< PreviousTop: 4 Re-purpose. 2020. 20x12.5cm. Re-create Collection by Aditi Patwari. Left: Aditi Patwari. Image courtesy of Anvita Patwari. Below from left: Aditi Patwari. 3 Re-create. 20x12.5cm; 12 Re-work. 2020. 20x12.5cm. Re-create Collection. Courtesy of the artist THE BRAND NEW RE-CREATE COLLECTION by textile artist Aditi Patwari is shaped using 100 per cent upcycled materials from the artist’s previous collection, Bali Bohemia, paving a novel path for art enthusiasts and artists towards being conscious about sustainability and aiding their efforts towards a zero-waste initiative. “The time spent at home during Covid-19 has forced many of us to think about the way we live,” says Patwari. “We weren’t prepared for the events of 2020, but we can start making changes now to prevent or reduce the impact of the next potential crisis – climate change. So I created this series of artworks in an effort to reimagine unused materials from my previous collection, Bali Bohemia.” The artworks are created through an amalgamation of artistic techniques such as mark-making with paints on printer papers, botching with fabrics and papers and garnering various techniques together. Each artwork is limited in number due to the use of solely leftover materials, making the pieces bespoke for the artist as well as the viewer. “There are so many initiatives coming about, but people are slow to adopt these changes in their day-to-day lifestyle,” she adds. “Each of us needs to be taking actionable steps towards reducing our waste and carbon footprint, thereby creating a better, healthier future for our planet.” 10 per cent of the proceeds from sales will be donated to Coalition for Rainforest Nations or Climate Emergency Fund to support climate change initiatives. Artist and founder of Dubai-based textile brand Dea, Aditi Patwari, has crafted a new collection of artworks titled ‘Re-create’, honed by the harmony of sustainable materials W ORD S B Y A THWIF A S ALEEM CRAFTING A HEALTHIER PLANET Art NEWS 20 HarpersBazaarArabia.com/Culture/Art Autumn 2020 HBA_040_20_News_Recreate_11382997.indd 2001/10/2020 05:31:43 PMconsciously left the marks of destruction visible on the 3D models, so that viewers will be confronted with the harsh damage infl icted on the historic heart of the city and be reminded of the brutality of the war. “Our will wasn’t to erase every trace of the war,” he adds. “We wanted to show the public the vulnerability of these relics of the past.” “If this heritage isn’t properly documented, there is a risk that even the memory of it will disappear,” Ubelmann warns. Thanks to his partnership with the Syrian archaeologists of the Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums, Iconem has launched the initiative ‘Syrian Heritage’ to continue preserving the country’s endangered heritage. Aleppo, a 5,000 year journey is on view until 31 January 2021. boghossianfoundation.be FROM ANCIENT TEMPLES AND URBAN DISTRICTS to Mosques and Ottoman-era villas, the Boghossian Foundation’s exhibition ‘Aleppo, a 5,000 year journey’ will let visitors walk through projected 3D models created by Iconem, documenting the featured building’s history. Available to visit until 31 January 2021, the exhibition is home to some of the most renowned buildings of Aleppo, including the souk, Al-Madrasa Al-Halawiyah, Hammam Yalbougha and the 11th century minaret of the Great Umayyad Mosque of Aleppo, destroyed in 2013. Located in Brussels in Villa Empain, Boghossian Foundation was founded by two Aleppo natives, Jean and Albert Boghossian, as a cross-cultural centre for exchange. Director Louma Salamé announced, “As a centre for art and dialogue between Eastern and Western cultures, the Boghossian Foundation is proud to present its fi rst exhibition about Aleppo, a unique experience of discovering the martyred vestiges of the Syrian heritage.” In 2017, Iconem, a startup specialising in the conservation and digitisation of heritage sites through photogrammetry, managed to conduct fast-paced fi eld missions in Aleppo to document major monuments. “In Aleppo, our team was able to collect tens of thousands of pictures of the major sites, including the old city, the great Mosque, the souk and the citadel with the help of drones and cameras on poles in a matter of days,” recalls founder of Iconem, Yves Ubelmann. Current estimates assume that several hundreds of historic buildings were wrecked during the Civil War. Ubelmann noted that he and his team Preserving the city’s rich architectural history and presented by Boghossian Foundation, a digital exhibition called ‘Aleppo, a 5,000 year journey’ is offering visitors the chance to explore 3D models of a diverse array of sites RELICS OF THE PAST Installation views of the exhibition by Boghossian Foundation Installation views of the exhibition by Boghossian Foundation W ORD S B Y IMAN V AKIL PHO T OGRAPHY B Y IC ONEM Art