< PreviousART NEWS LATEST ART TALES 16 Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Culture launches art initiatives in Jeddah as part of its cultural vision for 2020, a brand new programme of creativity at Expo 2020, Sotheby’s 20th Century Art / Middle East sale highlights and more IN CONVERSATION 28 With Christian Louboutin THE FEATURES THE ARTIST 34 Sassan Behnam-Bakhtiar’s Rebirth exhibition 38 British-Iraqi artist Athier Mousawi’s colourful chaos 42 Clotilde Jimenez’s humble beginnings 46 Lebanese expressionist artist Rowaida Hakim spreads happiness, love and joy through her works 54 Kristel Bechara’s newest works on female empowerment 58 Sujata Bajaj’s abstract and soulful works 60 Fatimah Al Nemer’s marriage of tradition and modern THE COLLECTOR 62 Inside Opera Gallery’s Director Sylvain Gaillard’s art-fi lled abode THE GALLERY 66 How Four You gallery is empowering women 68 Galerie Maria Behnam-Bakhtiar’s second show LA PHOTOGRAPHIE DISTANT REALITIES 72 Egyptian artist Youssef Nabil on capturing timeless moments and a hopeful future 76 Farah Al Qasimi transforms New York City bus shelters into a colourful portrayal of life THE EXHIBITION AN AGE OF PERFECTION 78 Gianfranco Zappettini’s solo exhibit at Mazzoleni London LABOUR OF LOVE 80 Melis Buyruk discusses the art of sculpting A VISION WITHOUT BORDERS 82 Baku’s non-profi t art organisation YARAT challenges cultural norms KINGDOM GEMS 84 Saudi Arabia’s AlUla region pays homage to desert culture A DARK TALE 86 Vikram Divecha’s solo show explores loss and darkness A CALL FOR CHANGE 88 Ishara Art Foundation and The NYUAD Art Gallery join hands with Amar Kanwar ART OF CHIVALROUS COMBAT 90 Furusiyya: The Art of Chivalry between East and West on show at Louvre Abu Dhabi ANCIENT RELICS 91 Coins of Islam exhibition at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Centre THE EXCHANGE A NEW PERSPECTIVE 92 Amsterdam-based artist Alice Wielinga discusses art as a unifying tool BEL AIR BEAUTY 94 Walk through a lavish Bel Air abode in Los Angeles ART OF CONVERSATION 96 Artist Hashel Al Lakmi opens up about his fi rst solo exhibition CONTENTS 10 HarpersBazaarArabia.com/culture/art Spring 2020 Marie-Cécile Aptel. Untitled. 2003. Acrylic on Canvas. 160x160cm. Courtesy of Galerie Maria Behnam-Bakhtiar and the artist HBA_038_10-12_Contents_11235694.indd 1011/03/2020 05:56:42 PMCURATING MINDS 97 97 Munira Al Sayegh speaks about Abu Dhabi’s fl ourishing art scene AZERBAIJANI JEWELS 98 98 Suad Garayeva-Maleki sheds light on Baku’s art scene and aspiring Azerbaijani artists scene and aspiring Azerbaijani artists A POETIC MISSIONA POETIC MISSION 100 100 Founder of The Abu Dhabi Arts Society sheds Founder of The Abu Dhabi Arts Society sheds light on budding Middle Eastern artistslight on budding Middle Eastern artists THE PREVIEW ART AND SOUL 102 A peek into World Art Dubai 2020 A GLOBAL CRY 104 An illuminating edition of Jeddah Arts SPECIAL FEATURE 106 Guide to Dubai Art Week, Art Dubai’s Residents section, meet the artists behind this year’s Campus Art Dubai initiative and more THE REVIEW MARRAKECH MAGIC 118 A survey of Marrakech’s Contemporary African Art Fair AN ARTISTIC VOYAGE 124 We review the wonders of NOMAD St. Moritz design and contemporary art exhibition THE ART OF COLLABORATION 126 Lahore Biennale curator Sheikha Hoor Al Qasimi conceives to illuminate the rich culture of Pakistan ACROSS TIME AND SPACE 132 A review of Ras Al Khaimah Fine Arts Festival TALKING ART 136 If art could speak, what would it say? THE STUDIO VISIT MAGICAL SOULS 138 We step inside Alena Vavilina’s dreamlike Dubai studio THE ESCAPE BAHRAIN BOUTIQUE 142 The extraordinary art collection housed within Merchant House Bahrain PARISIAN FLAIR 143 We visit the Hôtel de Berri, an eclectic boutique hotel in the heart of Paris THE RESTAURANT SENSORY OPULANCE 144 The art of fi ne dining at Bagatelle Dubai LAST LOOK ART THERAPY 146 Abu Dhabi-based artist Joëlle Acoury Kurdy discusses the existential topics surrounding her work CONTENTS 12 HarpersBazaarArabia.com/culture/art Spring 2020 Kristel Bechara. The Girl with the Butterfl y Mask. 120x120cm. Courtesy of the artist Helmet. Iraq, Turkey or Caucasus, c. 1450–1500. Steel damascened with silver and traces of gold, iron. Courtesy Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi. Photographed by Thierry Ollivier HBA_038_10-12_Contents_11235694.indd 1211/03/2020 04:54:29 PMSharjah Museum of Islamic Civilization 8 8 