Lebanese painters

A collective exhibition featuring the works of four Lebanese painters — Zeina Badran, Fatat Bahmad, Ali Chams, and Issa Halloum — opened at the Hamazkayin Lucy Tutunjian Art Gallery on 12 December 2013, at 7:00 p.m. The exhibition is being held under the patronage of H.E. Mr. Nehmé Tohme, Member of Parliament.


 

the world has become so small that you can actually know all those you meet, if you will. No person is longer "a stranger", unless you explicitly want it that way. The world is you. Grab life in the world and live a good life.

Walid Siti

Walid Siti /Biography

Walid Siti was born in 1954, in the city of Duhok, in Iraqi-Kurdistan. After graduating in 1976 from the Institute of Fine arts in Baghdad, Siti left Iraqto continue his arts education in Ljubljana, Slovenia before seeking political asylum in 1984 in the United Kingdom where he still works and lives. Formerly trained in printmaking, Siti works extensively in a variety of mediums including, installation, painting and work on paper.

His work developed in response to the ongoing upheaval of conflict and processes of transformation prevalent in the Middle East. Siti takes inspiration from the cultural heritage of his native land that is crisscrossed with militarized borders and waves of migration. Mountains, stones and historic cultural elements feature prominently in his work, symbolising collective strength, sanctuary and the power of monolithic forces. Siti’s work increasingly considers the tensions between collective identity, interdependence and its constraints on the individualthrough considerations of heritage, tradition, homes, borders, mobility and migration. These themes have had an imprint on his outlook, and contributed to both his art and life.

Solo Exhibitions include, 2014 Moiz Zilberman Gallery, Istanbul, “New Babylon” . Edge of Arabia, London, “Reconstruction”. Taymour Grahne Gallery, New York, NY “Parallel Realms”. XVA, Dubai, ‘ Rite of Passage’. Taymour Grahne Gallery, New York. XVA Gallery, Dubai. 2013 Amed Art Gallery, Diyarbakir, Turkey, 2011 Rose Issa Projects, London. XVA Gallery, Dubai. Merg Gallery, Erbil. 2010 Sardam Gallery, Sulaimania. Duhok Gallery, Duhok. 2009 XVA Gallery, Dubai. 2008 Leighton House Museum, London. 2004 Salman’s Gallery, Duhok. 2002 Arcola Gallery, London. 2001 Oriel Canfas, Cardiff. 1998 Diorama Gallery, London. 1996 Leighton House Museum, London. 1992 Midland Arts Centre, Birmingham.

Selected Group Exhibitionsinclude,

 2015, ‘Written Cities’part of the Triennial of Bruges, 2014 THE SEVEN VALLEYS, Rose Issa Project, London. Hajj: Journey to Mecca, Museum of Islamic Art, Doha, Qatar, The Paper Show, XVA, Dubai, 3013. “Systems and Patterns”, International Centre of Graphics, Ljubljana, Slovenia, ‘Echoes from Periphery’ Palazzo Granfei-Nervegna-Brindisi, Italy, 54th International Art Exhibition, Pavilion of Iraq, Venice. 2012, “Hajj exhibition” the British Museum, London. 2011, 54th Venice International Art Biennale, Pavilion of Iraq. Take care of yourself, Amed Art Gallery, Diyarbakir, Turkey. 2010, “Taswir – Pictorial Mappings of Modernity and Islam, Martin-Gropius-Bau Museum, Berlin. 2009 PlanetK, The 53rd International Art Exhibition, Venice. “Iraq’s Past Speaks to the Present” at the British Museum, London. “Modernism and Iraq”, Miriam & Ira Wallach Art Gallery, Columbia University in the City of New York, USA. 2008 Permanent art collection, Imperial War Museum, London. Occupied Space 08, Art for Palestine, Qattan Foundation, London. Word into Art, Dubai International Finance Centre. “Space Now”, The Triangle, London. Re-Orientations, European Parliament, Brussels. 2004 Contemporary Arts Society, London. The Museum Hall, Sulaymania. 2003 The National Museum in Cracow, Poland. 2002 The Historical Museum of The City of Vienna. 10th Asian Art Biennale, Dahka, Bangladesh. 2001 International Art Biennale Dialogue, St. Petersburg, Russia. 5th Sharjah International Arts Biennal, Sharjah, UAE.

Public Collection include, The Metropolitan Museum, New York. The British Museum, London. The Imperial War Museum, London. The National Gallery of Amman, Jordan. The World Bank, Washington, DC. Victoria & Albert Museum, London. The Iraq Memory Foundation. Art for American Embassy program, USA. Barjeel Art Foundation, UAE.

