Art Dubai begins with diverse range of exhibitions

Lovers of art can look forward to this weekend in Dubai. Starting Thursday through Saturday, for Dh50 or Dh100 — depending on whether you want a one day pass or a three day pass — one can see works of 500 international artists.

Visaitors get a preview of Art Dubai at Madinat Jumeirah on Tuesday. — KT photos by Shihab

The 8th edition Art Dubai — with 500 artists, half at least of whom are women and 85 participating galleries from 34 countries — was unveiled at a press conference on Tuesday.

Antonia Carver, Fair Director, Art Dubai said: “We’re thrilled to be opening our eighth edition with such a strong and diverse range of exhibitions, plus our largest not-for-profit programme to date.” The galleries are presented in three programmes — Contemporary, Modern, and Marker with the curated section of invited art spaces and galleries focusing on Central Asia and the Caucasus.

Of cardboard, sand dunes and seats Five hundred sheets of cardboard have been held together with metal clips and converted into 130 chairs. It’s as environment-friendly as it can get, not to mention the low cost and ease to dismantle once the event is over. The art piece will be on display at Art Dubai which begins today and goes on till March 22. The seats are supposed to be sand dunes. It’s too early in the assembling to tell. But this “low cost modular seating” — as artist Ivan Parati calls it — is something of a centerpiece installation at the event. Parati, 38, from Cremona in Italy (“a small town close to Milan,” he says) has lived in Dubai now for six years. For the last few days though, he with his crew, all a part of the design collective called Caravan, have been warding off dust and rain to create this recyclable Majlis seating that will be draped with bright water-proofed fabrics. Watch out for purples and oranges and whites. The venue will go on to be called the Art Bar. Polypropylene, cardboard and metal clips are the raw materials currently undergoing an artistic makeover. By inauguration time today, the venue will be transformed. The studio lights will do their bit, and Fort Island at Madinat Jumeriah will morph into a Hollywood movie set, all in the name of Art Dubai 2014 which will be on until March 22. The idea is to create a contrast, like snow in the desert. ‘A Grain of Sand’ is what the installation will be called, and in the words of the creators — the Caravan team comprising Ivan Parati, Emanuela Corti and Mohammed Shameel — will represent “an engaging desert scape made out of cardboard boxes and mirrors … dunes to climb or lay upon; caves to explore and share with friends, a distillation of reality through reflection like visions of a digital contemporary world.” nivriti@khaleejtimes.com

Seeing everything the galleries have to offer is an impossible one-day task — there’s only so much art you can see before art-fatigue sets in, so we recommend the three day pass and the guide to the art fair booklet.

First impressions

The works of Seoul-based artist, Atta Kim is one of the many first-time exhibits at Art Dubai. The moment you see his huge photographs mounted on the wall, you’re glued to your spot. A pro in long-time exposure shots, Kim has taken a series of photos in New York — only one a day — and each one took him eight hours. From early morning till 8 hours later, his exposure settings have created some remarkable images.

Artist Elisabetta Di Maggio has on display a butterfly flight trajectory, and an amazon water lily Victoria leaves that she’s dried, cut and shaped. There’s the fascinating bindi-art of Bharti Kher, whose ‘Square on a Circle’ — that will look from a distance like a very large circle — deserves a good 5-minute gaze, especially as you move closer to the frame.

Lara Favaretto, to pick at random yet another fascinating artist, has a playful touch to her work. There is a 400kg pink-coloured cube on display, which is made of confetti, compressed pink confetti that was assembled at the venue. She’s also got ‘Wool found a painting’ – a series of ordinary bought-on-ebay style paintings wrapped in lines of wool, that alter the viewer’s relationship with the art work.

Also playful is the piece made of candy wrappers called Girl with a Gold Earring. This fun twist to the classic ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’ is the work of young Saudi artist, Ghada Al Rabee. And this is just a slice of the pie. For more information and the complete list of artists, log on to artdubai.ae.

Kids under 18 can get in for free. University students, too, just have to carry their ID for a free entry.

nivriti@khaleejtimes.com