mid-20th century to presentText from website:In this exhibition we survey a selection of works on paper from the Barjeel collection that include drawing, painting and printmaking from the mid-20th Century to the present. The works traverse a range of approaches, dealing with everyday encounters, documentation of historical events, and explorations of poetry, identity, and gesture.The mid-20th Century saw the emergence of a number of avant garde movements and moments that allowed for a great variety of expression. Artists responded to what they observed in the world – which was often rapidly changing and in conflict – in subjective and innovative ways. They also turned inwards and developed new visual languages to explore more introspective themes: abstraction, language, memory, and spirituality.The use of paper, itself an ancient vehicle of carrying both text and image, allowed for a sense of immediacy and freedom for artists. Paper has long been the medium of choice for sketches and informal works, as well as a surface for complex and labour-intensive printing techniques. Deeply linked to the act of writing, paper is a material utilised by visual artists and poets alike.Drawn from the opening line of the poem “The Beginning of the Road” by the poet Adonis in his book of love poetry The Book of Similarities and Beginnings (1980), a brief dialogue between lovers begins with “Night was paper and we were ink”.http://www.barjeelartfoundation.org/exhibitions/night-was-paper-and-we-were-ink/
Mohammed Ahmed Ibrahim, Symbols, 2008, Indian ink on paper, 115cm x 115 cm.
Screenshot take from website to show detail http://www.barjeelartfoundation.org/collection/symbols-mohammed-ahmed-ibrahim/
Emirati artist Mohammed Ahmed Ibrahim (1962), lives and works in Khorfakkan, UAE. He uses leaves, clay, paper and glue in a lot of his works, also opting to create land art in his early career.I love this piece, I think because I have a personal interest in the artist after attending a studio visit in his home in 2017 and have since interacted with him at various art events. He is very humble but passionately devoted to creating and to growing the art scene. He recollected a story about him burning his back catalogue of work, due to a disagreement with a studio space! He was extremely close friends with the prominent Emirati artist Hassan Sharif which is evident in his work in the manner of the constructions and its repetitions.The piece is so dense with these small pockets of black ink, scattered but also balanced within the piece, and the scale of the symbols doesn't alter, it is maintained throughout. As with the Timo Nasseri drawings in the previous post, the dedication to complete is inspiring, devoting hours to repetition and filling of space. The physicality of creating the same movements over and over to draw the symbols, how the muscles ache, did he get blisters? how many bottles of ink, what did he lean on?
Lulwah Al Hamoud, Untitled 1, 2008, Ink on paper, 118 x 87.5 cm & Untitled 3, 2008, Ink on paper, 118 x 87.5 cm
Untitled 3 (detail), 2008, Ink on paper, 118 x 87.5 cm
Lulwah Al-Homoud (1967) born in KSA, lives and works in UK. She uses arabic letter to create complex patterns; Al-Hamoud learned the mathematical codes behind the Arabic Alphabet and then used these to break down the letters in to the building blocks for geometrical designs. Almost the reverse of Time Nasseri's work, who used mathematical codes and star charts to build geometrics in to letters. I have seen these works or perhaps similar ones from the series in exhibitions in the region before, the elements of breaking down an existing 'thing', in this case letters, to create geometric repeating patterns is similar to the process I employ for my work. There is comfort in finding artists that have comparable ways of working, a validation in technique and enquiry.
Kamal Boullata, Sizain, 2002, blind embossing on Arches paper, 65 x 50 cm
Kamal Boullata (1942) born in Jerusalem, Palestine, lives and works in Berlin, Germany. He is known for his colourful silkscreens and paintings that incorporate Arabic letters and islamic Kufic script in to geometric abstractions. Frustratingly I have been unable to find information on these embossings, how they came about and what the context is behind them. They are very different from his usual body of work.
Sizain (detail), 2002, blind embossing on Arches paper, 65 x 50 cm
They are rigid, constrained but somehow sensual. I wanted to touch them and experience the textured the geometrics create.The works in the exhibition varied between illustration and abstraction. I was drawn automatically to the geometric pieces, like a comfort blanket. Although being in the middle east the geometries are ever-present, so perhaps it is more to do with conditioning than captivation?