Ayyam Gallery in Jeddah is holding a group exhibition of first generation artists from post-1970 Saudi Arabia who contributed to the shaping of a national identity through art. The show delineates the transformation, influences and evolution of modern Saudi art in the past four decades through the work of some pioneering artists from the country.
Abdulhalim Radwi, ‘Hornpipe’, 1998, oil on canvas, 100 x 80cm. Image courtesy Ayyam Gallery.
“Taliaa” at the Ayyam Gallery Jeddah from 11 July to 16 October 2014 is a group exhibition of some of the most influential names in Saudi art post-1970. The show features the work of eight critics and artists who were among the first generation to study abroad in Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom and to receive formal art education. They are:
Taha Mohammed Al Sabban, ‘Neighborhood’, 1996, oil on canvas, 50 x 90cm. Image courtesy Ayyam Gallery.
Abstraction and Western influences
The exhibition illustrates how Western Modernist schools such as Cubism, Surrealism, Impressionism and other post-war movements of abstraction were a major influence on these artists. Nonetheless, each one of them developed an individual style that aimed to harmoniously bridge western styles and techniques with local themes and concepts, referencing Saudi culture, tradition and environment.
Abduljabbar Al Yahya, ‘Faces’, 1995, oil on canvas, 50 x 65cm. Image courtesy Ayyam Gallery.
The Beginnings of Saudi Art
In his catalogue essay “The Beginnings of Fine Art in Saudi Arabia”, exhibition curator Abdulaziz Ashour writes:
Art in Saudi Arabia developed thanks to the individual efforts of artists aiming to preserve local tradition and culture within a society that did not necessarily support art education and instruction in the same way as the neighbouring countries of Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq, and Syria.
Abdulrahman Al Soliman, ‘Beginnings 3′, 1977, oil on canvas, 50 x 70cm. Image courtesy Ayyma Gallery.
The curator mentions that one of the artists, Abdulhalim Radwi (1939–2006), started being recognised for his artistic talents in the mid-1950s. He was the winner of the first official painting competition in high school with his work The Village, a simple painting of trees and clay houses and was also the first artist to pursue studies abroad.
Taha Mohammed Al Sabban, ‘Bab Rezq’, 2010, oil on canvas, 92 x 122cm. Image courtesy Ayyam Gallery.
1965 saw the establishment of the Artistic Education Institute, an event that marked a turning point for artistic production in Saudi Arabia, along with the support of the Youth Care Association. Many of the country’s most significant artists graduated from the Institute while Youth Care supported the self-taught ones, including Abdul Jabbar Al Yahya (b. 1931) and Taha Al Sabban (b. 1948).
Mohammad Al Saleem, ‘Untitled’, 1986, oil on canvas, 60 x 70 cm. Image courtesy Ayyam Gallery.
Abdullah Al Shaikh (b.1936) was the first to obtain an academic degree in art in 1959 from the Institute of Fine Arts in Baghdad, while Mohammed Al Resayes (b.1950) and Abdullah Hamas (b.1953) graduated from the Art Institute in Al Riyadh, and Albulrahman Al Soliman (b. 1954) from the Teachers Institute in Al Damman. Mohammad Al Saleem (1939-1997) attended the Accademia delle Belle Arti in Florence, Italy and came back to teach western techniques and styles.
Abdullah Al Shaikh, ‘Contemporary Series 1′, 2007, oil on wood, 80 x 122cm. Image courtesy Ayyam Gallery.
Mohammad Al Resayes, ‘Borrowed from Tradition’, 1980, oil on canvas, 92 x 61cm. Image courtesy Ayyam Gallery.
The creation of a national identity in Saudi art
The eight artists, born between 1930 and 1960, all contributed to the evolution and development of Saudi art. They participated in the debates around art that took place during the 1980s, which saw the emergence of three main factions. The first was directly related to heritage, tradition and custom, the second saw tradition and heritage as obstacles to advancement, and the third called for a more flexible approach that joined Modernism with tradition.
Abdullah Hammas, ‘Abstract 1′, 1973, oil on canvas, 75 x 55cm. Image courtesy Ayyam Gallery.
The “Taliaa” pioneers pushed for the West and East to be part of a cohesive style. Some withdrew from society to work, while others constantly took part in the dialogue, but all of them contributed toward shaping what Saudi art has become today.
Abdulrahman Al Soliman, ‘Climates 2′, 1993, mixed media on cardbroad, 90 x 91cm. Image courtesy Ayyam Gallery.
Ashour writes in his curatorial essay:
The pioneer artists in the local art scene renewed their visual experiences, and developed the aesthetic vision that wavered between being inspired by heritage, tradition, and what they learnt from experience and technique in school […] These innovations furthered the art experience as simple gestures changed into real visions belonging to new aesthetic and theoretical conditions. The most important issue unearthed during this time was the upholding of a national identity.
Abdulhalim Radwi, ‘Almadina Al Monawara’, 1995, oil on canvas, 100 x 80.5cm. Image courtesy Ayyam Gallery.
Mohammad Al Resayes, ‘Waiting for the End’, 1985, oil on canvas, 55 x 90cm. Image courtesy Ayyam Gallery.
C. A. Xuan Mai Ardia
432
Related Topics: Saudi artists, art and identity, painting, Islamic art, gallery shows, picture feasts, events in Jeddah
Related Posts:
Subscribe to Art Radar for more on art from Saudi Arabia and the Middle East