NYUAD Art Gallery centres on Gulf art practices for its 2022 programme

The gallery has announced two major exhibitions that will open in its Abu Dhabi space this year

'Where to? Wherever it chances' (2019) by Ramin Haerizadeh, Rokni Haerizadeh, Hesam Rahmanian. Photo: NYUAD Art Gallery

The NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) Art Gallery has announced its programme for 2022, with artistic practices in the Gulf forming the focus of its coming major exhibitions.

In March, Ramin Haerizadeh, Rokni Haerizadeh and Hesam Rahmanian will present their first institutional solo exhibition in the UAE.

The three artists from Iran often work together to create surreal and immersive projects that range from performances to paintings. Having been in Dubai for 13 years, they have been key figures in the art community – collaborating with other artists, mentoring younger practitioners and even involving the public in their artistic activations.

They have exhibited at international biennials and institutions, including the Liverpool Biennial and Sydney Biennial, as well as the Kunsthalle Zurich and MACBA Barcelona. The trio are also working on a project for the Hayward Gallery, London.

Titled Parthenogenesis: Ramin Haerizadeh, Rokni Haerizadeh, Hesam Rahmanian, the exhibition at NYUAD Art Gallery will follow the artists’ methods as they will take over the space to establish a “landscape” within the gallery, seeing how artworks transform through collective and collaborative actions. It will run from March 1 to June 12.

For its autumn exhibition, the university’s gallery will showcase a historical survey of modern art movements across the GCC in the exhibition Khaleej Modern.

The show is curated by Dr Aisha Stoby, a curator and researcher who has recently worked with Oman’s Ministry of Culture. Stoby will also curate the first Oman Pavilion at the Venice Biennale this year.

Khaleej Modern marks a critical analysis of the Gulf’s modern art history, before the oil boom of the 1970s and through to 2008, bringing more narratives and art movements from the region to light.

The opening date for Khaleej Modern will be announced later this year.

This year, NYUAD Art Gallery has established two collaborations, one with the National Pavilion UAE for its exhibition at the Venice Biennale in April, where the presentation on Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim has been curated by NYUAD’s chief curator Maya Allison.

The second partnership is with the Middle East Institute in Washington, DC for the exhibition Between the Sky and the Earth, which was curated by Munira Al Sayegh and showcased 12 contemporary artists living and working in the UAE.