29 March 2024

LAST CHANCE André Butzer: Becoming Matisse

A solo show from one of Carbon 12's regulars. Butzer's style is characterised by "Disney figures painted by Munch": iconic characters, expressive language, deceptively careful use of colour, all done in "in honour of Henri Matisse" says the artrist. "Simultaneously [ ... ]

LAST CHANCE John Harris and Trevor Waugh: Recollections

"A poetic merging of two distinct artistic voices, each echoing the beauty and spirit of the Arabian landscapes ..." Watercolours explorating the natural and cultural landscapes of the UAE and Oman by two painters who have been integral members of [ ... ]

LAST CHANCE Flavio Lucchini: Hair

An exhibition of 23 works by the Italian art director/publisher of high fashion magazines. They're highly graphic in style, with bold lines and strong colours, and as the title implies they consider women through the hair, the only precise detail [ ... ]

Amir Khojasteh: Living in a Burning House

"Amidst the unsettled times of an uprising in Iran, grappling with uncertainties, sadness, and paradoxes, artist Amir Khojasteh sought solace in his studio and tried to make sense of what was happening ... In this topsy-turvy world, the artist persisted [ ... ]

LAST CHANCE Ahmad Moualla: Combustions

The Syrian artist's first solo exhibition with this gallery (and his first show in eight years) is a series of new works on paper created in 2023. Considered one of the pioneers of modernism and expressionism in Syria, Moualla was [ ... ]

LAST CHANCE Jamal Bassiouni: The World of Mirrors

A solo exhibition for the noted Egyptian artist's vivid and poignant paintings exploring ancient Egyptian beliefs regarding enlightenment and the afterlife. As the artist puts it: “In The world of Mirrors we say what is above is what is below, [ ... ]

LAST CHANCE Mohammed Kazem and Vikram Divecha: Rest

Two of the most distinctive Dubai-based artists with works that explore the intricate relationship between labour, rest, and the ever-evolving urban landscape of the UAE. "Considering the dynamics of human existence, alternating between cycles of depletion and restoration, the exhibition [ ... ]

LAST CHANCE Akil Ahmad: Khatt

Calligraphic art by the Syrian (but UAE-resident) winner of an Al Burda Award in 2016 and 2018. This Artbooth Gallery show is described as "a celebration of calligraphy as a fine art" that "breathes new life into this traditional art form, [ ... ]

LAST CHANCE Aya Haidar: Battlegrounds

The inaugural exhibition of the Lebanese-British artist at this gallery, where she has recently joined the roster. Aya Haidar’s practice addresses themes related to womanhood, invisible labour, forced displacement, Homeland and territory, social constructs and inequalities; positioned at the intersection [ ... ]

Sasan Nasernia: Paradimensional

The Iranian artist's latest collection plays on the fluid relationships between the tangible and the ephemeral – "each piece is an invitation to witness the beauty of moments frozen in time, where the artist's genius mastery of contemporary art and [ ... ]

LAST CHANCE Farah Al Qasimi: Toy World

The Third Line's fourth solo exhibition with Farah Al Qasimi, Brooklyn based but Abu Dhabi born, is a collection of still and moving images in colour and – for the first time – black and white too. “Black and white [ ... ]

LAST CHANCE Ana Mazzei: How to disappear

The Brazilian artist has been given regular solo shows at Green Art Gallery every couple of years, and they're always interesting. Her widely (and sometimes wildly) experimental practice appropriates different materials, connecting to the environments in which she works; art, [ ... ]

LAST CHANCE Posters for Gaza

An exhibition of posters produced specifically for this exhibition by 26 artists who come together to shed light on the ethnic cleansing and horrific massacres taking place in the Gaza Strip and to demand the recognition of Palestinian rights to [ ... ]

LAST CHANCE Moataz Nasr: Bottle Neck

New and existing 3D work by the Egyptian artist, whose practice aims to explore the intersection of tradition and globalisation and the impact of political and economic development. The title Bottle Neck reflects “the overload of information that creates a [ ... ]

