New exhibitions at Alserkal Avenue
The galleries in Alserkal Avenue are coordinating their openings so that the majority will unveil new exhibitions today. Stand-outs include: Gallery Isabelle van den Eynde, which has a solo show from Lebanese artist Raed Yassin that highlights the development of pop culture in the Arab world; Leila Heller Gallery, which will be showing work by American icon Frank Stella alongside creations by London-based Iranian Reza Aramesh; Palestinian artist Khaled Jarrar, whose work, which concentrates on borders and restrictions, will be on show at Ayyam Gallery; and United Kingdom-born Oliver Clegg, at Lawrie Shabibi, whose paintings on abandoned wood panels and disco ball sculpture are worth a look.
Music and art go hand-in-hand
A week-long programme begins today in Alserkal Avenue to coincide with Abu Dhabi Art. The highlights include an oud performance by Sharjah-based curator and artist, Karim Sultan, who explores the way memories recede and fracture over time by attempting to accompany a repeated piece of music on the oud as the air around him becomes less dense, as it would if he was rising in altitude. Photographer Farah Al Qasimi will also present a new body of work exploring the unseen labours of women in the cycle of creation and consumption, using photography, performance and video.
Warehouse 421‘s celebrates poster designs
Abu Dhabi’s Warehouse 421 launches two exhibitions today. Community & Critique – SEAF 2015/16 Cohort 3 is the culmination of the year-long Salama bint Hamdan Emerging Artists Fellowship programme. It will feature works by 16 artists who completed the educational programme this year. 100/100 – Hundred Best Arab Posters, meanwhile, presents the winning posters from the first Arabic-language poster design competition, which was launched this year. Abu Dhabi is the second stop for this travelling exhibition of winning designs, which began in Amman in September.
