XVA Gallery presents a new summer exhibition, No Mask Required. It is a group exhibition of artists from Canada, Europe and the Middle East, expressing the depth of depicting human features. No Mask Required will be held from the 17th of May until 15th of September, 2022.
A face is like a mirror to one’s thoughts; thus, the group of artists, participating in the exhibition, have united to portray their perception of the human form. With a variety of mediums ranging from 18th century frames and scratched mirrors to photographic lambda prints, No Mask Required challenges the notion of a portrait.
The 10 regional and international artists featured in No Mask Required are Arezu, Al Braithwaite, Colleen Quigley, Husein Al-Mohasen, Halim Al Karim, Jonathan Gent, Raghd Coussa, Morteza Zahedi, Sabhan Adam, and Yazid Oulab.
Artist Arezu’s art has been inspired by the 19th century representations of the female form. Husein Al-Mohasen draws inspiration from Arab poetry. Halim Al Karim uses photography as his chosen medium and innovations in digitization allowed the artist to develop his illusionary technique.
Algerian artist Yazid Oulab uses video installations, drawings and sculpture, trying to question the meaning of life, religion, family or cultural origin.
Challenging notions of beauty and ugliness, Sabhan Adam says: “The figures I paint have so many things in common with me – they look like me, they have the same head and the same Asian eyes as me. I draw myself with everything that exists inside – the sadness, the misery, the shocking things I have faced, the isolation, and the feeling of not belonging to this world.”
XVA Gallery is one of the leading galleries in the Middle East specialising in contemporary art from the Arab world, Iran, and the Subcontinent. Exhibitions focus on works by the region’s foremost artists as well as those emerging onto the scene.
For more information, please visit www.xvagallery.com
