Gallery Tilal } Helmi El-Touni Retrospective
Posted on October 18, 2011 1 Comment
i want it all and i want it now: this exhibition was a collaboration between the gallery and mr. khaled al abdul mughni. al abdul mughni has been a true lover and patron of the arts for all the time i've known him. because of him, we have this wonderful chance to view el-touni's work without having to travel far
As I walked into Gallery Tilal this morning, it dawned on me like a warm Pharaonic sun: I’ve just died and gone to Helmi El-Touni heaven. Around sixty of the Egyptian artist’s works, from 1988 to 2011, are currently on display at Gallery Tilal for just three nights. If you missed the opening last night, you have a chance to go tonight or tomorrow. If you’re a fan of classic Egyptian art, El-Touni’s works are rife with the country’s folkloric iconography and symbolism. My inspiration was rekindled today when I looked at his earlier works and realized the effect his paintings had on my fledgling art in the late 80s and early 90s. For example, my use of blunt drop shadows was greatly influenced by El-Touni among others. I had forgotten all that until today. Read More
squalid chief
Posted on October 17, 2011 3 Comments
squalid chief, 2011, collage on paper, 30 x 42cm
Dar Al-Funoon } Bader Albassam
Posted on October 16, 2011 Leave a Comment
two of albassam's photographs recline as the day continues to be beautiful in the courtyard outside this window
One of our trips this morning took us to Dar Al-Funoon gallery in Sharq. We were hoping to get a glimpse of tomorrow night’s show by Kuwaiti photographer Bader Albassam. And we did. I really enjoyed gazing at his prints, done with standard film and natural lighting. Taken on his trips to countries such as Russia, Yemen and Cuba, Albassam captures intimate moments and truly manages to freeze time, inviting the viewer to enjoy the experiences as he experienced them. Good photography and good company: great hugs from Lucy and her friend Noorah Hadeed, and good to see Cuckoo, the resident pigeon, again. Read More
gallery morning sunday
Posted on October 16, 2011 Leave a Comment
first stop was boushahri gallery for the tareq boutaihi exhibition. i liked his women's bodies but funnily enough not the faces. there was something a little too l'oreal elnett hairspray model about them
I had a busy morning bouncing from one gallery to another. In all, a friend and I dropped by four exhibitions. Our first stop was the Tareq Boutaihi exhibition at Boushahri Gallery. I didn’t immediately take to Boutaihi’s intimate look at barely clothed women but soon their bodies and expressions won me over. As much as I was inspired by his rendition of the female form, I felt a certain lack of sensitivity from the artist in their faces. But that’s just me. I have face bias. Bonus was seeing Mr. Jawad Boushahri. Double bonus was bumping into artist Ja’afar Islah. Read More
water, wine & women
Posted on October 13, 2011 4 Comments
Some more fun with a sister (thanks, Yasmine, you’re a trooper), camera, iPhoto and lots of water. Oh, and my mom’s star of the night, a fitted, red sheet from IKEA. Read More
Art Takes Miami Competition} three days left to vote!
Posted on October 12, 2011 1 Comment
Visit my portfolio and vote!
*It’s just a series of clicks, once a day. Voting closes October 14th.
Cross the bridge for more works from my Art Takes Miami portfolio. Read More
Bazaar & Me} Boushahri’s Summer Art Salon 2011
Posted on October 12, 2011 Leave a Comment
surprise! mine's the one in the middle
I finally picked up my copy of Bazaar this morning and found a lovely surprise inside. Really cool :).
sisters
Posted on October 9, 2011 2 Comments
sisters, 2011, acrylic on canvas, 50 x 60 cm
I really struggled with this one. I thought it was finished but I knew deep inside it was a very weak painting. But sometimes I’m lazy and will pretend it’s finished just so that I can literally sleep at night. I even hung it up on my wall in a last ditch effort at verisimilitude. I know now that it’s finished. For sure. For real.
three drawings inspired by the corset
Posted on October 8, 2011 4 Comments
There’s something about a tightly-niched blog that really turns me on. I get especially titillated by the sexiness of steampunk , such as early twentieth century aviator goggles, antique typewriters and in this case: corsets. This morning I visited Back to Busk which inspired these sketches. Read More
Gallery Tilal|Sami Mohammad
Posted on October 5, 2011 3 Comments
this painting welcomes you into a hall filled with sami mohammad's most recent works. known primarily for his sculptures, mohammad has on display around forty paintings and forty sculptures created over the past ten years
I visited Gallery Tilal for very personal reasons yesterday: the exhibition of my first ever inspiration, Sami Mohammad. I remember my father taking me to the Free Arts Atelier over thirty years ago. When my eyes fell on Mohammad’s shocking sculptures. As scary as they should have been to an eight-year-old, I wasn’t afraid; I was just fascinated by his depiction of the human form. He was the first person to demonstrate to me the impossibilities we can achieve through our work as artists with a free mind: the impossibility of a jaw stretching that far down, the impossibility of a man fitting in such a small box, the impossibility of the limbs bending the way they do. But most importantly, I wondered at the emotion and desperation which push a man to end up in such states of impossibility. And from that day on, I started testing myself, my mind and experimented with how far I could push that envelope. So although you exhibit very rarely, thank you for sharing yourself with us one more time (in a career which has spanned over forty years, this is just his third solo exhibition). Read More
nazi helmets & lazy customs officers
Posted on October 3, 2011 5 Comments
It was brought to my attention that ‘German helmets associated with WWII were in use well before the end of WWI so technically have nothing specifically to do with the Nazis.’ Thank you, Tim Pieraccini. That was well put and eased this conflicted mother’s conscience.
The MENASA Studio Dispatches|ArtDubai 2011
Posted on October 2, 2011 3 Comments
I was asked early 2011 to prepare a five-minute recording for the MENASA Studio Dispatches project, to be played at 2011’s ArtDubai Contemporary Art Fair. Artists were asked to contribute a five-minute recording which provided an insight into their relationship with their work and studio. Click here to take you there. Beware: the graphics, although gorgeous, bear heavy on the eyes and head.
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