
Sudarshan Shetty
Untitled
2017
Recycled teak wood
72 x 72 x 90 in
80 x 40 x 12 in
Wim Delvoye
Le Denicheur des Aigles
2018
Painted Bronze
236 x 152 x 120 cm
Farideh Lashai
El Amel
2011
Projected animated images
on paintings
acrylics on canvas and sound
painting
200 x 200 cm
Zeinab Al Hashemi
Camouflage 1.618: The Unfinished Obelisk
Part of Foreverisnow second edition at the Pyramids of Giza
2022
Camel Hides, steel rods
Photo courtesy Hesham Al Saifi
Azza AlQubaisi
Al Manhal
2009
Wood
70 x 80 x 150 cm
Naeemeh Kazemi
LaLa Land
Oil on Canvas
2023
165 x 200 cm
Naeemeh Kazemi
LaLa Land
Oil on Canvas
2023
165 x 200 cm
Marcos Grigorian
Earth work
1963
Mixed media and soil on
canvas
85.09 x 41.91 x 6.35 cm
Melis Buyruk
Falcon’s Habitat
2022
Porcelain, 18K gold detailed
175 x 155 cm
Melis Buyruk
Colour of Night
2022
Black Poercelain, copper
decorated
147 x 117 cm
Ghada Amer
The Sleeping Girl
2014
Ceramic
33 x 30 x 7.5 in
Lin Jingjing
Fully, Beautifully
2023
Acrylic, silk thread, archival
pigment print on canvas
100 x 100 cm
Lin Jingjing
From the Vinatge Fable
2023
Acrylic, silk thread, archival
pigment print on canvas
100 x 100 cm
Lin Jingjing
More Than Ever
2023
Acrylic, silk thread, archival
pigment print on canvas
100 x 100 cm
Shirin Neshat
Turbulant series
1998
Photograph
Shirin Neshat
Turbulant series
1998
Photograph
Shirin Neshat
Unveiling (from the Women of
Allah series)
1993
Photograph
150.5 x 101.5 cm
Shirin Neshat
Untitled (from the Tooba)
Series)
2002
Photograph
50.2 x 61.5 cm
Sudarshan Shetty
Untitled
2017
Recycled teak wood
27.56h x 13.39w x 31.10d in
70h x 34w x 79d cm
Lorenzo Quinn
Together
Matte white carrara marble
Polished white carrara
marble
68 x 117 x 67 cm
Robert Wilson
Lady Gaga: Mlle. Caroline
Rivière
HD video seamless loop, 2013
Music by Michael Galasso
85” Screen
Edition 1 of 3, 2/3, 3/3
AP 1 of 2, 2/2, 3/3 avail
Robert Wilson
Elk
UHD video seamless loop,
2018
Score composed by Bear
Kirkpatrick
75” screen
Edition 2 of 3, 3/3
AP 1 of 3 2/3, 3/3 avail
Behrang Samadzadegan
Vice
2022
Watercolor on cotton paper
138 x 210 cm
Behrang Samadzadegan
The Fall of the Castle
2022
Watercolor on cotton paper
160 x 260 cm overall
Reza Aramesh
Action 146: Friday April 25,
2003 at 07:55
2015
Hand sculpted porcelain on
charred wood plinth
19 x 68 x 54 in
Reza Aramesh
Polaroid of Action 36 :
(Actual large scale image not
produced)
2011
5h x 4w in12.70h x 10.16w cm
Reza Aramesh
Action 143-1
2015
B&W print on fiber paper,
Mounted on archival board,
and Framed in walnut wood
68 x 50 x 2.5 in
Parinaz Eleish Gharagozlou
All For Sale
2022
Mixed media and collage
on canvas
122 x 92 cm
Parinaz Eleish Gharagozlou
What of the Broken Roof
of My House
2022
Mixed media and collage
on canvas
185 x 305 cm
Arash Nazari
Bizhan Slays Nasiban and
Stems the Turanin Night Raid
2022
Oil on Canvas
150 x 450 cm
Marwan Sahmarani
Neighborhood 2
2022
Oil on Canvas
70 x 90 cm
Marwan Sahmarani
Neighborhood 1
2022
Oil on Canvas
70 x 90 cm
Marwan Sahmarani
Under the Sun
2022
Oil on Canvas
200 x 185 cm
Nathaniel Aric Galka
"and away we go... fun fun fun...""
