“The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.” Aristotle
I was invited to the recent opening reception of the AD Arts Collectives inaugural exhibition ‘Art for All’ held in collaboration with the Emirates Writers Union at Abu Dhabi’s National Theatre. The evening showcased and celebrated the creativity of the twenty-seven exhibiting artists who hail from around the globe and now reside in the capital. The opening night also featured live music from Ziyad Matar, Egyptian singer-song writer Sarah El Gohary and her band and live poetry.
The show runs for two weeks until Friday 28th November with an opportunity to meet featured artist/s daily with workshops and live demonstrations. The recently formed group have emerged onto the constantly evolving and expanding Abu Dhabi art scene, each artist committed to their own respective creativity but also to bringing together their different styles, cultures and experiences and to increasing the membership of the group. The group will have two major shows each year as well as other smaller shows.
The exhibition features an array of sculptures, paintings, prints and jewellery
‘Bowie with Sane’ by Turkish artist Cansel Gucyener
French artist Delphine Gérard’s piece on the right ‘World War F’
‘Waves’ by Indian artist Gomathi Sivasubramanian
‘Passion’ by Iranian-Swedish artist Farideh Walter
‘Whale Hunt’ by Jordanian artist Bashar Haddad
‘Midnight Chic’ (above right) by Gerrie Krüger and another of his pieces below
‘Rebirth’ by American artist Saliha Bazmjow
Three illustrations by Cornelia Baciu
The ‘Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque’ series by German artist Angelika Hamilton
‘Pots & Jug’ by Matt McCobb
Body Jewellery by Nadia Akaeva
Indian artist Vidya Diwakar with two of her pieces on display
A trio of paintings by Shivangi Nanda, ‘Dal Lake’, ‘Bangle Seller’ and ‘Market Place’
‘The Burdened Man’ also by Shivangi Nanda
Serbian artist Ruzica Simone uses mixed media and mosaic in her work
‘Irresistible’ by Canadian artist Chelsie Joy
‘Blue Silence’ above by Romanian artist Miora Cherki and her second piece below
‘Father of the Nation’ by Filipino artist JP Faderogao
The AD Arts Collective opening exhibition runs until 28th November at The National Theatre. For more information about the show and the AD Arts Collective itself, the artists involved and their work visit the Facebook page here and check them out on Twitter too for all their latest news.
Unless otherwise stated, all photos on this page © Jo Brett 2014. All rights reserved.