LAST CHANCE CC: cARTpets

Outsider artist CC, better known to his mum as Alireza Asbahi, shows his latest collection of carpets and hangings. It's quirky, interesting art that collages and layers materials and shapes. His works have the same kind of raw energy that [ ... ]

LAST CHANCE Laura Lappi: Metamorphosis

The first solo exhibition in the MENA region for the Finnish artist. Her work draws inspiration from ancient basilicas, cathedrals, and other Scandinavian wooden structures. Using wood as her primary medium, Lappi establishes a direct connection to her homeland and [ ... ]

LAST CHANCE Hana El-Sagini: Counting Fingers

A solo exhibition that presents a newly commissioned large-scale installation rooted in the instability and fragility of the human experience — more than 200 fantastical ceramic objects arranged as surreal sculptures and structures that replicate and reimagine healthcare spaces, such [ ... ]

LAST CHANCE Network Culture

This exhibition presents projects by 12 of the participants in 421’s Homebound Residency Program, which ran annually from spring 2020 to fall 2023; it is both a celebration of the work produced during the programme and an acknowledgement of the [ ... ]

LAST CHANCE Manjit Bawa: I Was Born a Poet …

Paintings and drawings by Manjit Bawa (1941-2008), a modernist master of 20th-century Indian figuration whose work is distinguished by expressive line and colour. The exhibition marks the inauguration of Volte Art Projects’ new Alserkal Avenue space under the name Volte [ ... ]

Drawing Time: Duets

This exhibition spotlights new and historical works from the Sharjah Art Foundation Collection that present the range and possibilities of drawing and print culture. The first instalment of a four-part series, it delves into the concept of “the double, the [ ... ]

LAST CHANCE Katya Muromtseva: Over the Slopes of Speech

The first UAE exhibition for the NY-based artist, featuring works created in Dubai during her time at the NIKA Project Space Research and Residency programme – a group of monumental watercolour triptychs on the multifaceted narratives and histories of women [ ... ]

LAST CHANCE Katya Muromtseva: Over the Slopes of Speech

The New-York based artist gets her first show in the UAE, featuring works she created in Dubai during her time at the NIKA Project Space Research and Residency programme – monumental watercolour triptychs that relate to the narratives and histories [ ... ]

LAST CHANCE Sasan Nasernia: Paradimensional

The Iranian artist's latest collection plays on the fluid relationships between the tangible and the ephemeral – "each piece is an invitation to witness the beauty of moments frozen in time, where the artist's genius mastery of contemporary art and [ ... ]

LAST CHANCE Between Fiction and Dreams

A group show by three artists from Karakalpakstan, an autonomous area of Uzbekistan: Bakhtiyar Serekeyev, Timur Shardimetov and Salomat Babajanov. "They introduced the rebellious spirit of expressionism and uninhibited painting into local art, which was very traditional in themes and [ ... ]

LAST CHANCE Rachid Koraïchi: An Ode to Intertwined Histories

A solo exhibition with examples of many of the disciplines and media that made up Koraïchi's practice, all "showcasing his abiding fascination with the creation of deeply layered seams within the spiritual, political and intellectual". Koraïchi often speaks of belonging [ ... ]

LAST CHANCE Zhivago Duncan: The Rare But Known Phenomenon

It's a pleasure to find an artist who is prepared to expand on their principles, and to do with Zhivago Duncan's level of articulation. "Within this new collection," writes Duncan, "I have endeavoured to distill the complexity of ideas and [ ... ]

LAST CHANCE The Fifth Wife

A group show, curated by Mara Firetti, Ali Cha'aban and Celine Azem and featuring Aidha Badr, ARE Studios, Ghaleb Hawila, Jason Seife, Khalid Zahid, Salmah Al-Mansoori and Sawsan Al Bahar. The exhibition explores the mythology of where the oral culture [ ... ]

LAST CHANCE Elastic Visions

A group exhibition curated by Faridah Folawiyo, showcasing artists of African origin across the world and examining how artists from Africa and the diaspora see the restrictive concepts of Eurocentric cultural superiority. The show aims to stretch audiences’ limits and [ ... ]

