<p><span style=""></span></p><p><span style=""></span></p><p>With a show at Sabrina Amrani Gallery reflecting a moment of disjuncture, she discusses how the changes in Saudi Arabia are being reflected in her practice</p>

As told to Nat Muller

How I became an artist: Manal AlDowayan

<p>‘Although it hasn’t really been intentional, many of my projects have documented the rapid transformation of my homeland, Saudi Arabia, which has made huge leaps over the last century. My mother is only 22 years older than me but, if you compare her life experience to mine, we could have lived eons apart: Our histories are so different and there is no continuity between the two. As an artist capturing these changes, it’s like you’re on fast-forward. For example, I’ve done several projects about women’s rights in Saudi Arabia – from driving to sports – all of which are history now: Women have been able to drive since 2016 and there are women’s sports leagues.</p>

<p>Would he like to expand his business in Paris? It is already the case, he says, by way of off-site exhibitions, such as the Carla Accardi show organized at Le Corbusier’s jewel of a building, Maison La Roche, for the first edition of Paris + par Art Basel. He plans to pursue other exceptional projects like this ‘fine example of how art dialogues with architecture.’ This is without doubt one of his mantras – the white cube is not really for him. ‘Architecture is one of the key elements of our activity.’ </p><p>In each city where he has installed a gallery, De Carlo has selected sites charged with soul. Since 2019, his gallery in Milan has been located in the Casa Corbellini-Wassermann, an icon of 1930s architecture, replete with marble and woodwork. ‘We’ve had it with the cliché of the minimalist space, where the art is supposed to be the sole actor,’ he affirms. In London, he has just restored a Mayfair apartment whose walls he painted a luminous sea-green – the original color dating back to 1723, unearthed in poor condition. ‘Maybe it’s too green? In any case, we’re happy we did it! Our artists adore this kind of context, and that’s all that matters.’</p><hr /><p>Emmanuelle Lequeux is a journalist based in Paris.</p><p><a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/gallery/1104/Massimo-De-Carlo">Massimo De Carlo</a> will be part of the&nbsp;Galleries and Kabinett sectors in the upcoming edition of Art Basel Miami&nbsp;Beach,&nbsp;from December 1 – 3, 2022.</p><p>Caption for full-bleed images:&nbsp;Massimo De Carlo by Bettina Pittaluga for Paris+ par Art Basel, 2022.</p><p>English translation: Jacob Bromberg</p>

<p>‘The written word is very powerful in Arab culture. I started using it in a porous, visual way to say one thing but mean something else. My neon works, such as <em>We Were Speaking through Silence</em> (2010), comprise expressions that carry ambiguous meaning. After things started to change in Saudi Arabia in 2016, and the religious police were reined in, I began looking at the written word as a means of healing. I wanted to remove the power from books written by men about how women should behave in public spaces. In <em>Just Paper </em>(2019), for example, I transferred expressions taken from the rigidity in the pages of books written by religious men – which described women as delicate flowers and precious jewels that needed protecting – to a porcelain that is as delicate as an eggshell and rolled it up. Even if you attempt to read it, you will break it. Nowadays, these kinds of texts are impossible to find because the books have been decommissioned and the stores that sold them have closed. The narrative of our history, of women, of public space, was held hostage by the religious establishment. Nevertheless, the women-only spaces I grew up in were very empowered: They had culture, structure, and politics. I have tried to re-create them through my artwork. </p>

<p>‘I wanted to study art, but my father could not see how it would be financially viable. At the time, in the mid-1990s, there were no museums, no galleries, no artists’ studios, no economic systems that supported artistic production in Saudi Arabia. So, I did a BSc in computer science at Suffolk University in Boston and, on my graduation day, my father brought me my employment papers to join the oil company where he worked. In my community, everyone did this. When I went on to do an MSc at London Metropolitan University a few years later, my mother would send me money secretly, which I used to pay for art classes at Central Saint Martins and the Slade School of Fine Art. I was constantly visiting museums and reading about art.&nbsp;However, I didn’t have the confidence to make anything; I didn’t think I was allowed to. After I completed a one-year photography workshop, my Spanish instructor suggested putting together an exhibition proposal and that’s how my work got included in my first group show, ‘Looking through the Glass’, in 2003 in Burgos, Spain. Much later in my career I embarked on a postgraduate degree in the arts, completing an MA in Contemporary Art Practice in Public Spheres in 2018. I eventually left Aramco in 2009 to do a residency at Delfina Foundation in London. That was when I started to define myself as an artist.</p>

<p>‘<span style="background-color: initial;">Another milestone was the 2008 group show&nbsp;</span>“<span style="background-color: initial;">Edge of Arabia: Contemporary Art from Saudi Arabia</span>”<span style="background-color: initial;">&nbsp;</span>held at the Brunei Gallery at SOAS in London. This is how I met the artists&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/9023/Ahmed-Mater">Ahmed Mater</a> and Stephen Stapleton, who came to visit me in the Eastern Province. Many things blossomed from that exhibition, such as the Jameel family’s engagement with the arts and the launch of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/gallery/1337/Athr">Athr Gallery</a>, currently Saudi Arabia’s most prominent gallery. It was very exciting and impacted me profoundly. I felt less lonely, even if we were all still working underground.</p>

