Booth A8
Manarat Al Saadiyat, Saadiyat Cultural District
OPENING TIMES
Tuesday, November 15
VIP Opening Reception (by invitation only) 19:00 - 22:00
Wednesday, November 16 14:00 - 22:00
Thursday, November 17 14:00 - 22:00
Friday, November 18 14:00 - 22:00
Saturday, November 19 14:00 - 22:00
Leila Heller Gallery is pleased to announce its participation in the eighth edition of Abu Dhabi Art, with a presentation in the Modern and Contemporary section of the fair. Gallery artists Afruz Amighi, Richard Hudson and Wim Delvoye have been invited to participate in the Gateway and Beyond curated exhibitions.
Modern and Contemporary Galleries Section | Booth A8
For Abu Dhabi Art 2016, Leila Heller Gallery is presenting a significant body of work by Marcos Grigorian from his Earthworks series, as well as works from artists including Ghada Amer, Jacob Hashimoto, Rachel Lee Hovnanian, Nabil Nahas, Francesca Pasquali and Firooz Zahedi, among others. What ties these works together is how these artists attempt to address the current moment with art historical imagery often becoming a key reference for their contemporary practice. Their work is not that of a documentarian, but rather an intervention of imagery and the history of representation.
Highlights at the fair will include two new artists to the region: Franscecsa Pasquali whose materials evoke the influence of Arte Povera in their quotidian banality turned into objects of uncanny movement and beauty. In Pasquali’s work, inert plastic and industrial material—straws—take on an appearance flush with life. Colorful and laboriously arranged, cut drinking straws adopt the appearance of coral structures or microscopic topographies. Additionally, Jacob Hashimoto, whose wall hangings appear light and airy made of multiple, multicolored discs with an arrangement suspended from string. Seen from above, the work suggests a coded map and bears resemblance to models of a complex planetary system serving as inspiration in the quest for knowledge represented by ancient celestial maps and bygone charts of the unknown.
Gateway (Re)-Birth, Curated by Fabrice Bousteau, Manarat Al Saadiyat
Afruz Amighi will be presenting her Night Paintings, a discrete installation of steel and shadows, as part of the curated exhibition (Re)Birth. Composed of light and welded-steel, her sculptural reliefs seek to investigate the plural temporality of the architectonics of ritual and cultural memory. The exhibition continues through January 2017.
Beyond, Manarat Al Saadiyat Gardens
Richard Hudson will be presenting his imposing 2 meter polished mirror steel sculpture Love Me in an outdoor presentation. Core to the notion of “essentiality” are Hudson’s constant quests for the perfect curve and the perfect line. While the advent of the heart shape in current iconography can be traced back to medieval European manuscripts, the shape’s role as the conveyor of the sentiment “love” has grown throughout the centuries to become one the world’s most recognizable metaphors today. Hudson explains, “Symbols such as the 'Heart' interest me because of how the simplified form came to be and the meaning that is imbued in it.” This exhibition continues until May 2017.
Beyond, Manarat Al Saadiyat, Booth A8
Wim Delvoye presents his corkscrew-shaped tower Suppo, which is inspired by Gothic European cathedrals and Baroque contorted and twisted crucifixes. His popular and decorative art has its roots in subversive and ironic reinterpretations of historical styles. Applying computerized modern technology to traditional crafts, he produces beautiful objects that push the boundaries of the expected.
About the Gallery:
Since its establishment over three decades ago in New York, Leila Heller Gallery has gained worldwide recognition as a pioneer in promoting creative dialogue and exchange between Western artists and Middle Eastern, Central and Southeast Asian artists. It has garnered a reputation for identifying and cultivating the careers of artists leaving a lasting impact on contemporary art and culture. Currently representing a diverse roster of Western and Middle Eastern artists, the gallery is also active in the American, European and Middle Eastern secondary art markets. In November 2015, Leila Heller Gallery opened its first international location in Dubai’s Alserkal Avenue. At 14,000 square feet, the state of the art gallery features three exhibition spaces, making it the largest gallery in the UAE. Showcasing leading regional and international artists, many of whom will be presenting their work in the Middle East for the first time, the gallery is dedicated to supporting the evolving practice of established artists.
Press Inquiries:
For more information and images, please contact Brooke Lynn McGowan, brooke@companyagenda.com or Jolaine Frizzell, Leila Heller Gallery, jolaine@leilahellergallery.com