Many of the works of art in Ayyam Gallery’s current group show tackle the subject of war.
Pain, by Abdul Karim Majdal Al-Beik, for example, features carving knives strapped to the canvas with thick ropes. Athier's Man of War painting has abstract lines and colours, while the stylised graphics of a portrait by Elias Izoli comments on the rise of consumerist escapism that has desensitised our capacity for compassion.
They form part of a large exhibition assembled to celebrate the gallery's 10th anniversary. Featuring work from the 52 artists who have had a solo exhibition in any of the gallery's six venues, it is aptly titled 10:52.
Ayyam has made a name for itself in the past decade by hosting young, contemporary artists from the Arab world who often use bold approaches to comment on social issues. Inevitably, this often means discussing war. “Conflict is just a reality that we have to deal with, so it is natural for some artists to reflect it in their works,” says Ayyam’s co-founder, Hisham Samawi. But, he adds, it is not something that they go looking for.
“From the beginning, our goal was to find talented artists who had something to say and all we wanted to do was give them the proper platform and support to do it,” he says. Samawi and his cousin Khaled, who co-founded the gallery in 2006 in Damascus, have been successful in this mission. Several of their artists have become household names.
Tammam Azzam, who first exhibited with Ayyam in 2010, achieved worldwide acclaim in 2013 when his image Freedom Graffiti, featuring Gustav Klimt's The Kiss superimposed on a war-torn building in Syria went viral. Last year, he was also part of Banksy's Dismaland installation in England.
Abdulnasser Gharem, a colonel in the Saudi Arabian army, whose career grew through the Edge of Arabia platform and who produces work based around rubber stamps, is the highest-selling living Gulf artist at auction. He has an oversized wooden stamp with an embossed rubber face on show in the central upper gallery.
Shurooq Amin, whose controversial work was banned in her native Kuwait, showed her work with Ayyam in Dubai and London, and this international recognition was crucial in leading to the ban being lifted. It has, in many ways, been a symbiotic relationship, with the success of the gallery and artists going hand in hand, says Samawi.
“It’s really been an incredible journey for all of us over the past 10 years,” he says. “We have been blessed to be able to work with so many amazing artists. This exhibition has been a great way for us to reflect on all the amazing shows we have done.”
Given that the gallery was founded in Damascus, it is no surprise that many of the artists are Syrian – and it offers an interesting window into what the young people of that country are facing.
One of the most striking works in the show is Trial No. 75 by Mouteea Murad, who uses geometry and the basics of Islamic art to depict beauty in a world consumed by conflict. Also memorable is Mohannad Orabi's Family Portrait. His bleak characters stare wide-eyed at the viewer and magnificently capture the desolation felt by Syrian families affected by war.
Orabi was one of many artists who escaped Syria after the war began and was offered a studio space at Ayyam in Dubai.
“When the conflict started we were very fortunate to be able to help our artists escape the country so they could continue their work in peace and safety, and to continue the great tradition of Syrian art,” says Samawi. “While we have grown to becoming more than a Syrian art gallery, Syrian art is an important piece of the overall Middle Eastern art landscape and deserves to be recognised.”
• 10:52 runs until October 29 at Ayyam Gallery, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai. Visit www.ayyamgallery.com
aseaman@thenational.ae