To mark its 20th anniversary, The Third Line presents The Only Way Out Is Through: The Twentieth Line, a project curated by Shumon Basar. Taking its title from a phrase often invoked in times of challenge and transformation, the initiative encompasses public conversations, 48-hour “Flash Sale Specials,” and a retrospective exhibition on view until 28 December 2025.
The show brings together every artist currently represented by the gallery (31 in total) through a selection of early and recent works drawn from The Third Line’s two-decade archive, much of which has never been publicly displayed. Artworks are presented in four chronological sections: 2005–2009, 2010–2015, 2016–2020, and 2021–2025, each framed by a floor-spanning timeline that situates them within major political, economic, and cultural moments, from the global financial crisis to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Among the creatives whose works are on display are Franco-Syrian artist Bady Dalloul, Emirati artist Farah Al Qasimi, and Egyptian artist and cultural historian Huda Lutfi. Dalloul’s research-based works intertwine historical events, personal facts, and fiction while exploring political, sociological, and historical themes. Al Qasimi is known for her vivid photographs capturing the fantastical within everyday life in the Gulf and the USA. In her works, she explores the connections between colonial history, contemporary identity, and consumer culture. Lutfi’s practice engages with political and cultural narratives. It frequently incorporates female archetypes and themes of identity and history in the Arab world.
Other highlights include Emirati photographer and filmmaker Lamya Gargash, who examines the traces of identity embedded in inhabited and abandoned spaces, and Iranian-American artist Nima Nabavi, whose intricate geometric abstractions draw inspiration from nature and quantum systems. Bangladeshi-born artist Rana Begum and the Berlin-based collective Slavs and Tatars also appear. Begum’s vibrant constructions, rooted in urban geometry, Islamic art, Constructivism, and Minimalism, play with light, colour, and spatial rhythm. Slavs and Tatars are famous for their incisive and humorous investigations into language, politics, and faith across the expanse of Eurasia.
Qatari-American artist and writer Sophia Al-Maria brings her concept of Gulf Futurism to the exhibition, an idea that envisions the Gulf’s present urban and ecological collapse as a vision of the world’s future. Themes of wealth, conservatism, consumerism, and technological isolation intersect in her work. American artist Kamran Samimi explores questions of identity and environment, probing the spiritual essence of the natural world. Iranian-American artist Ala Ebtekar merges Persian miniature traditions with futuristic imagery and investigates the phenomenology of light.
Iranian artist Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian (1922 -2019) created stunning mirrored mosaics and geometric sculptures that unite mathematical precision with spiritual radiance. York-based artist Pouran Jinchi combines calligraphy, Islamic geometry, and Abstract Expressionism to transform social and political anguish into an ethereal visual language.
Iranian artist Sahand Hesamiyan delves into the relationships between geometry, mythology, and philosophy in his work. He reinterprets the architectural geometry of Islamic traditions through a minimalist lens, creating monumental, large-scale works. Meanwhile, Iraqi-American artist Vian Sora employs mixed media and engraving to produce textured, dynamic compositions that evoke themes of displacement, resilience, and collective memory.
The showcase also includes works by Sarah Awad, Tarek Al-Ghoussein (1962–2022), Abbas Akhavan, Amir H. Fallah, Anuar Khalifi, Arwa Abouon (1982–2020), Farhad Moshiri (1963–2024), Fouad Elkoury, Hassan Hajjaj, Hayv Kahraman, Joana Hadjithomas & Khalil Joreige, Jordan Nassar, Laleh Khorramian, Sara Naim, Shirin Aliabadi (1973–2018), yasiin bey, and Youssef Nabil.
To learn more about The Only Way Out Is Through: The Twentieth Line, please go to the project’s official web page.
You might also be interested in visiting The Gulf Through Time: Dariush Zandi’s Photographic Journey.