Urban Zoo, Art Exhibition by Nadim Karam

Urban Zoo, Art Exhibition by Nadim Karam: Ayyam Gallery Beirut is pleased to present Urban Zoo, a solo exhibition of new paintings and sculpture by acclaimed Lebanese artist, writer and architect Nadim Karam. The exhibition opened on the 29th of August 2013 and will run until the 10th of October 2013.

Nadim Karam uses painting and sculpture to develop his characters and narratives, frequently returning to the symbol of 'The Cloud' to represent freedom and escape in a changing landscape. The artist is renowned for his public sculpture projects which he uses to humanise urban spaces. Karam encourages interaction with the public sculpture he creates; referring to them as Urban Toys, he invites people to consider the space around these surreal forms; to touch and climb them, and adopt them as part of the living cityscape.

On show at Ayyam Gallery Beirut will be a series of crystal pieces, through which Karam further develops the ideas found in his large scale architectural interventions across the globe. Here they are scaled down to provide the viewer an intimate experience with an object, rather than encountering a structure in an expansive urban space. Domestic and functional buttons masquerade as precious stones in the jewelled Queen of Spades (2013) and the iridescent monochrome The Cloud House (2013). Karam tell stories through the brightly coloured, abstracted forms, borrowing from existing mythology and fairy tales.

Karam will also present a series of small scale stainless steel sculptures drawing from his vocabulary of recurring characters and symbols. The figures making up this series are shown in profile and formed from intricate lattice work, giving them a sense of lightness. Dream Girl (2013) has wings in place of arms, lifting them to take flight; in Couple (2013), two joyful figures run in unison, hands entwined; while Elephant (2013) stands proud and unyielding. Forms embedded in the framework of these sculptures invite the viewer to uncover characters and narratives hidden within the larger structure.

Several new paintings by Karam will feature in the exhibition, including paintings based on the emblematic shape of the elephant, and exploring the themes of the ‘Cultural Warrior’ and the ‘Urban Zoo’. A preview of several monumental new sculptures will also be on show in the Piazza of Platinum Tower outside of the gallery for a period of the exhibition; these large-scale sculptures will be a highlight of Karam’s forthcoming show at Ayyam Gallery Al Quoz opening in Dubai on 30 September 2013.


About the Artist
Born in 1957 in Senegal, Nadim Karam now lives and works in Beirut. In 1996, he established Atelier Hapsitus (www.hapsitus.com), a satellite grouping of young Lebanese architects and designers, that seeks to create an original urban vocabulary though large-scale art installation and architectural works for various cities worldwide. Karam’s work has appeared in numerous solo and group exhibitions worldwide, as well as biennales including Venice, Liverpool, and Gwangju. Previous solo exhibitions include: Ayyam Gallery London (2013); DIFC Gate, Dubai (2010); Sultan Gallery, Kuwait (2008); Al-Bustan, Lebanon (2006). Selected group shows include: Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris and Abu Dhabi (2013); Villa Empain Exhibition, Brussels (2012); Chatsworth House (2011), Royal College of Art, London (2011); Running Horse Contemporary Art Space, Lebanon (2011); Katzen Arts Centre, Washington (2010); American University Museum, Washington (2010); Ayyam Gallery Al Quoz, Dubai (2009); Liverpool Independent Art Biennale (2006).
About Ayyam Gallery
Founded by collectors and cousins Khaled and Hisham Samawi in Damascus in 2006, Ayyam Gallery sought to nurture Syria’s burgeoning and dynamic contemporary art scene through landmark non-profit initiatives such as the Shabab Ayyam Project, an incubator for emerging artists. Expansion into Beirut and Dubai enabled Ayyam Gallery to broaden its scope from the promotion of work by Syrian artists to those from the wider Middle East region. In doing so, Ayyam Gallery has established itself as one of the foremost exponents of Middle Eastern contemporary art to the international community.
Today, Ayyam Gallery is recognised as a leading cultural voice in the region, representing a roster of Arab and Iranian artists with an international profile and museum presence, such as Abdulnasser Gharem, Khaled Jarrar, Nadim Karam, Safwan Dahoul, Samia Halaby, Sadik Alfraji, Afshin Pirhashemi and Khaled Takreti. A number of non-commercial exhibitions, as well as the launch of initiatives like The Young Collectors Auction, have further succeeded in showcasing the work of Middle Eastern artists with the aim of educating a wider audience about the art of this significant region. Ayyam Gallery Damascus currently functions as a studio and creative haven for artists who remain in the war-torn city. In early 2013, Ayyam Gallery launched new spaces in London and Jeddah.

