Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Dubai and Malaysia

Well, SHAME ON ME!  I have been mightily absent from this blog!  The Celebration of Fine Art proved to be ve,ry busy, and when that was over, the grandkids came for a week, and now I am in Malaysia for 3 weeks!  Between the time difference, travel complexities, and visiting relatives I am barely concious.  Add to this that my computer finally gave up the ghost and I am dependant on Syed's largesse to use his.  We're shopping for a new one.  Shopping.  I hate shopping.  But my goal this year is to learn how to load pics onto my computer so I can keep more up to date. 

Meanwhile, a couple of notes about our trip.  We were in Dubai just long enough to cover about 1/3 of the galleries, trying to get a handle on the art scene there.  It's varied, though there are also many galleries specializing in regional art of the Middle East.  On the other side, we spent a lot of time at the Cuadro Gallery which was showing a wide range of international artists -  Some very exciting work by a Mexican woman, Betsabee Romero (show was entitled "Lagrimas negras" - done with recycled tires as printing tool on fabric and paper.  Riyadh Meama's exhibit, "Wall in a Moment", at the Courtyard Gallery are beautifully painted images of children done in black, white and ochre with touches of reds. Reza Aramesh from London has an exhibit entitled "Between the Eys and the Object Falls a Shadow...", photography (and this is done with a large format camera...NO digital work) juxtaposing re-staged photographic scenes from current news events onto classical English interiors, creating much questioning, discussion and wonderings about realities. One of the most intellectually agressive shows was at 1X1 Gallery, an installation by Inian artist Chittrovanu Mazumdar.  Using huge industrial  materials, he constructed a wide range of "books" enclosing various senses and emotions, allowing them to be seen or not seen by means of electronically controlled openings and closings.  Another installation by the same artist is a group of very large photos documenting a length of time of one square metre of land in Mumbai (I think).  We saw mostly art that was more about intellectual, psychological and emotional processes and processing than about decoration. The conversations inherent between artist and viewer concerned matters of universal concern.  I barely slept that night.

 More on Malaysia later.  Be well.  Be concious.