The art collector is a lucky individual – a person normally blessed with the type of disposable income enjoyed by the landed gentry. For many, filling one’s house with fancy artwork simply tips the budget, especially in purse-pinching times such as these. While mass-produced stock photographs of generic foliage and cute babies in buckets are pretty enough, the likelihood is your neighbour a few doors down will have the same one hanging in their downstairs bathroom.
Thankfully, there is a way to afford original artwork and be frugal – attending the Ramadan Art Bazaar at Ghaf Gallery, which opens on August 15 and runs until the end of Ramadan would be a great start.
This is the third event of its kind for curator Sumayyah Al Suwaidi, who believes art should be accessible to everyone. ‘I noticed that there are a huge number of people who would love to own original artworks, if only they had some financial help. As an artist myself, I don’t see any harm in selling my pieces at half price, or even more, at least once a year. This way, more people will be encouraged to buy original, rather than the reproduced pieces we see everywhere.”
Bringing together prominent Emirati artists including Abdul Rahim Salem, Mohammed Al Qassab, Mattar Bin Lahej, Khalil Abdulwahid, Azza Al Qubaisi and Jalal Luqman, alongside international professionals such as Neena Rai, R.P. Chezhiyan, Chritch and Emily Gordon (as well as work by the curator herself), the exhibition will offer an exciting mix of styles and media including digital paintings, sculpture and photography, in addition to more traditional pieces. And the best part? There won’t be anything over Dhs4,000, with most pieces on offer for a lot less.
‘I would invest in Abdul Rahim Salem’s work – he is one of the pioneers of his generation and I am a huge fan,’ reveals Sumayyah. ‘I would also buy one or two of Jalal Luqman’s doodles, because doodles are the rawest form of art and I believe in years to come they will be worth a lot of money.’
Having exhibited in the UAE since 2003, Sumayyah’s brand of digital art is now familiar to Abu Dhabi’s art lovers. Emotionally charged, fantastical but also haunting, there is a unique, chilling quality to much of her work, which shares a similar, beguiling style to the films offered by Goth director Tim Burton: gaunt nymphs peering out of the near black, or framed within a romantic fantasy.
‘In addition to the Ramadan Art Bazaar, I will be working on my solo exhibition which will also be held at Ghaf Gallery (October 18-28). After that, I will be producing new artworks for my participation in two group shows in Paris and Istanbul during December. I also have an idea for a group show in January next year, again at Ghaf, which will be finalised soon.’
Certainly, if Sumayyah’s work is anything to go by, the Ramadan Art Bazaar promises to be a much-needed attraction in an otherwise largely empty summer art calendar. So instead of spending all your hard-earned dirhams in the mall (fashion is fickle you know), save a small sum for an original, ‘seasonless’ piece of art.
From August 15 to September 9. For more details contact the gallery (02 665 5332).
