The 11 best exhibitions to see in the UAE this year

The UAE’s art season has kicked off with a series of exhibitions showcasing the work of everyone from history, international household name For some of the region’s most Exciting Emerging Artists.

from Louvre Abu DhabiUpcoming Impressionist Exhibition, Vantage Point SharjahA soaring 10th show, here’s our pick of 11 not-to-be-missed shows.

you can say it this way

Emirati artist Shamma Al Amri solo exhibition, so to say At the Tashkiel Studio in Dubai, the first exhibition for the studio’s participants Key Practices Program 2022. Al Amri studies the use of language in vows and how it relates to meaning and social behavior.

Arabic is a particular focus of her research and practice, where words become both images and meanings.

Until 25 October; Tashkiel, Dubai; tashkeel.org

Unknown Fable

Syrian painter Kais Salman’s latest work will be featured in “Allegory in the Unknown”, a solo exhibition at Ayyam Gallery in Dubai. Through stylized, almost conceptual characters, Salman creates visual narratives that guide viewers through a series of emotionally charged questions that explore the human condition.

Irony, sarcasm and multiple narratives permeate the exhibition, and Salman moves away from the blandness of his previous work and instead employs an impasto technique.

Until 1 November; Ayyam Gallery, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai; ayyamgallery.com

Overcoming obstacles

Palestinian artist Khaled Hourani’s solo exhibition at Zawyeh Gallery in Dubai is an examination of his homeland’s wall. It’s a theme to which Ramallah artists find themselves returning, taking media images from Palestine and reimagining them and walls.

Hourani is an outstanding Palestinian artist, A curator and writer, his work explores the nuances of the Palestinian system of social and political constraints.

Until November 3; Zawyeh Gallery, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai; zawyeh.net

where the eyes rest

Stephanie Saade will have her third solo exhibition at Gray Noise on Alserkal Avenue, Dubai. Where Eyes Rest presents the Lebanese artist’s new work, bringing together personal objects including worn curtains, toys, books and blankets, depicting their resilience as they change to fit new time spaces.

The exhibition borrows the title of her 2021 video, where the eyes resttells the story of the artist’s friendship with a strand of hair.

Until 3 November; Grey Noise, Alserkal Avenue; graynoise.org

pattern

Groundbreaking Indian artist and activist Navjot Altaf is commemorating her regional solo debut at the Ishara Art Foundation on Alserkal Avenue. Titled Patterns, the exhibition features site-specific installations, sculptures, videos, paintings and photo prints, all of which reflect climate change, ecology and feminism.

Pattern showcases a series of works that Altaf has created since 2015, the year of the United Nations Climate Change Conference and the Paris climate agreement. This is a watershed moment. A global agreement to reduce carbon emissions levels has been announced among 196 countries. Altaf’s work examines the dramatic rise in the visual representation of climate change in mainstream media using technology and real-time data.

The show contrasts new and traditional forms of how environmental crises can be represented, inviting viewers to think about the future of the planet and society.

Until 9 December; Ishara Art Foundation, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai; ishara.org

Popular South Asia: Art Exploration in Popularity

Organised by the Sharjah Art Foundation in partnership with the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art in New Delhi, the exhibition features more than 100 works from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the diaspora.

Shown in four galleries at the Sharjah Art Foundation, it highlights a multitude of voices that are both playful and collectively symbiotic. While most works date from the 1960s to the present, there are also some works that trace the lineage of South Asian popular culture back to the late 19th century.

Until 11 December; Sharjah Art Foundation; sharjahart.org

Vantage Point Sharjah

Works by 66 artists from 34 countries were selected for the 10th edition of Vantage Point in Sharjah, one of the largest exhibitions to date. The show’s open call for submissions invites submissions about visual storytelling and photography’s ability to capture social reality from different perspectives.

Launched in 2013, the exhibition commemorates photography as an artistic medium that has grown into a dynamic platform that embraces a variety of approaches, from photojournalism and photographic prose to experimental work in digital and analog formats.

Until 11 December; Al Hamriyah Studios, Sharjah; sharjahart.org

journey

Sculptor Khalid Zaki’s solo exhibition “Journey to the Burj Bari Art Space” is a study of the power of spirituality, movement and religious experience. Through bronze and white Carrara marble sculptures and large-scale paintings, Zaki has created a series of surreal and engaging works that reflect Sufism.

A renowned artist and sculptor, Zaki was deeply influenced by ancient Egyptian statues and modernist and Italian Renaissance sculptures.

Until November 11; Tabari Art Space, Dubai International Financial Centre; tabariartspace.com

Every drop of water is an ocean

The Jameel Arts Centre in Dubai is seeking to re-engage and examine our relationship with water through many prisms, with a collective exhibition spanning the 10th century to the present day. Every Drop of the Ocean features 15 artists from 14 countries who span Aboriginal and Indigenous communities, across ancient Persia and the UAE.

From existing works to new commissions, Ocean in Every Drop looks at how water shapes, marks and governs our experiences through environmentalism, mythology, spirituality, folk traditions and lived experiences.

Until April 2; Jameel Arts Centre, Dubai; jameelartscentre.org

About foraging

A new exhibition at Warehouse421 also looks at our relationship with the environment, but from a local perspective. On Foraging: Food Knowledge and Environmental Imagination in the UAE Landscape explores the history of the relationship between the local environment and its inhabitants.

The show explores narratives of intergenerational learning that can be found in family food production on private farms. It also examines how organic, hydroponics and oyster farming expand the possibilities of growing in desert environments. On Foraging also examines how to handle and respond to agricultural supplies, particularly with the development of language that implies collective responsibility.

9 October to 25 December; Warehouse421, Abu Dhabi; warehouse 421.ae

Impressionism: The Path to Modernity

Works by Manet, Degas, Monet, Pissarro, Renoir and Cézanne will be part of a new exhibition at the Louvre Abu Dhabi. Impressionism: The Path to ModernityOpening on October 12, in collaboration with the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, more than 150 masterpieces will be on display in Abu Dhabi.

In addition to paintings and etchings, clothing, film and photography will also be on display, exploring why Impressionism was considered controversial in the 19th century, and how it laid the foundations for future art movements.

October 12-February 5; Louvre Abu Dhabi; louvreabudhabi.ae

Scroll through the images below Raise Vibration Show Infinity des Lumieres in Dubai

Updated: September 27, 2022 at 2:32 pm