A mixed-media piece by Syrian artist Elias Zayat that will be part of the exhibition After the Deluge. Courtesy Green Art Gallery
A mixed-media piece by Syrian artist Elias Zayat that will be part of the exhibition After the Deluge. Courtesy Green Art Gallery

Our top exhibitions this week: Syrian artist grapples with devastation and more

Plus: the early works of modernist Piet Mondrian and historic images from 19th century India.

Mondrian’s journey to the lines of modernism

The Dutch painter Piet Mondrian was one of the leading lights of what he dubbed the neo-plasticism movement that emerged in Europe in the early years of the 20th century. It favoured simple, vertical and horizontal compositions. Mondrian’s modernist rigid lines and strict adherence to the basic elements of painting means that he is now regarded as one of the founders of abstract painting. But an exhibition in Berlin looks at 50 of his earlier works, which show a more impressionistic style, and examines the stages in his artistic progression.

• Piet Mondrian: The Line runs at the Martin-­Gropius-Bau from Friday. For more information, visit www.berlinerfestspiele.de.

Images of India and the birth of a studio

In the mid-19th century, two photographers working in India, Samuel Bourne and Charles Shepherd, began selling images that were taken in the country. These became very popular, particularly in the West, where many people were interested in exotic portrayals of the subcontinent. The photographers established a studio, Bourne and Shepherd, which survives to this day in Kolkata. An exhibition in Mumbai features a range of these photos, which are essentially cultural artefacts. They showcase a way of life that has now disappeared.

• Bourne and Shepherd: Figures in Time runs at Dr Bhau Daji Lad Mumbai City Museum until September 15. For more information, visit www.bdlmuseum.org.

Solo show of works in Dubai by Syrian artist

The ancient city of Palmyra was seized by ISIL in May and since then the news from the site has been grim. The retired chief archaeologist has been murdered by militants, who have just blown up a temple at the site. It is to this city, also known as Tadmor, that Syrian artist Elias Zayat turns to in a selection of new works that will be on display in Dubai. Zayat draws on Mesopotamian, Babylonian and Biblical accounts of the flood and examines themes of destruction, struggle and the rebuilding of a devastated world.

• Elias Zayat: After the Deluge runs at Dubai's Green Art Gallery from September 14. For more information, visit www.gagallery.com.

COMPANY PROFILE

● Company: Bidzi

● Started: 2024

● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid

● Based: Dubai, UAE

● Industry: M&A

● Funding size: Bootstrapped

● No of employees: Nine

More from Neighbourhood Watch:
NO OTHER LAND

Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal

Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham

Rating: 3.5/5

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Museum of the Future in numbers
  •  78 metres is the height of the museum
  •  30,000 square metres is its total area
  •  17,000 square metres is the length of the stainless steel facade
  •  14 kilometres is the length of LED lights used on the facade
  •  1,024 individual pieces make up the exterior 
  •  7 floors in all, with one for administrative offices
  •  2,400 diagonally intersecting steel members frame the torus shape
  •  100 species of trees and plants dot the gardens
  •  Dh145 is the price of a ticket

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Thank You for Banking with Us

Director: Laila Abbas

Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum

Rating: 4/5

Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
 
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
On Women's Day
The specs
Engine: 3.6 V6

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Power: 295bhp

Torque: 353Nm

Price: Dh155,000

On sale: now 

The specs
 
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)