SPIRITED BREEDS

 

A photographic exhibition under the gracious

Patronage of  Her Highness Sheikha Hissa bint Sultan

bin Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

 

Limited edition equine photogravure etchings

and large format archival prints of exotic species by 

International Photographer Astrid Harrisson.

 

21st JANUARY – 17th FEBRUARY 2017
, 10am – 6pm  


Astrid’s vision is simple and clear for all who view her bold yet graceful portraits of animals. She presents compassion and empathy for her subjects, her talents behind the lens perhaps playing second-place to the sense of nostalgia she evokes with her intimate studies and the simplicity with which she presents them.

Astrid’s powerful imagery appeals to a global audience, her fine art prints now held by private collectors around the world. During 2010 and 2011 Astrid began to develop a global following during the documenting of over seventy of the world’s most important breeds of horse in order to illustrate iconic book title The Majesty of the Horse, written by Tamsin Pickeral and published globally in 2012.

Her Highness Sheikha Hissa bint Sultan bin Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan recognizes Astrid’s rare and remarkable talent to capture the spirit and beauty of horses and is proud to put this collection at the forefront of her artistic Patronage.

Sheikha Hissa, an Arabian Horse Breeder and lover of the arts, has a life-long background in the horse world as well as an interest and education in the arts. Since meeting Astrid she has become a fond supporter of her work – in particular her collection of etchings.

Astrid’s skill lies in her ability to capture the exterior physical beauty as well as the ethereal inner beauty of the horse through the artistry of her images”.  Sheikha Hissa.

Click here to see the Portfolio

December is a busy month at The Majlis Gallery

Our big room is full of

New works from our New Orientalists. John R Harris, Trevor Waugh, Martin Giesen, Spencer Tart, Paul Wadsworth and many others. We are also introducing a collection of fabulous oil paintings by Faramarz Mokhtarpour.

10-60x90_resized_2-600pxMountain Spring oil on canvas 90 x 60 by Faramarz Mokhtarpour

To make room for this show we have moved our Art Shack Bargains into the front room.
Great fun to be had in here !

Nick Bashall will be working on commissions in his studio

Nick Bashall is no stranger to Dubai, he lived and worked here in the late 80’s and early  90’s both as a lawyer and a painter. It is as the latter that most people remember him especially for the many charismatic family portraits he completed in both charcoal and oil. 

Sitting for a Portrait
Is not as intimidating as it sounds in fact it is a rather cathartic experience. Nick builds from the structure up, the image literally emerges from the paper or canvas. Anticedents as well as descendants appear during the process with the finished portrait being something that goes deeper than a pure likeness.

Prices for a head and Shoulders
Charcoal     Dhms
Child          7,500 
Adult        12,750

Oil
Child        21,000
Adult        37,000

He will also be giving workshops on 12-13-14 December, 10am to 4pm

These will replicate the typical short overview course he has taught for years in England, using the teaching techniques that were employed by art schools in the late nineteenth and first half of the twentieth century,  before such teaching was almost entirely abandoned in Europe. Instruction will be in the following basic principles that underlie all drawing and painting from life: 650 Dhms Per Day including a light lunch.

Day One:  Proportion, Line, Volume and Movement

Day Two:  Dark and light

Day Three: Colour

To book a course or commission a portrait call Alison Collins on 050 4503853

All this plus some unique gifts for every pocket, from hand blocked scarves made in Jaipur to silver jewellry from the Sahara and beautifully presented silk spice squares made in the UAE. 

The Majlis Gallery is a wonderful place to bring family and friends, a place to browse in peace and tranquility away from the hurly burly of the shopping malls.

We look forward to welcoming you.

Intimate Objects from Saturday 15th of October

The Majlis Gallery is the place for anything Fine Art related. An oasis of tranquility but buzzing with creativity.
Small is beautiful, from our earliest years we learn to collect little things that catch our eyes. A shell, an acorn, feathers, stones, as we grow older this intuitive habit never leaves us. That is what this exhibition Intimate Objects all about. Small intimate eye catching tactile objects that are just asking to be added to your collection.
We have brought together small works from, amongst others, Patricia Millns, Peter Hayes, Carole Grace, Hans Loots, Mustafa Ali, Lynette ten krooden, Junko Yamamoto and Sanna Swatt.

