Salsali Private Museum, Dubai, and Athr Gallery, Jeddah, are pleased to present a solo exhibition for artist Hazem Harb. Comprised of a series of new works, the exhibition opens on the 1st of March 2015.
Over the past few years Hazem Harb has developed a multifaceted practice, where he has worked with painting, video, drawing, sculpture and installation. His work pivots around examining and laying bare structures and apparatuses of power and hierarchies. Hazem has been preoccupied lately with questions around architecture and destruction: How and when does architecture cease to be an oppressive apparatus? How do certain architectural styles museumize a people? While other styles shelter others? How can sculpture counter architecture? How can sculpture be non-monumental? Questions that are posed throughout the exhibition to initiate a discussion. Curated by Lara Khaldi, the exhibition will include a new large body of work which Hazem has been engaged with over the past year. It will feature a new series of collages, where archival photographs of Palestine pre 1948 are juxtaposed with the heaviness of concrete blocks, wave breakers, lines, and black squares and rectangles.
Hazem combines a formal language with his research into Palestinian history and architecture, he attempts an aesthetic language based on the politics of form. The exhibition will also feature architectural models and sculptures, a series of projected sculptures and other major installations. In addition a series of short videos will be projected in the video room. A publication comprising Harb’s new collage series and contributions by writers and curators will accompany the exhibition.
Hazem Harb Bio
Born in 1980 in Gaza; Palestinian artist Hazem Harb currently lives between Rome, Italy and Dubai, UAE. Harb completed his MFA at The European Institute of Design, Rome, Italy in 2009. Some of Harb’s solo shows include: Al Baseera, Athr Gallery, Jeddah, 2014; I can imagine you without your home, Etemad Gallery, Dubai, UAE, 2012 ; Is this your first time in Gaza? The Mosaic Rooms, A.M. Qattan Foundation, London, UK, 2010; Burned Bodies, video installation, Città dell'Altra Economia Rome, Italy, 2008. He has also participated in numerous international group exhibitions some of which are: Made by War at the National Ethnorgraphic and Pre-historical Museum Luigi Pigorini, Rome, Italy, 2007; All that is Unknown at Al-Ma’mal Art Foundation for Contemporary Art, Jerusalem, Palestine, 2011; A Patch On My Evil Eye The Arab British Centre, London UK, 2010; A View From Inside, FotoFest Houston Biennial, 2014 and Sphere 6, Galleria Continua’s Le Moulin, France, 2013 and 2014. In 2015. He will be participating in Common Grounds curated by Verena Hein, Museum Villa Stuck, Munich 2015. Harb was awarded a residency at The Delfina Foundation, London; Cite des Arts, Paris and Satellite, Dubai. In 2008, he was shortlisted for the A.M Qattan Young Artist of The Year award. His work is in the collections of The British Museum, Sharjah Art Foundation, Centre Pompidou, The Oriental Museum - Durham University, Salsali Private Museum and Al Qattan Foundation among others.
Salsali Private Museum
The Salsali Private Museum (SPM), in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, is the first private museum in the region for contemporary Middle Eastern and international art. It was founded in November 2011 by Ramin Salsali, and is located in the industrial area of Al Quoz in Alserkal Avenue, a warehouse complex with the highest concentration of galleries and creative spaces in the region. The Salsali Private Museum considers its position as a cultural base and platform for new and established collectors and acts as a catalyst for creating a new generation of collectors.
Athr Gallery
Founded by Hamza Serafi and Mohammed Hafiz, Athr is a contemporary art project space and gallery which since 2009 has enabled artistic dialogue between contemporary artists across the world. Based in a 20,000 square feet/metric space in central Jeddah, Athr represents Middle Eastern and international artists, and encompasses spaces for creative experimentation as well as a visual arts bookshop and a terrace for outdoor presentations. It provides a creative environment for artists and showcases an exhibition schedule of international and Saudi contemporary art supported by extensive public programmes aimed at encouraging engagement with local audiences. Athr is currently developing a cultural exchange scheme with international artists and curators as part of its commitment to promoting cultural dialogue between Saudi Arabia and the rest of the world.
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