Khawla Art Gallery presents I Am Not a Chair. Am I a Fox?, a solo exhibition by the Lebanese‑Emirati artist Noura Ali‑Ramahi, on display until 18 March 2026. The show’s intriguing title reflects its core exploration of identity, perception, and the fluidity of form. It invites visitors to question the fixed categories and assumptions we often apply to ourselves and the world around us. The exhibited works challenge rigid definitions and blur the boundaries between form, instinct, and imagination, prompting a dialogue between what we are, how we see, and how we might be seen.
The show anchors itself in themes of transformation and ambiguity, where symbolic elements, such as the chair and the fox, act as metaphors for psychological states and lived experience. The chair, often a symbol of stillness, containment, or everyday function, is juxtaposed with the figure of the fox, a creature associated with wildness, adaptability, and instinct. Viewers are encouraged to reconsider what constitutes identity beyond literal or conventional forms.
About the artist
Noura Ali‑Ramahi (b. 1976, Beirut) is a self‑taught artist of Lebanese origin based in Abu Dhabi. Her artistic journey began in the early 1990s during her high school years in Dubai, where she explored drawing, charcoal, silk painting, and later, clay pottery painting during her university studies in Beirut. Over the decades, her work has evolved through a multitude of media, from abstract painting and collage to experimental material works, marked by a rich emotional and conceptual depth.
Ali‑Ramahi often infuses her artworks with motifs that reflect memory, emotion, and the human condition. Human figures frequently emerge from her abstract compositions. In recent years, animal figures, particularly the fox she encountered near her home on the morning of her birthday, whom she named Blue, have become recurring symbols. They embody movement, intuition, and survival, in contrast to static or inert forms like the chair. Ali‑Ramahi’s practice balances introspection with broader social and existential inquiries, making her work both personally resonant and universally evocative.
She has showcased her art pieces in various exhibitions across the UAE, including Rhapsody (solo) (N2N Gallery, Abu Dhabi, 2019); CONTEMPORARY VENICE – ITSLIQUID International Art Show (the Palazzo Ca’ Zanardi, Venice, Italy, 2017); and Plastic (Tashkeel Studio, Dubai, 2020), among others. Her art forms part of private and corporate collections locally and internationally.
To get more information about “I Am Not a Chair. Am I a Fox?”, please go to the official web page of the exhibition.
In addition, you might be interested in visiting Poetry of Birds at L’ÉCOLE Middle East and Shifted Diagonal by Ruslan Gudiev.
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