Venti, aurae, anima - spirit of fluidity
Graphic by Priyanka Dhurandhar
November 23, 2022 - January 18, 2023
Foundry Downtown, Dubai
The exhibition at the Foundry Downtown includes an international board of artists from Kazakhstan, France, Sweden, and Iran will present a new perspective on the theme of flow and inspiration, addressing questions of metaphysics, and spirituality, this exhibition returns to fundamental questions about the Nature of life, the material world, and eidos, where the main metaphor is breath as a practice that embodies life. In an era of geopolitical turmoil in the world, this exhibition, in a way, serves as a space for healing, contemplating the beauty of coming together, sharing, and being united in grief.
Foundry is a hybrid progressive art space founded as a response to the evolving cultural scene in the UAE. The foundry’s innovative environment is a space for the possibility and provides Dubai’s community, and the global art scene, the opportunity to thrive, connect, communicate and exhibit.
«We only truly actualize when interacting with the Other; we spontaneously and inevitably attribute something inner to what is given to sense as outer. This ever-changing relentless flow of metaphoric “air” makes us feel alive. The exhibition sees its intention in overcoming the inertia of words regarding the hectic times we live in. We would rather prefer the aesthetic not to become an anaesthetic for reality and when we are mesmerized by it turn into callous solipsists. Art and beauty are not meant to be solely entertaining. Beauty is about hope. It has a unique force of restoring the will to live. To be distracted from one’s day-to-day existence by beauty is quite wrong, yet, to find a whole new level of involvement in the world through it - is right»
- curator Madina Sergazina.
The exhibition is organized with the support of the IADA (International Art Development Association). A special extension of the exhibition will be a project that reimagines physical works in the metaverse, illustrating, in turn, the fluidity between the real world and the digital one, and will take place on the platform of the unique virtual space created by the architect Ahmad Ayoub.
Artists
Dina Baitassova, Kazakhstan
Dina Baitassova, Untitled, Ink on paper, 2021
A multi-linguist who lives through day-to-day nomadic existence - her work traverses cultures and disciplines, drawing inspiration from a deep engagement with the world. The practice revolves around journaling, self-analysis, and mixing contemporary narratives, technology, and science with mythology. After studying fine arts at the Sorbonne in Paris in the early 2000s and living there for another decade first returned back to her home: the central Asian region and now is based in the UAE. A significant characteristic of an artist’s oeuvre is a strong presence of cross-modality, especially olfactive effects.
«For me, color is almost a being in itself, organic or artificial, it doesn’t matter, I spend a lot of time trying to see it separately or with other ones. Color can be a guide to the subconscious, which we see throughout the history of art. I try not to over-spiritualize all this, but there are some phenomena people experience on another level»
- Dina Baitassova
Fredrik Nielsen (1977), Sweden
Fredrik Nielsen , Leaving your soul in someone’s rented car Blown and melted glass, 2022 , courtesy Ambrose Benedict
Predominantly experimental, Nielsen’s artworks are made in defiance of what is perceived as perfect. Weighty yet spontaneous, his creations carry marks, almost scars, that are inflicted during their making. What may appear rough and unfinished remain as part of the final piece. The intention is to not abuse his glass but to take it to its limits, questioning the role of the artist and how these pieces sit within the world of art and craft. Neilsen has also incorporated live music and acrobatics whilst sculpting his glass to explore new ideas and ways of bringing his glass ideas to fruition. The kinetic energy that is used to control and form the hot glass is recaptured by the artist in the fleeting moment of spraying the surface, an act essentially reclaiming the glass after it has cooled and changed the color of its own accord. Neilsen first studied glass at the Orrefors Glass School in Sweden and then went on to the Pilchuck Glass School in Washington and the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm. He has also been the Artist-in-Residence at the Corning Museum of Glass, in the USA.
Louis-Cyprien Rials, France
Louis-Cyprien Rials Perspective 3, "Pierre" series Archival Fine Art Print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag 308, 2008
Louis-Cyprien Rials (born in 1981 in Paris) studied theater in France before discovering photography in Japan, where he lived for several years. In 2007, he embarked on a journey in the footsteps of the painter Hiroshige to deliver a comparative analysis of the Japanese landscape over time. Back in Europe, he is also undertaking long stays in conflict zones and areas forbidden to the public which he sees as “involuntary natural parks”.
In 2015, Louis-Cyprien Rials was selected for the Révélations Emerge Prize. In 2016, he obtained the support of the CNAP for the realization of his first personal exhibition. In 2017, he won the SAM Prize. His work has been presented in various institutions such as the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris (2021), the Palais de Tokyo (Paris, 2019), the African Museum of Belgrade (2022), Untitled, Center of Photographic art, Maison Jamsheer, (2014, Muharraq, Kingdom of Bahrain).
Tahmineh Monzavi, Iran
Tahmineh Monzavi, “Red soil cold soil” series Fine Art Print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Baryta, 2018
Tahmineh Monzavi, born in 1988 in Tehran, is a socially conscious photographer. She began her professional career as a documentary photographer in 2005. In her professional life, with her collection of photographs and her harmonious approach to her environment and her time, Tahmineh created her own style to capture and explore the fields of Artistic and Documentary photography, with honesty and fearlessness. Tahmineh Monzavi received the Sheed Award for excellence in social documentary photography (an independent non-government award with internationally renowned photographers as the panel of judges). Tahmineh Monzavi lives and works in Tehran. She is represented by Galerie Eric