The mosque, synagogue and church

The United Arab Emirates exists within a privileged bubble, a long way from the concerns of the world. While the Israel-Palestine conflict rages not far away, in the capital Abu Dhabi an impressive complex opened in March 2023 which includes three active monotheistic places of worship. The mosque, synagogue and church have all been designed by Anglo-Ghanaian architect David Adjaye. This “Abrahamic family house” – made up of three cubes, 30 metres tall – is a strong symbol of peace.

Louvre Abu Dhabi

Louvre Abu Dhabi

The triple installation is located just next to the Louvre Abu Dhabi which is beginning to rely less on French collections with an intensive acquisitions policy of their own (See here and here reports about Louvre Abu Dhabi). It is here against the backdrop of Saadiyat Island that the Sheikh Zayed museum juts out, the national museum designed by Norman Foster recognizable for its structures in the shape of sails, and the vast Guggenheim Abu Dhabi designed by Frank Gehry, which also has significant buying activity (See here an interview of Stephanie Rosenthal, director of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi).

It’s hardly worth saying, then, that art takes pride of place in the local landscape.

Ukrainians and Russians

In the flashiest neighbouring city, Dubai, this week the most high-profile fair in the Middle East – Art Dubai – is opening its doors for the seventeenth year. It takes place over three days until 3 March 2024, with 120 participants from 40 countries. The whole city is in tune with the fair and we also feel a sense of being in a bubble, a far cry from the turmoil of recent history. “It’s only in Dubai that Ukrainians and Russians rub shoulders seamlessly,” observes gallerist Tushar Jiwarajka, founder of Volte Gallery.

Rashid Rana

Rashid Rana

Formerly in Mumbai, he opened a space in 2021 in Dubai’s contemporary art district, Alserkal Avenue. On this occasion he is exhibiting spectacular work by the artist from Lahore, Rashid Rana (born in 1968). The high walls of the gallery are entirely covered by  black and white photos of the sea which – we notice when we come closer – is made up of countless small images depicting scenes of trash and detritus.

Augmented reality

Some of these can be activated into augmented reality, producing videos. The discourse on the dangers of climate change and how appearances can be misleading is clear. In the centre of the room a giant cube, also made up of photos, is encircled with metal reminiscent of the Muslim holy site, the Kaaba, and turns into a skyscraper or a mirror according to the angle you look at it from.

A cold war

“In Mumbai it would have been impossible to stage an exhibition entirely dedicated to a Pakistani artist. There’s a kind of cold war between India and Pakistan. When you import an artwork from Pakistan to India you  have to contend with a deterrent tax of 350%,” explains the gallerist. In Dubai Tushar Jiwarajka is presenting artworks at scale and seems to be very satisfied with his commercial activity.

Nalini Malani

The “wallpaper” by Rashad Rana is on sale for 650,000 dollars and the large central cube for 350,000 dollars. He is also exhibiting an installation in Alserkal of nine big screens projecting animated images by one of the stars of Indian art, Nalini Malani (born in 1946). The work has already been sold to five museums according to the gallerist.

This kind of initiative marks a progression in Dubai’s artistic offerings, which nonetheless remains generally of average standard.

Bastok and Lessel

Last year the Perrotin gallery based itself in Dubai with its two young partners at the time, Tom-David Bastok and Dylan Lessel (See here the interview). However following the purchase of 60% of the shares of the Perrotin gallery by the Swiss firm Colony Investment (See here the report speaking about the announcement during Art Basel 2023), on 13 February 2024 Bastok and Lessel declared they were reclaiming their freedom, along with the gallery space on Avenue Matignon in Paris and Dubai.

Warhol, Basquiat, Haring

Andy Warhol

In the Emirates they are taking part in the fair and presenting an exhibition at their gallery in the luxurious commercial centre DIFC dedicated to three American art stars: Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring. These are big names, but the formats are minuscule or on paper, like a mini painting of a flower by Andy Warhol, 12.5 x 12.5cm. The works are on sale for between 300,000 dollars and 1.1 million dollars. “I moved here with my family,” says Dylan Lessel. “In Dubai there’s the opportunity to meet people from Mumbai or Azerbaijan who are curious about art and in some cases already have major artworks.”

Tax reasons

In terms of economic activity Dubai’s “bubble” effect also seems to function. A number of financial corporations have recently set up shop in the city for tax reasons. It’s a breeding ground for art consumers with high purchasing power. Elsewhere while galleries in London or Paris complain of a noticeable drop in business, in the Emirati city the art trade continues to be running smoothly: “We are registering the same volume of sales as last year,” observes Tom-David Bastok.

Marcos Grigorian

Marcos Grigorian

Leila Heller has a gallery in New York but also a vast space in the Alserkal district. “Our business has  slowed down in New York. In Dubai sales remain very active but at prices lower than 50,000 dollars.” At Art Dubai she is presenting, among others, the work of a captivating conceptual artist of American-Armenian-Iranian origin, Marcos Grigorian (1925-2007). This visual artist who played a key role in the Iranian contemporary art scene in the 1970s made works that are halfway between minimal art and Arte Povera. He smeared his canvases with earth and straws. He then carved out simple geometric shapes.

Marcos Grigorian

The works from this period are presented for around 300,000 dollars at the fair by Leila Heller. In 2022 a comparable painting sold at auction in the United States for 315,000 dollars, the record price for the artist.

Pablo del Val

The interesting thing about Art Dubai is that it facilitates the growing strength of forms of artistic expression that are fairly neglected elsewhere, including those from the Middle East, India and Pakistan. The presence of diasporas in Dubai with these origins also gives them a financial valuation. The artistic director of the fair Pablo del Val evokes the fashionable idea of the “Global South”, referring to art that has been overlooked rather than a geographical notion. “I’ve been talking about it for nine years now but this year the Global South is widely represented,” he points out.(See here last year interview of Pablo del Val).

Andrée Sfeir-Semler

One of the best galleries in the Middle East is run by the Lebanese gallerist based in Beirut and Hamburg, Andrée Sfeir-Semler. At her booth at Art Dubai she is exhibiting, among others, one of the celebrities of “classic” contemporary painting from the region, the Syrian artist based in Germany, Marwan (1936-2016). He is famous for his deeply tormented expressionist portraits.

 Marwan

Marwan

The one presented by Sfeir-Semler at Art Dubai might resemble a landscape composed of a multitude of colourful dots. It dates from 2006 (on sale for 250,000 euros). “We have been representing Marwan since 1989. His ascent has been long and painful. In 2023, however, Moma in New York acquired one of his works from the 1960s, as did the Hamburger Bahnhof museum in Berlin. In the last year his prices have increased by 15% or thereabouts.”

Meem gallery

Marwan

His international rediscovery most likely dates from the showcase of a group of his artworks at the Venice Biennale in 2017 by French curator Christine Macel. At auction, however, the record price for the painter, which goes up to 386,000 dollars, dates from 2014. Dubai’s Meem gallery is also presenting at their booth a painting by the same artist, dated from 1961, a flowery abstraction (on sale for 400,000 dollars).

Anish Kapoor

Anish Kapoor

Last year the multinational Continua gallery based itself here in a very “Dubai” site: the Burj-Al-Arab tower (See here the interview of Daniel Buren for the opening of the gallery). The ultra-kitsch fascinating building is known for its sail-like shape and giant aquarium. At their booth they are exhibiting a classic of international contemporary art and one of the most expensive works in the fair: a giant curved “plate” by the Anglo-Indian artist who lives in Venice, Anish Kapoor (See here and here interviews of Anish Kapoor). The co-founder of Continua, Lorenzo Fiaschi explains: “He has been working with these concave metal surfaces which play with light, colours, illusions for over 30 years”. This highly accomplished version dates from 2023 and moves from red to green depending on the perspective. It is on sale for 750,000 pounds. Several pieces from the same series are now present in Emirati collections.

https://www.artdubai.ae/

Fara al Qasimi @ Third Line gallery

The Third Line gallery in Alserkal avenue is exhibiting the work of Fara Al Qasimi