Combs, (2016) By Hassan Sharif (All Photos By Gail)
We were first introduced to the suspended sculptures and assemblage art of Hassan Sharif in the exhibit Here and Elsewhere at the New Museum back in 2014. Right now, Alexander Gray Associates is hosting a exhibit of Sharif’s recent work, featuring sculptures and woven assemblages. Recognized as a pioneer of conceptual art and experimental practice in the United Arab Emirates over the past four decades, Sharif has transgressed traditional frameworks for art making by extending his practice to performance, installation, drawing, painting, and assemblage that integrates ordinary objects as the primary medium. The tapestry-like works in this exhibition are conceptually linked by their relationship with the human body and social structures. Continue reading New Works By Hassan Sharif at Alexander Gray Associates→
One of my favorite pieces from the Here and Elsewhere, group exhibit currently up at the New Museum of Contemporary Art is a mixed media installation called Qalandia 2087 by Palestinian artist Wafa Hourani.
Qalandia 2087 fills nearly an entire gallery at the museum and is lots of fun to explore while contemplating the political and sociological ramifications of the piece, especially considering what is going on in that part of the world at this very moment in time.
Here is some information I found on the piece at Nadour Dot Org:
Built from cardboard boxes and archive photographs, Qalandia 2087(2009) is the third and last part of a series of installations by Wafa Hourani.
The artist reproduced, as an architectural model, one of main check-points and Palestinian refugee camps. Located in the north of Jerusalem, Qalandia constitutes, since 1949, Ramallah’s entrance and the exit point, dividing the country on its western bank.
Hourani was interested in this particular place in the Palestinian history, because of its proximity with its own airport, transformed into military base during the Israeli occupation. This paradox of a territory, initially connected to the rest of the world and now a place for Palestinian isolation, illustrates the politico-social reality of the country.
In Qalandia 2087, the artist proposes a futuristic vision of this place, a hundred years after the first Intifada. Contrary to the first two pieces in the series, which presented an apocalyptic vision of Qalandia – a hundred years after the exodus Palestinian for Qalandia 2047(2006) and a hundred years after the six day old war for Qalandia 2067 (2008), the last version evokes the future of Palestine on the basis of political Utopia.
The question of the occupation of a given territory is no longer relevant, the main concern is now integration. The wall, which originally divided space between the check-point and the refugee camp, has been replaced by a mirror facade.
Qalandia Airport has also retrieved its initial function as a civil airport, while the check-point has become a place reserved for public speech. Life seems to win again.
Racing cars, airline planes, whimsically shaped TV aerials, a coffee terrace and a swimming pool transform the refugee camp into a space where communication and social links become possible again. The new party, “The Mirror,” has just won the elections and is sending each Palestinian back to their history by inviting them to take part in the construction of a better future.
— Vérane Pina
Translated by Valérie Vivancos
Here and Elsewhere is on Exhibit Through September 28th, 2014, at the New Museum of Contemporary Art, located at 235 Bowery (at Prince street) in Soho, NYC.
The above pictured sculpture, Suspended Objects (2011) was created by artist Hassan Sharif from countless long strands made up of multi-colored yarns, fishing line, twine, string and wire, tied together and also wrapped around bits of plastic, foam and other found objects. It’s super colorful and reminds me of a big Jellyfish.
Suspended Objects is part of the Here and Elsewhere group show now on exhibit at the New Museum of Contemporary Art, previously discussed in this post, so click that link for more information!
Suspended Objects (Detail)
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These tiny collages, drawings and mixed-media works all represented on Match Boxes are part of the series called Omri (My Life) by Moroccan artist Mohamed Larbi Rahhali.
Omri is included in Here and Elsewhere, the comprehensive group exhibit currently inhabiting The New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York City.
Here and Elsewhere is a major exhibition of contemporary art from and about the Arab world, and brings together more than forty-five artists from over fifteen countries.
These photos capture just a fraction of the hundreds of Match Boxes in Mohamed Larbi Rahhali‘s piece, and the work is still ongoing.
Watch for more posts featuring art from Here and Elsewhere on The Gig in the upcoming week.
Here and Elsewhere is on Exhibit Through September 28th, 2014, at the New Museum of Contemporary Art, located at 235 Bowery (at Prince street) in Soho, NYC.
