For thousands of years the sea has dominated the daily life of the inhabitants of this part of the world. From the fish that formed the staple diet to the coral that created walls, the sea has given of its bounty, broadened horizons, enabled trade and taken its toll.
maritime uae pays homage to the influence of the maritime enviroment on diverse art forms, from the crafting of wood and palm fronds into boats to the sophistication of underwater photography.
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Abdullah Al Shehhi
Abdulla is a prominent player in the photographic movement within the UAE. He is The Secretary General of The Association of Emirates Photography and a member of The Arab Union of photographers. His work has been featured in countless publications and exhibitions including the Hamdan International Photography Award
Alexander Creswell
Creswell’s early years as the son of a diplomat instilled in him a love of travel and the observation of diverse cultures. Largely self taught he has become one of today’s most revered and collectible watercolour artists. He is noted above all else for his splendid series of commissions carried out for the British Royal Family. His artist-traveler lifestyle takes him literally all over the world but he is often drawn back to Oman and the UAE to record the fast disappearing evidence of, as he puts it, “past footsteps” Alexander’s paintings so vividly capture the light and atmosphere of the region. In his words “you have to really understand a place before you can expect to paint it convincingly.”
Farid Al Rais
Farid’s journey as an artist started in his early childhood. At an age when most children are trying to draw a person using straight lines and a circle he was already attempting to sketch people in three dimensions. His father also an artist has been a mentor and guide throughout his development. After joining university he stopped painting for five years, returning to it 2006. His first showing in a public gallery was in 2008. A winner of numerous prizes Farid is dedicated to depicting the rich culture of the UAE.
Jamal Abdul Rahim
Originally a Fisherman, Jamal always knew he was an artist. His totally untutored journey into the creative world allowed him the freedom to experiment, discover and on occasions stretch the boundaries of conventional image making. It was the world of printmaking that first engaged him,
Jamal’s modern touch, which is often applied in a seemingly random fashion, is only found in the most confident of artists. He is a master of the print-making process but a fine painter and draftsman too, often presenting a series of etchings or paintings in highly original book form. This physical but deep thinking artist is fast becoming recognized as an important player in the Middle Eastern art world.
John Gregson
John completed his education in Fine Art, with a First Class Honours Degree from Manchester Metropolitan University in 1971. A successful career in Arts Education followed until 1995, when he chose to concentrate on the development of his own work. A painter passionate for detail and accuracy his travels through the Middle East have resulted in some stunning paintings that play with scale and abstraction. John revels in making the ordinary special, creating large works out of small subject matter.
Julian Barrow
Julian was the first artist to ever exhibit at The Majlis Gallery. The oils of Dubai and its environs that Julian painted on his first trip to the area in 1978 have become collector’s items. He is a true traveler painter in the Orientalist Tradition. A highly esteemed artist who travels and exhibits worldwide his work is shown regularly at The Royal Academy and the Fine Art Society in London
Nawal Khoory
A graphic designer with a tendency to address social and cultural issues, Nawal is a 2008 graduate in Visual Communication from the American University of Sharjah; she has a passion for experimenting with different mediums and styles. Her love with printmaking, typography and conceptual graphic design has defined her method of working and made a huge impact in the way she personalizes her work. As an individual, she believes that art is not limited to one audience only, but should reach and touch on many issues. Her Family origins, in the old Al Fahedi Neighborhood of Dubai, form a strong influence on her subject matter, bringing the past into the future.
Maisoon Al Saleh
Maisoon is one of the youngest Emirati Artists and Entrepreneurs to be making a name globally. She graduated from Zayed University in January 2010 with a degree in Interior Design, Her first solo show in autumn of 2010 was in Maraya Art Center, Sharjah. Her work was recently included in the Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah and in Art Dubai. Her art has mixed the figurative and surreal with her concerns for the modern and the traditional Emirati culture. A dedicated artist Maisoon undertook a scuba diving course in order to explore underwater.
Maitha Bint Khaled
Maitha bint Khalid is an Emirati photographer that has used the language of light since an early age. She translates her thoughts and ideas through to photographs through her own perspective. The main theme of her photos is falconry and Emirati culture in general, she is well known for taking falcon photos. Maitha achieved a number of awards locally and internationally in addition to honors like; “The best Emirati photographer of 2011” in Emirates photography competition besides the Honor of “AFIAP” from FIAP “International federation of Artistic photography”. She has also displayed her work in several national and international exhibitions. Her main aim is to spread the Emirati culture and traditions through photos to the world.
Mohammed Al Astad
Mohammed graduated in Graphic Design from the American University in Washington in 1987.