NEWS 21 HarpersBazaarArabia.com/Culture/Art Autumn 2020 HBA_040_21_News_Aleppo_11382999.indd 2101/10/2020 05:32:26 PMSITUATED ON LA CIENEGA BOULEVARD in California, Anat Ebgi was founded in 2012 as a platform to promote the work of young artists based in the Los Angeles area. The gallery has since grown to represent an international roster of emerging talents across a wide array of mediums. One of their most current exhibitions features a new body of work by New York-based, Palestinian-American artist, Jordan Nassar. His second exhibition with Anat Ebgi is entitled We Are The Ones To Go To The Mountain, comprising a suite of sixteen embroidered vertical landscapes. These new works continue ongoing dialogues in Nassar’s practice between his own embroidery and its connection to Palestinian places and cultural traditions. Contemplating his personal experience, traversing the metaphorical gulf of diaspora, yearning to be part of something, yet remaining always an outsider peeking through a veil. Nassar’s work questions the cultural heritage and inheritance of diasporic people. The second exhibition at Anat Ebgi is entitled Birds of Paradise by painter Martin Basher. Marking his third exhibition with the gallery, Basher has created a suite of new still life paintings depicting highly-stylised arrangements of the bird of paradise fl ower and minimalist abstract botanicals. W ORD S B Y K A TINK A HA UGNAES S. IMA GES C OUR TES Y OF ANA T EBGI AND THE AR TIS T S Right: Jordan Nassar. To Be Rising. 2020. Hand-embroidered cotton on cotton. 44.45x27.94cm; Below: An installation view of We Are The Ones To Go To The Mountain at Anat Ebgi On view until 27 October 2020, LA-based gallery Anat Ebgi is home to two evocative exhibitions dedicated to works by Jordan Nassar and Martin Basher ANAT EBGI LAUNCHES TWO EXHIBITIONS The exhibition includes a number of Basher’s signature fade stripe paintings— alternating vertical gradations of intense sunburst oranges and yellows. Together these works represent a continuation of the artist’s interests in phenomenological affect, dimensional interplay and environmental stress in the Anthropocene. anatebgi.com We Are The Ones To Go To The Mountain and Birds of Paradise are on view until 27 October 2020 at Anat Ebgi An installation view of the Birds of Paradise (2020) exhibition by Martin Basher at Anat Ebgi Art NEWS 22 HarpersBazaarArabia.com/Culture/Art Autumn 2020 HBA_040_22_News_Anat Ebgi_11383114.indd 2201/10/2020 05:32:53 PMcantonal des Beaux-Arts, Lausanne, showcasing a selection of never-before- seen works made over the past four decades. The show focuses on the theme of sensory perception, an essential element of the artist’s work. pacegallery.com Light is on show until 31 October 2020 at 15-17 Quai des Bergues, Geneva and Hearing you with my eyes is on show from 9 October until 10 January 2021 at MCBA, Lausanne, Geneva AMERICAN ARTIST KIKI SMITH IS renowned for her transdisciplinary approach to art through which she traverses the human element. Many of the artist’s projects have been inspired by the visual culture of the past, from scientifi c anatomical interpretations from the 18th century to the depiction of relics, memento mori, folklore, mythology, Byzantine iconography and medieval altarpieces. On view until 31 October 2020, an exhibition presented by contemporary art gallery Pace entitled Light documents Smith’s profound interest in themes revolving around spirituality, mortality, mysticism and their interconnections with the natural world. “We are part of the natural world and our identity is completely attached to our relationship with our habitat and animals,” says Smith. “I am making images for things I think merit attention. It’s a quieter way.” Through her practice, Smith has created a world in which all things – humans, animals, nature or the cosmos – are given undivided attention, thereby approaching her subjects with a democratic view that is unifying and equalising. Centred around the meaning of light, the exhibition features works from 1997 to 2019, spanning sculpture, tapestry, print and works on paper. The fi rst exhibition of Smith’s work presented at Pace in Geneva, Light will coincide with Hearing you with my eyes, a solo exhibition presented at MCBA Musée Contemporary art gallery Pace has returned to the physical space with an exhibition by American artist Kiki Smith, examining themes of spirituality, mortality, mysticism and their interconnections with the natural world MYSTICAL ENLIGHTENMENT Above: Kiki Smith. The light of the world. 2017. Cyanotype on Losin Prague paper. Courtesy of the artist and Pace W ORD S B Y A THWIF A S ALEEM Clockwise from top: Kiki Smith. Oak Leaves IV. 2018. Bronze; Kiki Smith. Wives and Mistresses. 2019; Sungrazer VI. 2019. Bronze; Shadow 2. 