2020 - April August © Fondazione Musei Civici di V enezia WONDER & INSPIRATION Venice and the Arts of Islam14 HarpersBazaarArabia.com/culture/art Spring 2020 The CONTRIBUTORS HARPER’S BAZAAR ART SPRING 2020 Sharvari Alape is a journalism and media graduate with a passion for content writing and an innate interest in interviewing. She has contributed to several renowned publications covering multiple topics including lifestyle, business and culture. Odelia Mathews is a Dubai-based editor and freelance writer with a degree in International Business. As ex-editor for social lifestyle magazine Mondanite, she has written extensively on fashion, beauty, health, lifestyle, art, culture and interiors. Despite visual challenges since the age of four and several eye surgeries related to glaucoma, retinal detachment and cornea failure, her work has been published in Gulf News, ELLE, Villa 88, DÉCOR and several other titles. “Great testimonies come from great tests and great triumphs come from great trials” is her motto in life. Her current interest is B2B journalism, content creation, digital communication and business trends. Tania Longi is a freelance journalist and writer and has worked for several media outlets in the Middle East and Pakistan including Elle Middle East, Mondanite, Time Out Dubai, Hello! and OK! Pakistan. She has a BA in Journalism and a strong interest in the history of fashion, contemporary art and interiors. Aisha Zaman is a journalist who has a keen passion for seeking out unusual and intriguing places, particularly those off the beaten track. She has a love of telling people’s stories and for almost a decade, Aisha has traversed the globe to write on art, design, food and travel for major British and Middle Eastern lifestyle publications including Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue Arabia, Elle Decoration UK, Arab News and Food & Travel. ALSO WRITING IN THIS ISSUE Karim Aziz Oghly, Beena Pagarani, Athwifa Saleem, Reefaya Noortaj and more HBA_038_14_Contributors_11235447.indd 1411/03/2020 09:17:14 AMFrom exclusive interviews with prolifi c industry leaders, to pioneering names that are prompting us to see the world around us in new ways through a design that bridges culture and art, Harper’s Bazaar Interiors is your ultimate guide to luxury living. Follow @HarpersBazaarInteriors on Instagram to keep up to date on the design- led stories from the region and beyond. Social NE T WOR K HarpersBazaarArabia.com/InteriorsNEWS The Above: sculptures made by Essam Jameel, Anna Rasinska and Agnessa Petrova for the Riyadh Symposium. Courtesy of the artists Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Culture has launched a series of of sculptural symposiums taking place in the heart of Al Balad, Jeddah’s historic district, as part of the Kingdom’s cultural vision for 2020 SAUDI SCULPTURES THE PILOT INITIATIVE IS CENTRED around a series of sculptural symposiums attempting to inspire local and international cultural exchange. The programs are set to take place in the heart of Al Balad, Jeddah’s historic district. “The diverse characteristics of Jeddah were represented in the Red Sea Symposium which provided a platform for the development for the Saudi arts scene and an opportunity for cultural exchange,” expresses Abdulkarim Al Humaid, spokesperson for the Saudi Ministry of Culture. Twenty marble sculptures were crafted by international and local Saudi artists and received for the inaugural Red Sea International Sculpture Symposium. Countries including Bulgaria, Portugal, Japan, Egypt and Kosovo were being represented at the symposium. The artists were given the task of hand-sculpting free-standing monoliths within a three-week period running through December last year. The white marble provided to the artists was imported from the Sultanate of Oman. Asian entrants were said to have approached the project with an abstract minimalism that juxtaposed the structurally complex compositions of some of the Arab artists. Arab artists such as Essam Jameel approached their sculptures by opting to embrace more multifaceted geometric patterns. Aggnessa Petrove, Anna Maria Negara and Anna Rasinska’s sculptures were intricate and had an apparent decisive presence and brought their own verve to the show. These artists hailed from Bulgaria, Romania and Poland, respectively. Artistic differences and similarities between the sculptural marvels can be seen with clarity and