LAST CHANCE Amir Khojasteh: Living in a Burning House

"Amidst the unsettled times of an uprising in Iran, grappling with uncertainties, sadness, and paradoxes, artist Amir Khojasteh sought solace in his studio and tried to make sense of what was happening ... In this topsy-turvy world, the artist persisted [ ... ]

LAST CHANCE Sheher, Prakriti, Devi

Riffing on the interwoven relationship between cities, the natural environment and the sacred, this show presents work by 12 artists and collectives working across diverse contexts of urban, rural, domestic, communitarian, public and non-material spaces. In this show are works [ ... ]

LAST CHANCE In Real Time

NYU Abu Dhabi Art Gallery is celebrating its ten-year anniversary with a characteristically interesting exhibition. In Real Time is a dynamic show – over the course of three months the curators will be adding artists, and the artists and performers [ ... ]

LAST CHANCE Vikram Divecha: Short Circuits

Vikram Divecha’s exhibition covers the Dubai-based artist’s practice since 2013, showcasing his playful and poetic site-specific works, public art, installations, videos, photography and drawings. In particular, Divecha has long had an in-depth interest in the invisible structures of planning, construction, [ ... ]

LAST CHANCE Lala Rukh: In the Round

The first major survey of the late artist, feminist organiser and pedagogue Lala Rukh brings together more than 50 drawings, prints, photographs, videos and animation works from across her three-decade practice. The artist captured the diverse rhythms of lunar movements, [ ... ]

LAST CHANCE Henok Melkamzer: Telsem Symbols and Imagery

With more than 100 works, many on view for the first time, this exhibition is the largest solo presentation by telsem artist Henok Melkamzer. Traditionally termed a healing or talisman art, telsem is a distinctive Ethiopian art form that incorporates [ ... ]

LAST CHANCE Echoes of Infinite: Poetry’s Visual Symphony

The Farjam Foundation isn’t a particularly activity gallery, but it does have access to an excellent private collection that spans early Islam to present-day artistic practice across regional geographies and beyond. So when it puts on a show of selected [ ... ]

LAST CHANCE Drawing Time: Duets

This exhibition spotlights new and historical works from the Sharjah Art Foundation Collection that present the range and possibilities of drawing and print culture. The first instalment of a four-part series, it delves into the concept of “the double, the [ ... ]

LAST CHANCE Echoes of the Orient

The inaugural exhibition of the brand new Bassam Freiha Art Foundation is curated from the private collection of Bassam Said Freiha to offer a perspective into how the Middle East has been perceived, portrayed and romanticised over time – particularly [ ... ]

LAST CHANCE Through the Seasons with Eric Carle

For the first time in the region, the work of the noted illustrator and children’s book author (more than 70 titles to his name, including of course The Very Hungry Caterpillar) is celebrated through Carle’s brilliant imagery of the seasons, [ ... ]

LAST CHANCE Hussein Sharif: Re-framing Reality

A major survey of four decades of the artist’s work across painting, drawing, collage and sculpture that should further demonstrate why Sharif – one of 'the five' – is such an important figure in the development of UAE postmodernism. The [ ... ]

LAST CHANCE Native: Plants in the UAE

A group exhibition that showcases the UAE’s native flora, exploring the life conditions of plants indigenous to the country’s landscape and examining how the surrounding atmosphere both affects their growth and results in unique variations of colour, texture, size and [ ... ]

LAST CHANCE Hussein Sharif: Re-framing Reality

The Culture Foundation's big summer show is a major survey of four decades of work showcasing the multidisciplinary practice across painting, drawing, collage and sculpture of an artist acknoweldged as one of the UAE’s key postmodernists (he was one of [ ... ]

LAST CHANCE Native: Plants in the UAE

An exhibition that explores the plants indigenous to the UAE, looking at the surrounding atmosphere that affects its growth and gives it its unique variations of colour, texture, size and behaviour. "From the iconic Ghaf tree to the resilient desert [ ... ]

LAST CHANCE Carpets of Eden, Gardens of Fantasy

This exhibition of carpets designed by artists and curated by Behrang Samadzadegan is described by the gallery as "a territory where artists navigate unbridled fantasies ... Like architects of dreams, they go beyond the surface, delving into the unseen, weaving [ ... ]