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Peter Hayes           –           Carole Grace          –           Patricia Millns

The School Of Paris -12th, March – 28th, April

From 1900 until about 1940, Paris was a thriving center of artistic activity that provided unparalleled conditions for the exchange of creative ideas. A wave of artists of all nationalities gravitated to the French capital and fostered an inspiring climate of imaginative cross-creativity. Because of the enormous influx of non-French artists living and working in Paris, a loosely defined affiliation developed referred to as the School of Paris. The international activity associated with this group in Paris was initially concentrated in Montmartre but subsequently moved to Montparnasse in the early 1910s. Focusing on conventional subjects such as portraiture, figure studies, landscapes, cityscapes, and still lifes, artists of the School of Paris employed a diversity of styles and techniques including the bold, dynamic colors of Fauvism the revolutionary methods of Cubism the animated qualities of Expressionism, and the private worlds of Surrealism.  Amongst these artists were Picasso, Braque, Miro, Matisse, Chagall and Dali. The War years of 1939-45 saw many of them moving to America and England  where they continued to influence the next generation of radical artists such as Bacon and Litchenstein

This exciting exhibition curated by Niall and Christina Fairhead features 51 Original works from all the major School of Paris Artists. All works are for sale and guaranteed genuine

Download – The School of Paris Catalogue

Al Fahidi Festival – The New Orientalists

We would like to introduce you to ALFF.      

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ALFF personifies everything that is

The Al Fahidi Historic Neighbour Hood

A Creative Fun Cultural Hub right by Dubai’s Iconic Creek and Traditional Souks

Opening on Saturday 6th of February from 10am -10 pm 

will see all the Creative Companies

in the neighbourhood mounting new exhibitions,

the numerous cafes offering special menus

and  the various museums welcoming visitors through their doors.

The Majlis Gallery’s contribution to the Festival is 

The New Orientalists

A group show of new work from over 20 of our major artists 

We look forward to welcoming you to ALFF

alff1

alff2“Orientalism” is widely used in art to refer to the works of the many, mostly European,19th-century artists, who specialized in “Oriental” subjects. They travelled mainly as addendums to larger groups of archeologists, scientists, traders and explorers. hired initially in these pre photography days to record the sights and general exotica of the Levant eventually travelling onward into the Middle and Far East.

The “lone” traveller painters of the early nineteenth century were often accompanied by an entourage of servants to carry bags and equipment, many of them such as John Frederick Lewis and Jean Leon Gerome set up homes in Cairo immersing themselves in the heat, the light and the eroticism of a culture far removed from the climate of Northern Europe. Paintings by Lewis, Gerome, Ingres. Delacroix and many others were a regular feature of the Salon Exhibitions in Paris from 1847 and from 1894 onwards an annual exhibition of Orientalist painters took place in Paris greatly influencing the younger artists of the day.

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The great David Roberts was instrumental in opening the eyes of Victorian England to the epic architecture and vast vistas of The Holy Land, Syria, Arabia, Egypt and Nubia but  by the turn of the century interest in things Oriental was in decline however  in the last quarter of the 20th century Orientalist painting soared in value spurred on by “oil money” coming into the art market.

Works produced in the first half of the 20th century were usually attributed to official war artists such as Henry Lamb or to those working more with a camera than a brush such as Wilfred Thesiger and Ronald Codrai. They were among the first of a new generation of Orientalist artists for whom the changing face of The Middle East as it moved from the mystical to the masterful is still a subject of great visual interest.

alff3The early works of many of the artists in this exhibition are already of great historical importance. Paintings from before the camel track moved down the Al Ain road before the Souk and the Bastakia were restored, when Jumeira Beach was wild and goats roamed the  streets of Bur Dubai.
These artists are just one more step in the long tradition of Orientalism and in time will be equally collectable.

From Highly Contemporary to Downright Romantic there is something for everyone in this great exhibition

The Golden Year – Lynette Ten Krooden

” Looking  back through the mind files of my 60 years as a lonely traveller of this earth, this place  we call HOME, has left me speechless on many occasions, no less now.

Since training as an artist and archaeologist, I have been fascinated with the earth, its formations and the ever changing eco systems which mankind might influence, but never completely destroy or alter. Gaia will always rejuvenate herself…she only needs Time on her side. In the words of Carl Sagan We are a mere tiny blip on a tiny dot  in the vast universe out there and after we have left, Gaia will again go back to restore.

I always say that we should carry a compass on our arms for direction, because we cannot do anything about the universal systems of Time and Space. We are only visitors here; Gaia tolerates us, nurtures us, and gives us the wonderful opportunity to experience her micro and macro cosmos.

Travelling for many years over the deserts, mountains, forests and waters of Africa and The Middle East has made me acutely aware of the erosion and ever-changing evolution of our planet. Rainforests are disappearing; deserts are expanding, even noticeable from the window of a commercial aircraft.