appear to be the result of diverse cultural infl uences. For example, Reda Alawi and Takeshi Kubo both took similar approaches to the task, leaning more towards minimalism. Whereas, Petrove’s design was complex and used a combination of tight curves and sharp edges to craft a peculiarly humanoid form. The cultural diversity seen in the sculptures further aids the idea behind the symposium itself. Al Humaid states, “Saudi participants praised the event as a stimulating creative opportunity, allowing them to engage with international guests and demonstrate their ability to participate and contribute at unique artistic platforms.” The initiative comes as an effort to allow Saudi’s cultural sector to thrive and harbour arts as a norm within the Kingdom. ■ The Riyadh Symposium, the second Symposium of the series, is currently on view in the heart of Al Balad, Jeddah’s historic district W ORD S B Y K ARIM AZIZ OGHL Y 16 HarpersBazaarArabia.com/culture/art Spring 2020 HBA_038_16_The News_Saudi Red Sea_11209964.indd 1610/03/2020 05:08:13 PMexchange and dialogue. Commu- nity outreach components will also be implemented into the pro- gramme in order to introduce Saudi audiences to local and international disciplines of art and expand the public’s understand- ing of contemporary art. Jeddah has been at the fore- front of the nation’s art scene and cultural transformation, while Albalad is recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site due its prolifi c history and cultural sig- nifi cance within the region. Alhu- maid adds, “it will provide an inspirational setting for partici- pants as they work and learn from each other.” Specifi cally, a build- ing called Rubat Al Khunji will host the programme. Built in 1813, the building was originally used as a guest house and was abandoned until it was recently refurbished. As a nation with a rich history of art and culture and many years of harnessing creativ- ity, it makes it a very important area in which artistic inventiveness should be nurtured. Facilitating cultural exchange and providing opportunities to all, as Alhumaid says, “by sup- porting and encouraging a vibrant Saudi cul- ture that is true to its past and looks to the future”, is one of the reasons why nurturing artistic values in Saudi is so important. The development of Saudi’s cultural sector plays a role within the importance of the initiative. Developing the sector further could result in the creation of “meaningful and rewarding” jobs in both public and private sectors of the industry. Such improvements will be able to fulfi l crucial directives under Saudi’s Vision 2030 transformation plan. Incipient creatives and those midway through their careers were welcomed to apply for the residency. Applications were reviewed by cultural professionals from Saudi and other countries. The selection of artists will be announced 26 March 2020 with the fi rst ses- sion of the residency set to take place six weeks after the announcement. JEDDAH HISTORICAL DISTRICT will soon be home to Art Residency Albalad, a six-week- long programme for which seven participants have been sought out, marking the pilot of a fi ve-cycle-long initiative announced by the Saudi Ministry of Culture. The fi nal shortlist of applicants will be carved down to fi ve artists, one writer and one curator. The pilot comes as the fi rst in a series of fully funded residencies that will give undi- vided time, opportunities for collaborations and an accommodating working environment for creatives. It aims to provide a total of 42 artists and professionals, from Saudi and beyond, the tools needed to develop their skills. According to a spokesperson of the Minis- try of Culture, Abdulkarim Alhumaid, the pro- gramme has two main objectives. The fi rst being to “create a knowledge exchange plat- form between the local arts community and the participants, building awareness of Saudi art and culture to regional and international audiences.” The second objec- tive is to “help […] nurture and develop talent across the visual arts and cultural sectors, encouraging local production and driving growth of the cul- tural ecosystem within Saudi Arabia.” A focus of the pro- gramme is to promote cultural A new art residency programme in Saudi Arabia is being launched as an initiative to support the burgeoning art and culture scene in the region, writes Karim Aziz Oghly AN ARTFUL KINGDOM Exterior views of Jeddah Historical District, images courtesy of Saudi Ministry of Culture IMA GES C OUR TES Y OF S A UDI MINIS TR Y OF CUL TURE Art NEWS 17 HarpersBazaarArabia.com/culture/art Spring 2020 HBA_038_17_News_Saudi Residency_11219925.indd 1710/03/2020 05:10:15 PMCREDIT HERE @HARPERSBAZAARARABIA Summer, aged 13 years young, enjoys tennis balls, human food and cuddles with her siblings Joshie, Squidge and Moo Moo G O F E T C H HBZ_145_IBC_dogOK_11226130.indd 25902/03/2020 09:41:20 AMW ORD S B Y BEENA P A GARANI. IMA GES C OUR TES Y OF SO THEB Y’S AND THE AR TIS T S 19 HarpersBazaarArabia.com/culture/art Spring 2020 Above from left: Fahrelnissa Zeid. Marie-Alice. 