<p>‘I’m now experiencing a moment in my life where I feel disjointed. This is reflected in&nbsp;“Their Love Is Like all Loves, Their Death Is Like all Deaths”, my current show at Sabrina Amrani Gallery. With all the archaeological excavations going on in the Kingdom we are now allowed to relate to our pre-Islamic ancestors and acknowledge a connection to the ancient Egyptians, Nabateans, Mesopotamians, and Assyrians. Previously, the narrative was always centered around Islam. Now, the country is facing a significant historical and social reevaluation. How do we, as artists, storytellers, and narrators, who absorb our communities beyond ourselves, reassess these changes and how do we live with the ruins of the past? My show queries these issues, for instance, in a series of mixed media works <em style="background-color: initial;">The Past Dreams of the Future </em>(2023) and in my clay sculptures <em style="background-color: initial;">Standing at the Ruin</em> (2023). I cannot look at my old work and justify going back to it. But it’s always amazing to blow up what you think you know and what you think you have resolved.’</p>

<p>Manal AlDowayan is represented by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/gallery/2022/Sabrina-Amrani">Sabrina Amrani Gallery</a> (Madrid)&nbsp;and <a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/gallery/1371/Gallery-Isabelle-van-den-Eynde">Gallery Isabelle van den Eynde</a> (Dubai). She&nbsp;will be showing works at Art Basel Hong Kong 2023 with Sabrina Amrani Gallery.</p><p>‘Their Love Is Like All Loves, Their Death Is Like All Deaths’<br />Sabrina Amrani Gallery, Madrid<br />Until March 25, 2023</p><p>Nat Muller is a curator, writer, and researcher based in Amsterdam.</p><p>All photos by&nbsp;Aitor Laspiur for Art Basel. All videos by&nbsp;Jone Poderoso for Art Basel.</p><p>Published on February 20, 2023.<br /><br />See also Manal AlDowayan in <a href="https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DyCjHP4Hvxkw%26t%3D1s&amp;data=05%7C01%7CArianna.Guidi%40artbasel.com%7Cc21761cd89a347cd1fc808db23a354c1%7C4deb802ffdf24ebeae9b8df74fb06435%7C0%7C0%7C638142956622562979%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=ZPHcPeY06QtYYl9ErsrRM2CTqxkPJxpwtaVomxr27GM%3D&amp;reserved=0">'Zones of Conflict – Responding to Realities'</a>, as part of the Conversations program at Art Basel 2019.</p>

title_style_2

<section></section><section> <section><main><div><section></section><section> <section><main><div><section></section><section> <section><main><div><div><section></section><section><section><main><div><section></section><section><section><main><div><div><section></section><section><section><main><div><section></section><section><section><main><div><section></section><section><section><main><div><section></section><section><section><main><div><section></section><section><section><main><div><div><section></section><section><section><main><div><div><p> <section></section></p><section><div><div><section><main><div><div><p>Presentations by galleries working with artists of African descent are expanding in the city and at the fair</p></div> </div><section></section></main></section></div></div></section></div> </div><section></section></main></section></section></div> </div><section></section></main></section></section></div><section></section></main></section></section></div><section></section></main></section></section></div><section></section></main></section></section></div><section></section></main></section></section></div> </div><section></section></main></section></section></div><section></section></main></section></section></div> </div><section></section></main></section></section></div><section></section></main></section></section></div><section></section></main></section></section><section> <section><main><section></section></main></section></section> <section></section>

Stories

Africa and its diaspora at Art Basel Hong Kong

<section></section><section> <section><main><div><div><section></section><section> <section><main><div><div><section></section><section><section><main><div><section></section><section><section><main><div><section></section><section><section><main><div><section></section><section><section><main><div><section></section><section><section><main><div><section> <section></section></section><section><section><main><div><section></section><section><div><div><section><main><div><div><p>Philanthropist Abhishek Poddar’s brainchild, the new Museum of Art and Photography in Bengaluru puts the community at its heart</p></div> </div><section></section></main></section></div></div></section></div><section></section></main></section></section></div><section></section></main></section></section></div><section></section></main></section></section></div><section></section></main></section></section></div><section></section></main></section></section></div><section></section></main></section></section></div> </div><section></section></main></section></section></div> </div><section></section></main></section></section><section> <section><main><section></section></main></section></section> <section></section>

Southern India gets its first major museum

<section></section><section> <section><main><div><div><section></section><section> <section><main><div><div><section></section><section> <section><main><div><section></section><section><section><main><div><div><section></section><section><section><main><div><section></section><section><section><main><div><section></section><section><section><main><div><section></section><section><section><main><div><div><section></section><section><div><div><section><main><div><div><div><p>Two bird’s-eye-view projects are the artist’s contribution to the World Weather Network’s global web of climate-conscious art </p></div></div></div><section></section></main></section></div></div></section></div> </div><section></section></main></section></section></div><section></section></main></section></section></div><section></section></main></section></section></div><section></section></main></section></section></div> </div><section></section></main></section></section></div><section></section></main></section></section></div> </div><section></section></main></section></section></div> </div><section></section></main></section></section><section> <section><main><section></section></main></section></section> <section></section>

Hiroshi Sugimoto on humanity’s relationships to time, Earth, and (outer) space

With a show at Sabrina Amrani Gallery reflecting a moment of disjuncture, she discusses how the changes in Saudi Arabia are being reflected in her practice

Welcome,

探索更多相關內容