The ensuing years have seen him at the forefront of the UAE’s developing art movement. He has participated in over 300 joint and 20 solo exhibitions. A master of many genres Mohammed has more recently been pursuing his intriguing “art grave” series, a unique harnessing of the actual movement of the sea to create imagery articulated by the artists but formed by the action of the tide on canvases buried with their iron companions for anything up to 3 weeks.
Michael Chaikin
Michael originally trained as and became a hospital doctor. A desire for a more creative lifestyle eventually took him to Richmond adult education sculpture classes. This in turn led to him undertaking a sculpture degree. His knowledge of the internal workings of humans was invaluable in his kinetic studies of fish. These fish have guts and move in a fishy way. His recent trips to the UAE have seen him studying the inhabitants of these shores up close and personal. An enormous shark dominated his last show.
Nawal Khoory
A graphic designer with a tendency to address social and cultural issues, Nawal is a 2008 graduate in Visual Communication from the American University of Sharjah; she has a passion for experimenting with different mediums and styles. Her love with printmaking, typography and conceptual graphic design has defined her method of working and made a huge impact in the way she personalizes her work. As an individual, she believes that art is not limited to one audience only, but should reach and touch on many issues. Her Family origins, in the old Al Fahedi Neighborhood of Dubai, form a strong influence on her subject matter, bringing the past into the future.
Patrick Lichfield
Patrick , The Earl of Lichfield, a first cousin of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, was educated at Harrow and the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, after which he served for several years as an officer in the Grenadier Guards. In 1960 he inherited his grandfather’s earldom and, soon after left the army and became a photographer. Patrick Lichfield’s photography has spanned more than four decades of change. His iconic images, from the early 1960s to the present day include notable personalities and events that characterized their times. He visited the UAE many times towards the end of his life. His book Dubai A City Portrait contains many images inspired by the areas rich maritime environment
Richard was born in the UK but has lived in the UAE for the past 20 years. His photographic skills were formed at an early age, when given a Zorki 4K , Russian Range Finder camera by his father. He has a passion for simplicity, and finds beauty in the simplest of objects. His maritime photographs in sepia are stylish contemporary images, demonstrating the historic relevance of the sea and its environs within the UAE.
Ronald Codrai OBE
1924-2000
Ronald Codrai was born in the Indian Himalayas in July 1924, and served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. In 1946 he was posted to Cairo, from where he travelled to many parts of the Arab World. He later joined an oil consortium and moved to what was then known as the Trucial States, now the UAE. A talented and enthusiastic photographer, with a superb eye for composition , Codrai amassed a collection of thousands of images in his spare time, many of which have been published or exhibited. He is the author and photographer of the six volumes of An Arabian Album and One Second in the Arab World
Shamsa Al Maktoum
Shamsa is a 21 year old Emirati who graduated with a bachelor in Visual Arts from Zayed University. Her interest in art started as a young child but was developed at Latifa School for girls where she did her GCSE and AS Level. Her passion towards the sea stems from the times spent with her father in or on the ocean, these idyllic days made her even more curious about what is out there or more accurately in there. Her ceramics sculptures are inspired by the soft and hard corals that exist in the waters of the UAE showing slight change and movement from once piece to another. Shamsa is passionate about raising awareness of environmental issues through her art practice.
Trevor Waugh
Trevor studied at the Slade School of Fine Art from 1970 to 1974, amongst his tutors were Sir William Coldstream and David Hockney. He graduated with a BA in Fine Arts. Alison Collins, the founder of The Majlis Gallery and Trevor first met in 1995 when she invited him to be an artist in residence at The Majlis Gallery. He took to the Middle East straightaway and was out painting on his first morning in Dubai. These early paintings focused on the amazing variation to the light values through the day. Many visits have ensued since, resulting in an abundance of sketches, watercolours, oils and more recently books.
Sir Wilfred Thesiger CBE, DSO
1910-2003
Described as “the quintessential English explorer” and “the last, and certainly one of the greatest, of the British travellers,” Sir Wilfred was born at the British Legation in Addis Ababa and spent his first nine years in Abyssinia, a country utterly remote from the modern world. Spurred on by a desire for adventure, Thesiger set out to define his life by action. During the 1940s, he travelled with the Bedu in the Arabian Peninsula, becoming one of the first Europeans to negotiate the Empty Quarter (Rub al-Khali), the most forbidding region of Arabia, which he crossed twice. His motive for the crossing was not to reap glory, but to share the hardship of the life of the Bedu and to earn their comradeship. Travelling with him was his trusty camera with which he recorded many stunning images of life as it was in those times. He became a true friend of His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan