Iván Argote: Inspiring Critical Thinking Through Humour
Hazem Harb: Tracing Memory, Architecture, and the Politics of Space
Interview with Afra AlDhaheri
Conducted by Katarzyna (Kasia) Dzikowska on December 4, 2024
Hoda Tawakol: Interrogating Identity Through Explorations of In-Betweenness
Between Form and Subject: Exploring Nour Malas’ Artistic Practice
Style, Material, and Subject Matter in the Oeuvre of Chaouki Choukini
Art as a Tool for Advocacy: Aïda Muluneh’s Water Life Series
Exploring Performance as a Tool of Creation in the Work of Maitha Abdalla
In Conversation with Alia Hussain Lootah
Missak Terzian in conversation with Hala Khayat
Mystical African Abstractions: The Pioneers of Sudanese Modern Art
The avant-garde works of Sudanese artists, such as Ibrahim El-Sahali and Kamala Ibrahim, reveal gems of abstract art hailing from East Africa
In Conversation with Dana Awartani
Evoking the Beauty, Perseverance and Resistance of Palestine: Sliman Mansour
Millions of Pieces and Stories from West Africa: The Art of El Anatsui
Artist profile: Huguette Caland
“I love every minute of my life. . . I squeeze it like an orange, and I eat the peel, because I don’t want to miss a thing.” Such free-spirited words were once spoken by the celebrated Lebanese artist Huguette Caland, who died in 2019 at the age of 88. The unconventional Caland, who was also a sculptor and designer with a career lasting for five decades, pushed boundaries with her sensual paintings and personal choices, living life to the fullest.
Marwan Kassab Bachi and German Expressionism
Marwan Kassab Bachi (1934 - 2016), one of the most acclaimed of Arab artists, moved to Germany from his native Damascus in 1957 and studied painting for 6 years at the Hochschule für Bildende Künste in what was then West Berlin. He went on to teach there until 2000, and he spent most of his life in Germany. In the painting classes of Hann Trier at the Berlin academy, he met Georg Baselitz (born 1938), who from the late 1970s onwards became one of the most celebrated and controversial German painters.
Artist Profile: Louay Kayyali
When one thinks of modern Syrian art, a name that often crops up is that of Louay Kayyali. A twentieth century luminary, Kayyali is loved for his gentle portraits of the everyday man, woman and child. He was born in Syria's largest city, Aleppo, in 1934, an important year in world history: Adolf Hitler declared himself 'Führer' (or leader) of Germany, Russian astronaut Yuri Gagarin was born, and renowned physicist Marie Curie died. What lies beneath Kayyali's quiet imagery, noted for depicted struggles of the masses, is a short life marred with personal tragedy.
Artist Profile: Maha Malluh
Maha Malluh’s work engages with important global issues of consumerism, memory, gender, and rapid social change, but her work is also strongly rooted within Saudi culture and history. She is an international artist, but has said that her country is the primary inspiration for her work. [1] Like all good art, her work provokes surprise. It forces us to look more closely, and to make connections that we probably wouldn’t have made otherwise. She has worked in a range of media, but is perhaps best known for her artworks which blur the distinction between the two-dimensional and the three-dimensional.
Artist Profile: Manal Al Dowayan
Manal Al Dowayan addresses issues of identity, culture, and gender. She is perhaps best known for her artworks relating to the legal and social status of Saudi women, although her more recent work has moved to a focus on the narratives of Saudi history.
Artist Profile: Adam Henein
Adam Henein loved to watch birds in flight. Their fluent movements, in harmony with the natural world, he said, transported him to another world. The grace of a bird’s flight is a fitting analogy for the simple lines and smooth planes of his sculptural practice. With only gently moulded details in abstract modernist aesthetics, he created poetic rhythms from solid material and evoked an emotional response from his viewers.