Summer art exhibit at dar al funoon, kuwait

One thing about us in Kuwait is that we are notoriously fickle. Most new things, whether they are swanky resto-lounges, great independent boutiques, sleek sports cars, coffee/sheesha places, latest top-of-the-line cell phones, nail bars, bakeries, usually see a huge surge of interest when they are first introduced to Kuwait's relatively tiny market. Most people buy/try the newest stuff out of the absolutely inexplicable need to be a part of the hype. Usually when it fades away, people move on to the next new, exciting thing...

Art gallery openings are a similar fad in Kuwait. Opening day seems to be the place to see and be seen. Conversing with the curators, meandering around the gallery and putting in your two cents (fils?), and most importantly, audibly announcing that you would like the latest flavor-of-the-week reserved to be picked up later. (Of course, 9 times out of 10, gallery owners are left chasing after these so-called art buyers...'Oh, I'm redecorating and I don't think it will go with my vision' seems to be a common cop-out) 

Obviously, if something has substance, it survives and dare I say, even thrives in Kuwait. On the art scene, it is Dar Al Funoon art gallery (readers not based in Kuwait can check out this Flickr photostream to get a feel for the place). 

Their summer exhibition, which will be on through August, has brought together some of the topmost names from the region, as well as Iran and Africa. 

Check out a few pictures: 

 Karim Ghidinelli

Talk about a global citizen, the artist is originally Italian, lived in Ethiopia, Namibia and London and now calls Miami Beach, FL home. Whew. His extensive travels, and especially his time spent in Africa, reflect in his paintings which are characterized by bold uses of color and expressive brushstrokes. His constant search for identity is also evident as thumb prints feature prominently in his artwork. 

Reza Derakshani

A prominent Iranian visual artist, Derakshani is also an accomplished musician (he even has his own album out). Music often plays a large part during his exhibitions. He is widely known to pull influence from his own Persian heritage, especially traditional folklore and his palette is more often than not subdued. 

Nja Mahdoui

Easily one of my favorites, Mahdaoui,  a Tunisian visual artist, explores traditional Arabic calligraphy and its place in the world today. His canvases are big, bold and arresting in their colorful splendor. He works mainly with acrylics, metallic paint and pen on canvas.

Farideh Lashai

Another Iranian artist, Lashai’s work often echoes elements of nature from her native Gilan, a province along the Caspian Sea. Gorgeously sublime colors and textures are abound in her work, which is usually mixed-media. 

(All images my own)

Joseph Chahfe at Sultan Gallery, Kuwait

Kuwait's Sultan Gallery is currently hosting Lebanese-Canadian artist Joseph Chahfe in a solo exhibition. I went to the opening and had the opportunity to chat at length with the artist. To say he was amazing would be severely understating it. He went on and on about how his life was incomplete about painting - and how he did it each and everyday...the most surprising thing for me, and I even asked him about it, was how he managed to have so much enthusiasm and passion for something in his life...I suppose that is the one thing I find severely lacking in our generation - nobody these days seems to have that kind of energy to devote to anything in their lives, whether it is a relationship, a career or a “hobby.”
Something about Chahfe's enthusiasm both excited and depressed me...I suppose it made me wonder whether this kind of passion comes with age or with pure devotion to one particular activity/person in your life...I think I am a fairly passionate about certain things in life - but is it possible that I'm passionate about too many things and that way the passion spreads out and rather than being directed fully at one thing and excelling at it, I kind of end up exhausting myself and not doing to well or not devoting enough time and energy to any one particular thing...? Does that make sense? Do you ever feel that way?

OBEY.

(image courtesy of theworldsbestever.com)

This past weekend, I took the short excursion from my Kendall Square area apartment down to the waterfront to the ICA in Boston to check out the Shepard Fairley exhibit that's around until August. Known for his Obama 'Hope' piece (that yes, it is there in the flesh in the exhibit -- and yes, I snagged a few against-the-rules iPhone photos of it) during the 2008 election, I wasn't expecting as vast of a span of his work on display at the ICA.

While many of the pieces on display are part of his "Obey" theme (like the above image), the exhibit includes portraits of TuPac, Biggie Smalls, Bob Marley and Andy Warhol (of course) among others. Timely and worldly, Fairley's work reads like a visual novel of our time. Questioning consumerism, peace and the current wars in the world, Fairley properly brings together the world of pop culture with current events seamlessly.

As an avid fan of pop art (I even got the AP Art History award at my high school graduation!), I drew ties from Fairley to the undoubtedly iconic Andy Warhol. Fairley gives thanks to the great pop artist in the form of a portrait, and an image of an unlabelled Campbell's soup can. Much like Warhol in the 1960s, critics have placed pressure and criticism on Fairley and his work. Is a grafittied mural art - or more importantly, does it warrant arrest en route to your own gallery premiere? Is an artistic rendition of an Associated Press photo considered plagarism? Much like the questioning of Warhol's authencity of commercial object art (Soup Cans, Celebrities, etc), Fairley falls in line with those of the past.

Art or not is subjective to your own opinion, but Fairley's work is worth taking a look (or two) of. Check it out at the ICA on Northern Ave in Boston until August 16th, 2009. Only $10 admission for students (or you smart graduates like me that hung onto their student ID).

-M