Traffic participates in Art Dubai 2011
At this year’s Art Dubai, held between Mar 16-19 2011, Traffic is exhibiting the works of artists Mahmoud Bakhshi, James Clar, Ayman Yossri aka Daydban, Abdulnasser Gharem, Ahmed Mater, Shaikha Al Mazrou, Monitor, Hesam Rahmanian, Faisal Samra, Hamza Serafi and UBIK.
While many of the artists are represented by Traffic, a few have been personally invited to show works at the Traffic booth during Art Dubai. With a number of artists from different backgrounds, from Saudi Arabia, Iran, Palestine, India, the UAE and the US, a diverse selection of contemporary artworks focusing on social commentary will be presented.
Audiences are invited to interpret the works, and draw their own conclusions on the subject matter. A range of mediums will be on view - paintings, sculptures, video, mixed media and installation.
“Art Dubai 2011 provides a social platform to create regional and international visibility for Traffic’s artists, all of whom have incredibly different visions but who are united in their status as emerging voices from region,” said Rami Farook, Founder and Director of Traffic.
Complementing Traffic’s participation at Art Dubai 2011 is the opening of Satellite, a new studio space for Traffic’s conceptual media artist James Clar. Located in Al Serkal, Satellite will be used for larger scale production and experimentation while also fostering collaboration among visiting artists. Also this week, between Mar 15-19, Traffic is hosting MOP CAP 2011 - an exhibition of works by emerging Iranian artists who have been shortlisted for the Magic of Persia Contemporary Art Prize.
Information on exhibiting artists at Art Dubai:
Mahmoud Bakshi (b. 1977, Iran)
Bakhshi received a Diploma in Graphics and a B.A. from the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Tehran. He was the winner of the 'Magic of Persia Contemporary Art Prize', which took place at the Royal College of Art, London, in September 2009. The main inspiration for Bakhshi's works comes form political and social issues. He attempts to propose direct answers to the situations he observes in Iran by looking for connections with the historical past of his country. Having grown up after the Revolution and during the Iran-Iraq War period, Bakhshi says he finds it difficult to create artworks disconnected from his own personal surroundings.
James Clar (b. 1979, U.S.A)
James Clar is a media artist whose work is a fusion of technology, popular culture, and visual information. His work explores the limitations of various communication mediums and its effect on the individual and society. Focusing on the visual arts, his work often controls and manipulates light - the common intersection of all visual mediums. His artwork has been included in the Chanel Mobile Art exhibition (Tokyo), The New Museum of Contemporary Arts (New York), The Chelsea Art Museum (New York), and The Somerset House (UK). His artist studio in Dubai, Satellite, opens in March 2011. This year he will also be participating at the Hong Kong International Art Fair and the Louis Vuitton (Hong Kong) exhibition “See the Light” coinciding with Art Hong Kong 2011.
Ayman Yossri aka Daydban (b. 1966, Palestine)
Ayman Yossri aka Daydban has lived almost all his life in Jeddah and identifies with Saudi Arabia but is in fact a Palestinian with Jordanian nationality. This sense of national dislocation and fragmented cultural identity has had a profound effect on his artistic practice. His exploration of responsive performance and sculpture has led to pieces that interact with the viewer in a personal manner. Daydban first came to international prominence following the Edge of Arabia exhibition at SOAS, Brunei Gallery in 2008 which has since toured to Venice during the 2009 Biennale.
Abdulnasser Gharem (b. 1973, Saudi Arabia)
Born in Khamis Mushait, Saudi Arabia, where he lives and works today, Gharem is both a practicing conceptual artist and a Lieutenant Colonel in the Saudi Arabian Army. In 1992, Gharem graduated from the King Abdulaziz Academy before attending The Leader Institute in Riyadh. In 2003 he studied at the Al-Miftaha Arts Village in Abha where the artists shared a similar vision; in 2004 the artists staged a group exhibition, Shattah, which was a significant step in the recent history of contemporary art in Saudi Arabia.
