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Written Images

Contemporary Calligraphy from the Middle East

November 10 – December 3, 2011

Hassan Massoudy, Untitled, 2011, ink and pigments on paper, 29.5 x 21.7 inches
Ahmad Moualla, Untitled, 2010, acrylic on canvas, 23.6 x 78.7 inches
Ali Hassan, Untitled, mixed media on canvas, 70.9 x 70.9 inches
Hassan Massoudy, Untitled, 1990, Ink and pigments on paper, 29.5 x 21.7 inches
Chaouki Chamoun, The Apocolypse III, acrylic on canvas, 55 x 55 inches
Ali Hassan, Untitled, mixed media on canvas, 70.9 x 70.9 inches
Ahmad Moualla, Untitled, 2010, acrylic on canvas, 19.7 x 70.9 inches
Golnaz Fathi, Untitled, 2011, pen on canvas, satin varnish, 47.2 x 47.2 inches
Ahmad Moualla, Untitled, 2010, acrylic on canvas, 37.4 x 37.4 inches
Lulwah Al Homoud, The Infinite Cube (Blue), 32.3 x 32.3 inches
Hassan Massoudy, Untitled, 2005, ink and pigments on paper, 29.5 x 21.7 inches
Golnaz Fathi, Untitled, 2011, pen on canvas, satin varnish, 47.2 x 47.2 inches
Golnaz Fathi, Untitled, 2006, acrylic and pen on canvas, 39.4 x 70.9 inches
Hassan Massoudy, Untitled, 2011, ink and pigments on paper, 29.5 x 21.7 inches
Yousef Ahmad, Untitled, 2009, thread, varnish, paint and paper laid on canvas, 71 x 71 inches
Chaouki Chamoun, In the Beginning was the Search for Word, 2011, acrylic on canvas, 63 x 59 inches
Hakim Ghazali, Untitled, 2005, mixed media on canvas, 59.1 x 59.1 inches
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Hassan Massoudy, Untitled, 2009, ink and pigments on paper, 29.5 x 21.7 inches
Nja Mahdaoui, Jorf, 2009, India ink and acrylic on linen, 78.7 x 39.4 inches
Hakim Ghazali, Untitled, 2004, mixed media on canvas, 39.4 x 39.4 inches
Nja Mahdaoui, Astrolabe, 2009, India ink and acrylic on linen, 68.1 x 78.3 inches
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Lulwah Al Homoud, The Infinite Cube, 2011, sikscreen on gold leaf

Press Release

The work of more than a dozen influential artists from the Middle East offers a rare glimpse into the contemporary Arab and Iranian art worlds. Written Images: Contemporary Calligraphy from the Middle East, curated by noted art historian Karin von Roques, explores the role of traditional Islamic calligraphy and symbols in the contemporary Middle Eastern consciousness.

Arabic calligraphy in all its aesthetic and linguistic complexity is little understood in the West and often regarded as an art form belonging to the classic Islamic arts and, therefore, to the past. In fact, it plays an important role in contemporary Arab and Iranian art. For centuries, the written word has been at the center of Islamic visual culture— a legacy that persists even today.

Artists including Iraqi Hassan Massoudy, and Tunisian Nja Mahdaoui were among the first to look at writing from an entirely new perspective and reposition calligraphy in the contemporary context. They have deftly expanded its potential so it is image as well as language. For them and the other artists in this show, writing is more than the legible word; they use it as a pictorial, formal element, referencing a multitude of issues—religious, social, political and personal.

Working with different media, including paint on canvas, collage, ink on paper, gold leaf and silkscreen, these artists take traditional Arabic script and symbols as their point of departure. Qatari artist Yousef Ahmad distills Arabic letters into abstract shapes and gestural marks that sweep across dreamlike mixed-media surfaces. Syrian artist Khaled Al-Saa’i is inspired by poetry and Sufi philosophy, and paints spacious landscapes in which words float, overlap and follow their own particular rhythm. Offering a nuanced view of the culture of the Middle East, these innovative artists create complex contemporary works that draw on the spiritual depth of ancient Islamic art.

Rather than singling out Arab culture as “other,” this exhibition aims to further intercultural dialogue between the Arab world and the West. It follows on the success of Signs: Contemporary Arab Art, also curated by Karin von Roques, mounted at Sundaram Tagore New York in 2009 and Sundaram Tagore Beverly Hills in 2010. Both shows offer a view of the culture of the Islamic world apart from the usual subjects of politics and religion. Having studied and lived in the Middle East over the past decade, Karin von Roques has an intimate and unique understanding of the region and its artists. With this show, she throws into relief the wide range of work emerging from the contemporary Middle East, bringing its seminal artists to an international audience.

The full roster of artists is as follows: Yousef Ahmad (Qatar), Lulwah Al-Homoud (Saudi Arabia), Khaled Al-Saa’i (Syria), Chaouki Chamoun (Lebanon), Golnaz Fathi (Iran), Hakim Ghazali (Morocco), Ali Hassan (Qatar), Rachid Koraïchi (Algeria), Nja Mahdaoui (Tunisia), Hassan Massoudy (Iraq/France), Ahmed Mater (Saudia Arabia), Ahmad Moualla (Syria), Ahmed Moustafa (Egypt).

ABOUT THE CURATOR


Karin von Roques is a noted German curator and art historian who, having studied Islamic art, specializes in contemporary Arab and Iranian art. She is an authority on the Arabic region and its culture and has garnered much praise for exhibitions on modern calligraphy of the Arab world. From 1997 to 2000 she was the director for the Hermann Hesse Museum in Lugano, Switzerland. Von Roques has curated exhibitions for numerous institutions, including the Museum of Applied Arts, Frankfurt; Kunstmuseum, Bonn; Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris; and the Cultural Foundation, Abu Dhabi. She has had extensive experience developing Arab art collections, and currently oversees Deutsche Bank’s collection program focused on contemporary Arab art. Most recently, von Roques served as a consultant to Sotheby’s, London, advising their Modern and Contemporary Arab and Iranian Art Department.

Asian Art News
新聞報刊
Asian Art News
Written Images at Sundaram Tagore Gallery November/December 2012

The exhibition entitled Written Images: Contemporary Calligraphy from the Middle East, curated by Karin von Roques, takes an important step to altering perceptions.

South China Morning Post
新聞報刊
South China Morning Post
Writ Large October 2012

Historically, Arabic calligraphy grew from a desire to honour the perfect language of God as set down from the Koran.

ARTnews
新聞報刊
ARTnews
Beyond Borders January 25, 2012

The growing ranks of commercially successful Middle Eastern artists, increasingly featured at international galleries, auctions and fairs, provides a rough benchmark by which to measure the growth of the market.

Voice of America News
新聞報刊
Voice of America News
New York Gallery Displays Modern Middle Eastern Calligraphy November 2011

Middle Eastern calligraphy on display at a New York City art gallery is being touted as a vehicle for dialogue between Middle East and the West.

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