“The Contemporaries,” the first physical art show by virtual art gallery Muasserun, is now up at the recently opened Riverside pop-up space in Sin al-Fil.
The group show gathers eight Arab artists from Lebanon, Syria and Jordan, displaying 56 framed artworks of different media and about 50 works on paper.
“The show aims to highlight each of the artists’ worlds, wandering between Raouf Rifai’s ‘Darwishes,’ Semaan Khawam’s ‘Birdman’ series and reflecting on Benoit Debbane’s doodlings,” Muasserun Director Myriam Sioufi said.
Founded in 2014, Muasserun is a curated online art platform displaying the works of contemporary Arab artists from across the world. Its mission is to offer affordable art - between $150 and $4,000 - by well-known or emerging Arab artists.
“Our aim is to reach out to young collectors and art enthusiasts striving to start their art collection, or just to own valuable artworks at affordable price,” Sioufi said. “The idea is to trigger the necessity to invest in art from the Arab world.”
Works on show include “Hobb Beirut,” a pink neon sign in Arabic, placed at the beginning of the exhibition to welcome people in. It’s created by LAMBA, a neon art design studio in Amman seeking to resurrect the funky pop culture of the ’80s.
“[We’re] trying to establish a conversation between all these artworks and their artists, hopping from Samir Tamari’s abstract art to Ghaleb Hawila’s street art ‘Yaftas,’” Sioufi said. “[Hawila] works with the concept of protest and did a series of three pieces of street art with protest chants in the images.
“Khawam’s ‘Birdman’ series includes about 15 works on canvas,” she added. “He depicts birds in different shapes and forms and tries in all the scenarios to set the bird free.
“It’s very melancholic and he’s lost a leg during the Civil War and now has a wooden leg,” she said, “and I see a lot of wood in his pieces and think it’s related.”
Muasserun hopes this exhibition will be the first of many future pop-ups, using it as a test to set the ground for bigger art projects in the future, using Riverside as the location.
“We have been thinking of bringing Muasserun outside our virtual walls for a long time, we were searching for a raw and vibrant location that can bring justice to the displayed artwork in a simple way,” Sioufi said. “Riverside is developing this pop-up space to host artistic and cultural events. In addition to be a beautiful space, the team is extremely supportive.”
This article has been adapted from its original source.