Ahmed Mater (b. 1979, Saudi Arabia)
Ahmed Mater is one of Saudi Arabia’s most celebrated young artists. The King of Saudi Arabia opened his last solo exhibition. He is also, as he puts it, a man of many masks. As well as being a qualified GP, he is a landscape photographer and the face for one of the region’s largest mobile phone companies. Having spent most of his life in Abha, capital of Aseer (a region to the south of Saudi Arabia), Mater remains rooted in his Aseeri local identity. As well as leading a young artistic collective called Ibn Aseer (Son of Aseer), he is an integral part of the recent history of Abha’s Miftaha Arts Village, part of the King Fahad Cultural Centre.
Shaikha Al Mazrou (b. 1988, U.A.E)
Shaikha Al Mazrou is a U.A.E national whose work investigates the use of mass-produced electronic waste as appropriated ready-mades for the creation of artworks that deal with colour, form and interaction. Her current work explores the phenomenon of synchromism, the correspondence of colour and music. Her use of obsolete found objects is not only testing our intellect and our tolerance of what a gallery space can bring to the attention of its public, but is also an exploration of colour harmony in relation to musical harmony.
Hesam Rahmanian (b. 1980, U.S.A)
Hesam Rahmanian creates works that encourage social discourse. As an artist born in the US, but raised in and informed by Iran, his work often takes on the turbulent undercurrents at work in his native country. As a child, Rahmanian left the US for Tehran, where in 1991 he apprenticed with the master calligrapher Mohammed Ehsai. He gained a Diploma in Fine Art from the School of Visual Arts in 1999 and attended private lessons in drawing and composition from the artist Ahmad Amin Nazar, it was an experience that exposed him to the work of David Hockney, Egon Schiele and Francis Bacon. Soon after, he headed back to the United States to attain degrees in Applied Art and Graphic Design. Rahmanian had a solo show at Traffic in 2010, and will have his first European solo at Paradise Row, London, in April 2011.
Faisal Samra (b. 1957, Saudi Arabia)
Faisal Samra, who lives and works between Bahrain and Paris, graduated from Ecole National Superieure des Beaux Arts – Paris, France. He worked as a graphic designer and was and Arts & Graphic Consultant at Institut Du Monde Arabe. He has done extensive research on Islamic Design & Artisan works in Fes, Marrakech and Rabat, Morocco, and gave courses and workshops in Drawing & Painting at College of fine Arts – Amman, Jordan and at Faisal Samra Studio, Bahrain. During 2005 - 2010, Samra was in an artist in residence at the Cite International Des Arts, Paris, France. He is a Jury member for the Alexandria Biennale – Egypt.
Hamza Serafi (b.1960, Saudi Arabia)
Serafi is a self-taught conceptual artist who explores his surroundings from his own perspective. His work ventures into the socio-political realm, unveiling underlying humanitarian issues. Such work is created specifically for the Middle Eastern region but can be applied globally. Serafi’s interventions with objets trouves present personal commentaries on various issues in and around his environment. His work mainly presented through installation though crosses into painting and sculpture.
UBIK (b. 1985, India)
UBIK’s work charts various mediums and is heavily influenced by Film, Beatnik / Gonzo literature, Music, Street art, Anarchism and Existentialist thought. His work urges the viewer to explore their reactions and emotions in a cynical, yet often sarcastic and humorous way. The core of UBIK's work deals with the relative ideology of chaos in the form of an absurdist playground, and the underlying clichés associated with mankind.
Created by UAE national collector, curator and art patron Rami Farook, Traffic’s 10,000sqft space offers two gallery spaces – for commercial shows by artists from the region and beyond, and curated highlights from The Farook Collection as well as other private & corporate collections. Other aspects of Traffic include an educational program and retail outlet called ‘PRINT’ for contemporary arts publications.
For more information, visit: viatraffic.org