1988. Oil on canvas. 100.5x80.5cm; Ayman Baalbaki. Al- Mulatham A. 2011. Acrylic on printed fabric. 72x63cm Set to auction works by renowned Arab artists with a renewed focus on North African artists, here’s what to expect from the upcoming Sotheby’s 20th Century Art / Middle East Auction 20TH CENTURY ART FORTUNES TAKING PLACE ON 24 MARCH 2020, Sotheby’s London will be home to its 20th Century Art / Middle East auction. Sotheby’s specialist and co-head of sale Mai Eldib states, “with the rise of new institutions and foundations, enticing cultural events and educational activities in Gulf countries, notably the UAE and Saudi, we have witnessed the general public take an increased interest in the arts. At the same time, major international museums are acquiring more Middle Eastern artists and appointing curators with a dedicated focus on this region.” Eldib adds, “we are proud to contribute to this blossoming understanding for and appreciation of Arab art, and in this sale are particularly fortunate to have been able to put together a focus on Mahmoud Sabri – the most sought-after Iraqi modernist artist. It is so rare to have a private collection, focused on one artist, come to the market and so the opportunity to acquire fresh-to-the-market works of this calibre by Sabri is unprecedented. The selection chronicles over thirty years of development of the artist, and so we have put together an in-depth essay to truly tell his story through these works.” On auction will be rare pieces by Sabri from the personal collection of the Touqmachi brothers – Hafez and Hamdi who chronicled Sabri’s life over four decades since the fi fties. Having lived through migration, religious uprisings, revolutions in Iraq and more, Sabri’s works are representative of the socio-economic scenario of the times. From this rare collection of personal archives, the Touqmatchi family is to release a series of seven works by the artist to be sold as a single set at an estimated value of AED 470,000 to AED 707,000. Another highlight on offering under this Iraqi modernist artist’s portfolio will be a painting entitled A Family of Famers (early 1960’s), which symbolises the hardships encountered by those without a home. This work is estimated to be sold between AED 470,000 to AED 707,000. “We will also be presenting a historically important painting by Mahmoud Said, which has been in a prestigious private collection and is coming to auction for the fi rst time,” reveals Eldib. With a growing demand for Egyptian modernist art, Said’s painting Le Pirèe a l’aube (Piraeus at Dawn) (1949) is estimated to be sold for AED 1,400,000 to AED 2,400,000, and is greatly infl uenced by his life as a child, his aristocratic background and cosmopolitan travels. Other works include two limited edition photographs by Egyptian artist Youssef Nabil. Titled My Bed, Fifi Abdou (2000) and Ehsan Crying (1997) both images are a portrayal of women and are estimated to be auctioned between AED 18,000 to AED 28,000 each. For the fi rst time, the auction house will be exhibiting the works alongside Modern and Contemporary African Art, “with whom we share a continent,” says Eldib. “As such, we have a renewed focus on works by North African artists in our sale – with a number of exciting, vibrant pieces by Mohamed Melehi (radical abstract artist, who forged a new path alongside the New York group) and Baya (the young female artist from Alegeria who inspired Picasso), as well as Hassan Hajjaj, Farid Belkahia and Hatim Elmekki. There are also some incredible female names, including stunning pieces by beloved pioneers Etel Adnan, Fahrelnissa Zeid and Monir Farmanfarmaian.” 20th Century Art / Middle East auction will be held at Sotheby’s London on 24 March Art NEWS HBA_038_19_News_ 20th century_11239178.indd 1911/03/2020 02:12:26 PMNext >