The future of our fragile existence on this planet depends on how humanity deals with the nexus of energy and economics. The essence of  past lives, existing based on breathing and concentrating sunlight, is our legacy. Remembering the miracle of transformation   might make mankind aware of our fragile existence and our engine of consumption.”

Lynette Ten Krooden 2015

It has been a joy to be a part of Lynettes journey over the last 20 years. Her philosophies, humanity and incredible talent have enriched the lives of so many in so many corners of this fragile world of ours. We are proud to call her a colleague and a friend

Happy Golden Year Lynette

Alison Collins 2015

More…

Udaybhanu – Hues and Barks

Opening 24th- October until 26th- November.

Who said Fauvism or Impressionism is restricted to paintings and never makes it presence felt in photography, or photography lasts only for a glimpse, with nothing to delve beyond that, and who was it that instead a story cannot be delineated with a few abstract clicks of a photographer, or good photographs are those that undergo makeovers with the click of graphic software. Udaybhanu, who calls himself an environmental activist, is in a sole resolve to rewrite such preconceived myths about photography. This artist, who has an eye for the extraordinary, is leaving no stone unturned when he scurries about to narrate the heart-wrenching story of a tree. The series ‘Hues and Barks’ is nothing but spellbinding art captured with an implacable mind that doesn’t compromise on mediocrity. It takes a few minutes for you to come to terms with the fact that Udaybhanu’s pictures are no abstract art but photographs that resemble paintings in more way than one.

Trees sacrificed their lives for us bipeds long before we were called Hominids. They provided food, shelter, clothes and fire to light up the dawn of civilization. Later they gave papyrus and charcoal to write their own story.

Nature had been signing itself on tree trunks even earlier with a biological time signature. These growth rings carved the biorhythms of the earth. The high degree of seasonal temperatures, rainfalls, and other climatic changes were fossilized in living trees talking to us down the millennia.

View Udaybhanu Portfolio

 

The Beauty of Imperfection

Jo Kearney is a photographer with a difference. Through her eyes, details of the ordinary become extraordinary.

The Beauty of Imperfection opens our eyes to the abstraction and romance of something familiar to us all.
The Dhows on Dubai Creek.

These wooden trading boats have long been associated with the Arabian Gulf Peeling paint, old ropes, rusting nails, tide marks all tell a tale of tradition and hard work.

Opening Day

Saturday 23rd of May from 10am-6pm 

Please join us and revisit Dubai’s Creek for yourself

Jo will be here here throughout the day

Jo’s work is affordable, ranging from AED390 to AED930.

They make great gifts and mementos of life in Dubai.

Click here to See Her Portfolio

The Art of Sculpture

Sculpture has been part of mankind’s world from prehistory to the present day. The story is populated by extraordinary artists, most until the Renaissance period sadly anonymous. Their creative and technical skills have given civilization an abundance of three dimensional art at every scale. Marble, stone and bronze were the favoured materials and are still the most durable and technically challenging of media

Opening on Saturday 14th-March as our contribution to Art Season.

The Art of Sculpture

Brings together the work of Contemporary Sculptors
Cristiano Alviti, Denise Dutton, Hannes Loots,  Jamal Abdul Rahim, Judith Holmes Drewry,
Karel Zijlstra, Lloyd Le Blanc,  Michael Chaikin,  Mustafa Ali, Sanna Swart
A full portfolio of all their work with the gallery is always available on our website
Pieces can also be commissioned

Click Here For Full Catalogue
Click Here For Full Price List

Eastern Fragrance by Louis Jansen van Vuuren

Opening on 29th Nov. 2014 and running through out December

we continue the celebrations of our 25th year with this exciting exhibition.

Louis Jansen van Vuuren is a world renowned artist who has exhibited extensively in major cities around the globe, including Londen, Paris, New York, Sydney, Miami, Washington, Monte Carlo, Johannesburg and Cape Town.

This is his first solo exhibition in Dubai.

While exploring his familiar themes of interior/exterior views through a window, often focusing on exotic architecture and foreign destinations to which he has travelled, Jansen van Vuuren turns his attention in this exhibition to the subject of the enchanted garden, contrasting the visually evocative elements of Ottoman patternmaking with images of fragrant flowers and exotic ripe fruit.

While Jansen van Vuuren usually focuses on pastel this solo exhibition will include a number of oils. Several of the pieces are executed on a gesso-ground which gives the works an ancient fresco-like quality.

“I paint because I have no other choice, it is part of my vocabulary, and it is part of my language as a communicating being. I paint to describe what I see and what I feel and what I think about. Art and life are intimately linked. Inseparable.”

Click here to see The Complete Portfolio