Omar Hamdi .... Malva

 

Omar "Malva" Hamdi is a Syrian Kurdish artist. Born in 1951 in AI-Hasaka, Syria, he worked as a graphic artist for the Syrian Press, where he also wrote articles an Artistic Criticism. He settled in Vienna since 1978 and now holds the Austrian Nationality, is a member of the General Federation of Austrian Artists and the UNESCO, and a member of the Künstlerhaus - Wien. His works of Art are widely exhibited in several art Galleries, including in particular, Arnot Gallery New York, which acts as a representative of his works.

His works are acquired by art collectors and dealers, art galleries and exhibitions, museums, banks and Ministries of Culture, in addition to a large number of private collections in America, Canada, Austria, Germany, France, Italy, Holland, Japan, Sri Lanka, and Russia.

His life is devoted to full-time artistic work.

 

 

 

Omar Hamdi past away 2015.

 

Mohammad Bozorgi

Born in Tehran in 1978, Bozorgi was originally educated as a biomedical engineer before entering the visual arts with a decade of training at the Society of Iranian Calligraphers, where he mastered a number of calligraphic forms, and earned ‘Momtaz’ degrees. This robust background has inspired Bozorgi to use the directives of geometry to create abstract illusions of depth and space while developing stylised characters based on Arabic and Persian examples.

Recognised as a leading figure among a ‘New Generation’ of contemporary calligraphers, Bozorgi builds on the breakthroughs of modern predecessors, as he seeks to advance the art of calligraphy through experimental formalism. Within his meticulously designed compositions, text multiplies as it is infused with energy and appears to move across the canvas or paper in unison, originating from and returning to the center like the cyclical rhythms of nature.

 

Ayyam Gallery Beirut

Beirut Tower, Ground Floor,
Zeitoune Street
Solidere
Beirut, Lebanon
 
Phone: +961 1 374450/51
Fax: +961 1 374449
Email: beirut@ayyamgallery.com
 
Monday- Friday | 10AM - 8PM
Saturday | 12PM - 6PM
Closed on Sunday

 

Tammam Azzam

Born in Damascus, Syria in 1980, Tammam Azzam received his artistic training from the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Damascus with a concentration in oil painting. Alongside a successful career as a painter in Syria, Azzam was a prolific graphic designer, an experience that would inform his digital media work after relocating to Dubai with the start of the country’s conflict.

The initial phase of Azzam’s work was distinguished by a ‘hybrid form’ of painting with applications of various media that allowed him to arrive at tactile interactions between surface and form that multiply as compositions evolve. These semi-abstract works use unconventional materials such as rope, clothespins, and other found objects in order to accentuate the depth, texture, and space of laboured picture planes, creating a visible tension. Although outwardly different in appearance, the series that resulted from these early experiments were inspired by the artist’s changing perceptions of specific urban environments.

 

 

 

 

Following the start of the uprising in Syria, Azzam turned to digital media and graphic art to create visual composites of the conflict that resonated with international viewers. These widely distributed works are informed by his interest in the interventionist potential of digital photography and street art as powerful and direct forms of protest that are difficult to suppress. In early 2013, Azzam made worldwide headlines when his Freedom Graffiti print went viral on social media.

 

Recently, he has returned to painting with Storeys, a series of monumental works on canvas that communicate the magnitude of devastation experienced across his native country through expressionist compositions of destroyed cityscapes. Chronicling the current state of his homeland, Azzam delves into a cathartic exercise of reconstruction, storey by storey. Alongside these new paintings, he has produced a significant body of giclée prints and installations that depict the facets of cities through similar themes.

 

Azzam has contributed to large-scale international exhibitions such as the FUU-Street Art Festival, Sarajevo (2015); Vancouver Biennale, where he was in residence (2014); FotoFest Biennial (2014), Houston; Dak’Art: Biennial of Contemporary African Art, Dakar (2014); Alexandria Biennale (2014); and the 30th Biennial of Graphic Arts, Ljubljana (2013).

 

In recent years, Azzam has participated in solo and group exhibitions at such venues as Künstlerverein Walkmühle, Germany (2016); Columbia University, New York (2016); Ayyam Gallery - 11 Alserkal Avenue, Dubai (2016); Banksy’s Dismaland, Weston-super-Mare, United Kingdom (2015); Fondazione Giorgio Cini, Venice (2015); Framer Framed in de Tolhuistuin, Amsterdam (2015); Forum Factory, Berlin (2014); Lena & Roselli Gallery, Budapest (2014); Liquid Art House, Boston (2014); Rush Arts, New York (2014); Busan Museum of Art, Seoul (2014); 1x1 Art Gallery, New Delhi (2014).

 

In 2016, Azzam received an artist fellowship at the Hanse-Wissenschaftskolleg Institute for Advanced Study in Delmenhorst, Germany.