Evolving from a close examination of new and historical objects in the Sharjah Art Foundation Collection, the research-based project has assembled artworks on mediums such as paper, wood, sound and video that are examined in relation to contemporary drawing practices deeply rooted in centuries of Afro-Asian and Pacific history.
Growing out of this research project, the exhibition Drawing Time: Duets delves into the concept of the double, the pair, the rejoinder. Acts of repetition accumulate through a curated scenography, in which artistic duets—duos who dance and sing together, who, through the right dissonance or imperfect resonance, find themselves in a state of harmony—guide visitors across a century in time.
Through choreographed juxtapositions, the works reflect the purpose of line, movement, performance and gesture across multiple forms of media.
On view are works by 15 intergenerational artists, who conjure maps of colour and texture across pigment and paper, lines and marks on skin and screen, revealed through both animated and restrained movement, gestures that present a composite picture of what drawing is and could be.
The list of artists whose works are on display includes Amal Kenawy, Baya, Mounir Kanaan, Claudette Johnson, David Coloane, Edward Buterbrot, Farida Lashai, Hassan Sharif, Helen Khal, Ibrahim El-Salahi, Ibrahim Masouda, Kamala Ibrahim Ishaq, Kimathi Donkor, Omar Khairi, and Thester Gates.
Drawing Time: Duets is curated by Dr Omar Kholeif, Director of Collections and Senior Curator, with Souraya Kreidieh, Senior Collections Researcher and Spatial Designer, and Khalid Jaaffer, Curatorial Assistant, Sharjah Art Foundation.
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