Angela Bulloch, Shirazeh Houshiary and Rachid Koraïchi have created powerful works that activate, reflect and mystify the properties of light.
All three are gathering at Manarat Al Saadiyat tonight for a panel discussion on their contributions to Seeing Through Light, an exhibition of 18 works from the permanent collection of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi opening on Wednesday.
Bulloch, who was born in Canada to British parents, has works in important collections worldwide and was nominated for the Turner Prize in 1997.
Her 2002 piece, 6 Chains: Permutation B (52:4 – White), features 21 birch plywood boxes panelled with glass and fitted with a lighting system.
Houshiary, who is from Iran but has lived in London for 40 years, is well-known for her large-scale sculptures. She recently gained prominence for a window design that is permanently in place at the St Martin-in-the-Fields Church in London. She has contributed Luminous Darkness to the exhibition. The work from 1998 shows barely perceptible repeated calligraphic phrases in concentric circles.
The Algerian-born Rachid Koraïchi is lauded mostly for his Sufi influence and his association with mystical Islam. In 2011, he won the Jameel Prize for a selection of embroidered cloth banners from a series entitled Les Maitres Invisibles. In this show, he is displaying selected pieces from a painted steel installation called Le Chemin des Roses (Path of Roses), dated between 1995 and 2005. The project was influenced by his fascination with the poet Rumi and is made of calligraphic sculptures that are not legible but throw intricate shadows on the wall.
Calligraphy is often a significant backbone of Koraïchi’s work, and for this piece he draws from Arabic calligraphy but also includes references to Amazigh and Tuareg letter and mystical symbols.
Among the moderators is Susan Davidson, senior curator, collections and exhibitions, Solomon R Guggenheim Museum, who helped curate the Seeing Through Light exhibition.
• Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Talking Art Series: Seeing Through Light is tonight from 7 to 8pm in the auditorium at Manarat Al Saadiyat. Seeing Through Light: Selections from the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Collection runs from Wednesday until January 19 at Manarat Al Saadiyat
• For Anna Seaman's exclusive interview with Richard Armstrong, director of Guggenheim Foundation and Museum, turn to today's news pages or go to www.thenational.ae
aseaman@thenational.ae
