Until 23 May 2025, Aisha Alabbar Gallery is hosting A Radical Intimacy of Hanging Out, a collective exhibition curated by Salem Al Suwaidi. Featuring works by three Emirati artists — Asma Khoory, Taqwa Al Naqbi, and Sultan Al Remeithi — the show delves into the paradox of “killing time”, exploring the quiet yet radical power of simply sharing time and space and inviting visitors to consider the enduring relevance of human connection.
In the accelerated rhythm of Gulf urbanism, time becomes currency: it is spent, traded, or lost. Yet “killing time” remains a subtle act of resistance: a pause that privileges presence over productivity. The exhibiting artists ask whether time is truly wasted when inhabited fully, or whether such moments defy the finality their name implies.
Through this lens, the A Radical Intimacy of Hanging Out exhibition encourages one to reflect on how time is exchanged, withheld, or reclaimed and whether these lingering moments can offer a deeper understanding of what it means to be present in an age defined by velocity.
Asma Khoory (b. 1994, Dubai) works with painting and mixed media to examine manufactured time, human relationships and conversations, social ideologies, and collective memory. She explains: “My art deploys a broad range of materials in an expression that translates the society I live in by showcasing hidden and un-captured things”. Khoory’s recent creations contemplate how fragmented life moments intersect, how memory becomes static through stillness, and how recollection, especially in a rapidly urbanising Dubai, is continuously reshaped.
Meanwhile, Taqwa Al Naqbi (b. 1994, Khorfakkan) centres her practice on papermaking and employing mixed media. Deeply rooted in personal experiences, her work incorporates elements from the local culture and the region. One of Al Naqbi’s standout projects, My Grandmother’s Dresses, blends heritage and intimacy: she repurposed fragments of her grandmother’s traditional garments into sheets of paper and invited her to draw on them. Influenced by acclaimed Emirati artists, such as Abdalla Alssadi and Mohamed Ibrahim, Al Naqbi’s work is a poetic homage to the cultural context of the Emirates.
Sultan Al Remeithi (b. 1989, Abu Dhabi) works across painting, collage, sculpture, and immersive installation, documenting interactions, actions, and emotions. His art captures moments from daily life, imagined scenes, and memorabilia, examining the emotional and social fabric of his environment. Employing a vivid palette and often an ironic tone, Al Remeithi explores how lived environments enforce class distinction and interrogates the UAE’s values of modernity.
About Aisha Alabbar Gallery
Founded in 2018, Aisha Alabbar Gallery is one of the first women-led Emirati galleries that has become a prominent platform for contemporary and modern art in Dubai. With a strong commitment to supporting emerging and established artists, the gallery amplifies diverse voices from the Emirates, the wider region, and the international art scene. Through thoughtful curation and collaborations with leading curators and institutions, the gallery dedicates itself to elevating artists onto the global stage.
Aisha Alabbar Gallery contributes meaningfully to the UAE’s cultural landscape through its exhibitions, innovative programming, and carefully crafted publications, fostering a vibrant and lasting presence in the region’s artistic dialogue.
To get more information about A Radical Intimacy of Hanging Out, please go to the exhibition’s official web page.
In addition, you might be interested in visiting A Shroud is a Cloth by Adrian Pepe.
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