2021
Oil on marble plastered jute on panel
on panel
26 x 21 cm
Nathaniel Aric Galka
"blooms made for you..."
2021
Oil on marble plastered jute
on panel
30.5 x 30.5 cm
Nathaniel Aric Galka
“there is more to the story…”
Oil on Marble Plaster Jute on
Panel
102 x 82 cm
Alaattin Efe
Thinking Disorder,
2019
Charcoal on paper
120 x 80 cm
Alaattin Efe
Soul
2018
Charcoal on paper
120 x 80 cm
Dubai, UAE – Leila Heller Gallery is pleased to announce its group show titled “The Storyteller”, opening on 26th April, curated by Behrang Samadzadegan, featuring artists Wim Delvoye, Azza Al Qubaisi, Zeinab Alhashemi, Melis Buyruk, Parinaz Eleish Gharagozlou, Nathaniel Aric Galka, Robert Wilson, Lorenzo Quinn, Lin Jingjing, Ran Hwang, Naeemeh Kazemi, Arash Nazari, Marwan Sahmarani, Alaattin Efe, Farideh Lashai, Ghada Amer, Shirin Neshat, Marcos Grigorian, Ana D’ Castro, Reza Aramesh and Behrang Samadzadegan.
Contemporary art is often seen as challenging and even perplexing, with artworks that may seem abstract or devoid of traditional forms of representation. However, at the heart of much contemporary art lies a powerful narrative or story, one that the artist is seeking to communicate. Artists who work with narratives may use a variety of mediums, from painting and sculpture to video and installation art. In each case, the artist is using their chosen medium to create a narrative that engages the viewer and invites them to consider complex issues and ideas.
One way in which artists use narrative is to tell stories about themselves or their personal experiences. Other artists use narrative to explore social and political issues, such as race, gender, identity, and political crisis, and some use. narrative to create fictional worlds or alternate realities. In all of these cases, the artist is acting as a storyteller, using their chosen medium to create a narrative that engages and challenges the viewer. By working with narrative, contemporary artists are able to create works that are not only visually striking but also intellectually and emotionally stimulating.
The artists selected for this exhibition aim to convey the power of storytelling through a focus on contextual and situational realities. By observing and reflecting on these realities, they seek to intensify the empathic perception of intimacy, fragility, and micro-history. The singularity and authenticity of each situation and contextual meaning are crucial elements in their approach to storytelling. By emphasizing the concreteness of singular, situational, and contextual realities, the artists hope to create a poetic and powerful narrative that enhances sensitivity to the diverse and complex anthropological realities of our world.
Overall, it seems that the artists are exploring the ways in which contemporary narratives can be shaped by the relevance of specific contextual or situational meanings. By highlighting the lived realities of individuals and communities, they hope to create a more nuanced and empathetic understanding of the world around us. Walter Benjamin's essay "The Storyteller: Reflections on the Works of Nikolai Leskov" reflects on the loss of the art of storytelling and the impact of industrialization and modernity on traditional forms of communication. Benjamin argues that the act of storytelling is more than just a means of transmitting information, but a way of connecting individuals to their cultural and historical roots.
The exhibition title, inspired by Benjamin's essay, suggests that the art of storytelling is still present today but is in danger of being lost. It emphasizes the importance of retaining and preserving stories as a means of keeping alive our cultural heritage. The title also alludes to the idea that the act of storytelling is a communal activity, one that requires both a storyteller and a listener. Through the act of listening, the listener becomes a part of the story and is able to retain it in their memory, passing it on to others in the future. Overall, the exhibition title suggests that the art of storytelling is a valuable cultural tradition that needs to be preserved and nurtured in the face of modernity and technological progress.
“For storytelling is always the art of repeating stories, and this art is lost when the stories are no longer retained. It is lost because there is no more weaving and spinning to go on while they are being listened to. The more selfforgetful the listener is, the more deeply is what he listens to impressed upon his memory. When the rhythm of work has seized him, he listens to the tales in such a way that the gift of retelling them comes to him all by itself. This, then, is the nature of the web in which the gift of storytelling is cradled. This is how today it is becoming unravelled at all its ends after being woven thousands of years ago in the ambience of the oldest forms of craftsmanship” Walter Benjamin, ‘The Storyteller: Reflections on the Works of Nikolai Leskov, 1936.
Text by Behrang Samadzadegan