2019; Spectrum II. 2010. Scratch paper hinged to museum board. Courtesy of the artist and Pace Art NEWS 23 HarpersBazaarArabia.com/Culture/Art Autumn 2020 HBA_040_23_News_Kiki Smith_11383115.indd 2301/10/2020 05:33:18 PMIn CONVERSATION 24 HarpersBazaarArabia.com/Culture/Art Autumn 2020 An interior view of Edward’s art-fi lled home. Courtesy of Edward Tyler Nahem HBA_040_24-27_In convo_Edward Tyler_11383441.indd 2401/10/2020 05:33:49 PMC v id -19 25 HarpersBazaarArabia.com/Culture/Art Autumn 2020 went into this conversation with Edward Tyler Nahem, one of New York’s most prominent collectors, gallerists and art industry professionals, wanting to speak about reimagining one’s collection in the time of a global pandemic, and came out with a conclusive outlook on what it means to witness the trajectory of an art scene come to fruition in the present moment, where things are truly unpredictable. “I started collecting in the late 1970s – it began with an infatuation with Japanese prints, paintings and illustrated books from the 18th and 19th centuries,” reminisces Edward, on the beginnings of his collecting ventures during his late twenties. “I had a deep respect for Japanese culture and art.” Having never worked for anyone in the art business, Edward developed what he refers to as “a good eye” over the years, which was eventually coupled with great acumen and shrewd business sense, resulting in him thriving in the market as an art dealer. “There wasn’t much of an art scene back then,” he recalls. “No ‘art world’ in the way that we know it today – collectors were nerdy academic types, some socialites here and there, but it wasn’t a glamorous fi eld. But my character is such that when something grabs me, it’s hard not to get involved.” Edward’s collection is known to include an array of pieces by African American artists in particular. “What acted as a catalyst for this is Black culture in America, an undeniable infl uence since my childhood,” he says. “Music also played a big role. As I was able to start to afford to buy things, I went after art that was hard to resist.” A great example in the collector’s home is a work by African American artist Kori Newkirk, depicting a baseball fi eld using pony beads, which are used predominantly in Black culture to style hair. This is an artwork Edward cherishes dearly as a baseball enthusiast. “I was born in New York City, in the greatest borough in the world, Brooklyn,” he shares. “It exposes you to so much diversity of life. All four of my grandparents were from Aleppo. We moved around a lot and it gave me perspective.” Edward’s rich collection includes works by El Anatsui, Theaster Gates, Julie Mehretu, Nick Cave and Beatriz Milhazes, to name just some. Another work of note in his collection is Saint Gregory of Palamas (2014) by Kehinde Wiley. Edward lived and ran his own gallery in Oslo, Norway, from 1977 to 1985, fl ying back and forth to New York until he fi nally opened the eponymous Edward Tyler Nahem Fine Art gallery in Midtown, Manhattan in 1986. “I started in New York City during the nascent East Village art scene that gave rise to Basquiat, Haring, Schnabel and more, which resulted in a lot of galleries moving to SoHo and Tribeca,” he says. “There was a social life, intellectual life, nightlife in those days. We’d go to the Palladium, where you’d fi nd artists and entertainers. We would be at Studio 54 and so on, but the main observation is that art and art-making went hand-in-hand with that social scene. They were, in many ways, intertwined. It’s always funny when you draw a timeline on these things, it’s Art collector , gallerist and theatre producer Edward Tyler Nahem speaks to Nour H assan about dealing and collecting art during a pandemic, his love for Japanese culture and the evolution of collecting Col le cto rs IN HBA_040_24-27_In convo_Edward Tyler_11383441.indd 2501/10/2020 05:33:58 PM26 HarpersBazaarArabia.com/Culture/Art Autumn 2020 An installation in Edward’s home by Do-Ho Suh. Cause and Effect. 2007. Acrylic resin, aluminum disc, stainless steel frame, stainless steel cable, monofi lament. 295x120cm. Edition 3 of 3 A view of the dining room HBA_040_24-27_In convo_Edward Tyler_11383441.indd 2601/10/2020 05:34:04 PMIn CONVERSATION 27 HarpersBazaarArabia.com/Culture/Art Autumn 2020 like when you talk about music and you casually drop that you were at Woodstock. We all were. It wasn’t considered some seminal, historical, life-changing event at the time,” He shrugs, “It was cool, but it was also just the place to be.” The evolution of collecting gave way to a shift in the way the industry operated. Edward has noted that collecting has become much more commercialised. “The commerce of art has really taken on a huge – almost too big of a bite – out of the art world. Over the years, particularly the past 15 years or so, there’s been such commodifi cation of art,” he observes. “People think in terms of money and investment – is it worth it?” Collecting offers Edward a refuge