Where to Find the South's Most Sought-After Artists in Dubai
Watch out for these artists representing the voice of the global South at Art Dubai 2020
17 February 2020
Clarice
UPDATE (03.03.2020): Art Dubai has been postponed to a later date with a more Dubai-focused theme. Stay tuned for updates!
Featuring the South side's finest contemporary artists, Bawwaba is marking a bold new dawn in Dubai's art scene
Returning this March 25 - 28 at the Madinat Jumeirah Conference & Events Centre, Art Dubai is once again bringing a diverse and eclectric showcase of Contemporary and Modern art from 500 artists from 39 countries to Dubai.
The annual event of arts and culture is held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
Curated by Mumbai-based cultural theorist Nancy Adajania, Bawwaba will also make its return to Art Dubai following its successful debut last year. Bawwaba, which translates to "gateway" in Arabic, is a collection of global contemporary projects from the Southern side of the world.
Its second edition will feature solo presentations from emerging and established artists from Mexico, Peru, India, Vietnam, and more, to illustrate the distinctive, location-specific explorations that contemporary arts draws inspiration from.
Maria Magdalena Compos-Pons
Cuban artist Magdalena Campos-Pons dedicates her artwork in creating "historical narratives that illuminate the spirit of people and places, past and present".
Compos-Pons' Nigerian, Hispanic, and Chinese roots greatly influence her artistic approach, mixing media such as photography, performance, film, sculpture, and painting.
Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons, "Farrar’s Garden to 2, 24,8", 2019-2020, courtesy of Galleria Giampaolo Abbondio
Her work explores themes of history, memory, gender and religion and how they establish identity.
Youdhisthir Maharjan
Nepalese postwar, contemporary artist Youdhisthir Maharjan uses found materials and reclaimed text in his laboriously repetitive and autopoietic artistic processes to fashion a new language, elevated from its humble origins into a new life.
Youdhisthir Maharjan, "A Thread of Truth", 2019, courtesy of Blueprint 12
Maharjan's pieces evolved from pre-composed and finished easel paintings with pre-determined meanings into process-oriented works with no pre-assigned messages and composition.
Adeela Suleman
Karachi-born Adeela Suleman navigates through a series of dichotomies that showcase the fragile and fleeting existence of life.
Adeela Suleman, Seduced by a Promise, 2019, Courtesy of Canvas Gallery
Her artwork juxtaposes her intricate scenes against the hard qualities of stainless steel. Suleman's projects highlight earthly fears, but the pieces remain suggestive of transcendental relief.
Tanya Goel
Contemporary artist Tanya Goel was born in New Delhi, India.
She creates her own pigments using a diverse range of materials, such as concrete, glass, soil, charcoal, aluminum, foils, and graphite - most of which were picked up from architectural renovations and demolitions around New Delhi.
Tanya Goel, "Mechanism 3", 2019, courtesy of Nature Morte
Goel's works are sought-after for their investigation into a rigorous abstraction, deeply invested in the process of their own creation.
Giancarlo Scaglia
Lima-born and raised artist Giancarlo Scaglia seeks to reinterpret a series of armed conflicts that took place between the 1980s-1990s in Peru.
Giancarlo Scaglia, "Golden", 2018, courtesy of Revolver Galeria
Scaglia, who studied Visual Arts in Lima, re-contextualizes these events which played a significant role in him questioning everything avant-garde and art.
Moslem Khezri
Iranian artist Moslem Khezri is an MA graduate from Tarbiat Modares University. He illustrates his life experiences through his solo and group presentations. He currently works as a teacher and has published several works in the field of visual arts.
Moslem Khezri, "We Keep Reviewing 22", 2017-2019, courtesy of Saradipor Art Gallery
Alia Ali
Yemeni-Bosnian-American Alia Ali is a multi-media artist who cosmopolitan upbringing and travels have led her to process the world via interactive experiences.
Using images and multi-sensory mediums, Ali's work presents politics and poetics of contested notions regarding topics of physical borders, identity, mental and physical confinement, universality, and dualism.
Alia Ali, "Orange Palms", 2019, represented by Galerie-Peter-Sillem
Visit Art Dubai 2020 to see how her art blurs the lines between illusion and reality, objective and subjective, as well as truth and interpretation.
Ranabir Kaleka
Punjabi artist Ranabir Kaleka received his diploma in painting at the College of Art, Chandigarh. Often seen as surrealistic, Kaleka's projects present a dream-like, non-coherent narrative.
Ranbir Kaleka, "Not Anonymous – Waking to the Obscure Fear of a New Dawn", 2018, represented by Vadehra Art Gallery
While his earlier artworks from the 1970s incorporate what seems like unrelated elements, his later pieces are open-ended and are interactive with the viewer.
Tania Candiani
Mixed media Mexican artist Tania Candiani explores the intersection between a variety of language systems: graphics, linguistic, symbolic, phonic, and technological.
Candiani kickstarts her artistic process through re-invention, re-ordering, and mixing,
Tania Candiani, "String Loom", 2018, represented by Galeria Vermelho
Her projects represent the pinnacle of art, design, literature, music, architecture, and science.
Yohei Yama
Japanese-Vietnamese painter, Yohei Yama uses art to express his instinct to actuate the energies of nature.
His works dedicate itself to create these ripples that affect the viewer as they stand tracing the patterns of his abstract pieces.
Yohei Yama, "Cosmic Ray #16", 2018, represented by Vin Gallery
What the viewers experience with Yama's pieces is, rather not what they visually see, but what they come to instinctively know.
Visit Art Dubai this year to be engulfed in his rhythmic lines, following the river of his philosophies and empathise with his appreciation of nature.
To learn more about Art Dubai’s Bawwaba programme, click here.
Book your tickets
Use our code EXPATWOMAN50 to enjoy a fabulous 50% discount when you buy your Art Dubai tickets online.
Regular single-day passes are AED 60 and three-day passes are AED 100. With our code, attendees can avail HALF OFF on any ticket category.
Children 18 years old and under, as well as university students with a valid student ID, are admitted free of charge
For more information, visit: https://www.artdubai.ae/