from dealing art. Keeping his collecting interests and dealing interests separate allows for both worlds to overlap, without colliding. He believes in the passion and enthusiasm of art collection. The ability for art to act as a form of salvation, a place where we can go to escape the mundanities of day-to-day life. “For the most part, I keep my collecting interests and dealing interests very separate,” he explains. “Collecting offers me a refuge from what I do every day as an art dealer. If I see something I like, I don’t care about who’s collecting that artist; whether or not they’ll have a show at MoMA, or if the piece has a future. It’s fueled by a passion for something.” A few prominent artworks in Edward’s collection include Cause and Effect (2008) by Do Ho Suh, a whimsical piece by Tanya Minhas and May Flowers from May Days Long Forgotten (2002) by Carrie Mae Weems, to name a few. “There’s been the opposite effect of rearranging everything actually, with all that’s gone on with the pandemic, maybe there’s a sense of wanting to cling onto something that has been there, that has a certain consistency to it, that has a certain stability to it because nothing else in life does these days,” sighs Edward. The discourse around buying and selling art during COVID- 19 has been quite polarised. The Edward Tyler Nahem gallery moved their exhibition online two months after the pandemic started, consciously taking the time to process and adjust to such a pivotal moment in history. “The real question was, how do you get someone who used to spend $25,000 on a piece online and has the ability to spend over $1 million, to do so without seeing it in person,” says Edward. “We’ve succeeded in doing this through the process of better documentation, photography, archiving and relied greatly on personal relationships with collectors to trust you to give them the right advice.” Seeing art in person, we agreed, produces an irreplaceable feeling. Edward has noted the effect of the pandemic on slowing down sales in the art market. “I think being fast to adapt wasn’t a priority. Around mid-March, there was a certain level of panic going on – virtual shows, art at home, people reaching in every direction,” he says. Earlier this year, the Edward Tyler Nahem gallery launched a solo show by American painter Kenneth V. Young, which abruptly moved online after the gallery’s temporary closure due to COVID-19. “We’re all a little numb from what we’re experiencing all around us and art, more so than Netfl ix, should ideally be a place to go to in times like these.” Edwards’ Hamptons home was designed with his brother, interior designer Joe Nahem. “We’ll come here and take a walk by the ocean, come back, sit by the fi re, read, watch a movie, listen to music, eat, drink,” he smiles. “The home, even more so now since the pandemic, plays such an integral role in soothing on a daily basis. Watching the garden every day for months, there’s no big difference between admiring the beauty and intricacy of a great tree and that of a great work of art.” Edward is currently focusing on the online streaming of one of his movie productions entitled All Rise, a fi lm based on a book by the same name written by the late African American writer, Walter Dean Myers. The book has been used in high school curriculum around the USA, and is a true refl ection of our times, a story of culture, race, diversity and resilience. The fi lm features Jennifer Hudson, Kelvin Harrison, Jeffrey Wright and ASAP Rocky. “The repercussions of the coronavirus are still rippling through the art industry, however, devastating as this pandemic has been, it’s given us healthy moments for pause and pondering and looking beyond what we’re used to having in our immediate periphery.” edwardtylernahemfi neart.com IMA GES C OUR TES Y OF ED W ARD TYLER NAHEM Facing page: A bedroom view of Edward’s home which features artworks by an array of artists including El Anatsui, Theaster Gates, Julie Mehretu, Nick Cave and Beatriz Milhazes Clockwise from above: Edward Tyler Nahem; An interior view of Edward’s living room; Carrie Mae Weems. May Flowers from May Days Long Forgotten. 2002. C-print, wood and convex glass. 78.7cmx86.4cm. Framed, edition 5 of 8 HBA_040_24-27_In convo_Edward Tyler_11383441.indd 2701/10/2020 05:34:16 PMHAU NT ING LY Beautiful In a world unfolding with tragedy, the late masters of painting are proof that fragility can be turned into strength, misery into hope, pain into expression. For Lebanese painter Suzi Fadel Nassif, art has been her saviour through it all Written by AYESHA S. SHEHMIR Photography by AJITH NARENDRA HBA_040_28-37_The Artist_Suzi Fadel_11387196.indd 2801/10/2020 05:34:57 PM29 HarpersBazaarArabia.com/Culture/Art Fall 2020 Pictured here: Artist Suzi Fadel Nassif. Photo by Emile Zeenny The ARTIST HBA_040_28-37_The Artist_Suzi Fadel_11387196.indd 2901/10/2020 05:35:04 PMNext >