Face to Face with Kuwait Art Collectors
From the determined Kuwaiti horticulturist who has over a hundred pieces of artwork depicting chickens, to the Sheikha who got an artist to calligraph an entire room around her Andy Warhol print, the passion of Kuwait’s art collectors knows no bounds. There are too few walls in their homes for their artwork, too few Kuwaiti artists working hard enough, is what almost all say.
At the Contemporary Art Platform (CAP) we hope to make such discussions communal. The Face to Face show summarizes the collecting patterns and passions of Kuwaiti art collectors, helping young artists to understand the high standards and meticulous eye that they should hope to satisfy.
The organization of the show reflects the threads that connect the artists, art professionals and art collectors of Kuwait to one another. Upon entering we are in the future: a place where Kuwaiti art collectors have big stock in the contemporary art marketplace, obtaining important, iconic pieces with high value and artistic merit. Moving further into the future is the CAP screening room, where seemingly magical techniques, such as Youssef Nabil’s hand-colored silver gelatin prints and Korean artist Sunbo’s nostalgic work on glass are displayed in the hopes of inspiring artists to experiment further and further with their work.
We pay homage to the past with our room of modern master painters, including Hrair, Marwan Kassab Baachi, Paul Guiragossian, and Fateh Moudarres. The skillful execution of these works belies the ability of Arab artists to reconcile their inner and outer selves—vividly depicting self and community via heightened self- awareness and confident, painterly strokes. The room of Kuwaiti art makes us come face to face with our present. Our contemporary fine artists are masters of color, recognized for their ability to tackle difficult subjects with beauty and grace.
If the walls could speak, they would agree that Kuwait’s art collectors have impeccable taste. Kuwait’s art collectors are widely traveled and have a deep sense of self, for they are constantly identifying their own emotions with those of artists. We hope you will join them in coming Face to Face: with yourself, with other art lovers, and with the raw potential of the Contemporary Art Platform.
FEATURED ART COLLECTORS:
Contemporary Art Platform Collection
Mr. and Mrs. Khaled Al-Asfour
Mr. and Mrs. Mohammed Al-Fraih
Mr. Abdul Mehsin and Mrs. Hutaf Al-Homaizi
Sheikh Mubarak Al-Sabah
Sheikha Paula Al-Sabah
Fatina Al-Sayed
Tarek and Farida Al-Sultan
Lucia Topalian
Several Private Collectors
FEATURED ARTISTS:
Fadhel Al-Abbar (b. 1946, Kuwait)
Thuraya Al-Baqsami (b. 1952, Kuwait)
Samira Alikhanzadeh (b. 1967, Iran)
Ghadah Alkandari (b. 1969, India)
Khazaal Al-Qafas (b. 1944, Kuwait)
Ghazwan Allaf (b. 1973, Syria)
Fateh Al Moudarres (b. 1922, Syria)
Aziz Al Mudhaf (b. 1990, Kuwait)
Ahmed Alsoudani (b. 1975, Iraq)
Shurooq Amin (b. 1967, Kuwait)
Chant Avedissian (b. 1951, Egypt)
Marwan Kassab Bachi (b. 1964, Syria)
Banksy (b. circa 1970, United Kingdom)
Beejoir (b. 1979, UK)
Amira Behbehani (b. 1964, Kuwait)
Joe Black (b. ?, UK)
Mr. Brainwash (b. 1965, France)
Safwan Dahoul (b. 1961, Syria)
Salvador Dali (1904-89)
Hrair Diarbekirian (b. ?, Lebanon)
Jassem Bou Hamed (b. 1946, Kuwait)
Lalla Essaydi (b. 1956, Morocco)
Kareem El Quirty (b. 1982, Egypt)
Vincent Fournier (b. 1970, Burkina Faso)
Paul Guiragossian (b. 1926, Jerusalem)
Ramin Haerizadeh (b. 1975, Iran)
Adam Henein (b. 1929, Egypt)
Damien Hirst (b.1965, UK)
Louay Kayyali (1934 – 1978, Syria)
George Lewis (b. 1977, UK)
Hussein Madi (b. 1938, Lebanon)
Aziz Al Mudhaf (b. 1990, Kuwait)
Youssef Nabil (b.1972, Egypt)
Shirin Neshat (b. 1957, Iran) completed
Willy Rizzo (b. 1928, Italy)
Abdul Rasool Salman (b. ?, Kuwait)
Sara Shamma (b. 1975, Syria)
Flip Schulke (1930 – 2008, USA)
Judith Supine (b. ? , USA)
Andy Warhol (1928 – 1987, USA)
Kimiko Yoshida (b. 1963, Japan)
Russell Young (b. 1960, UK)
Curated/organized by Liane Al-Ghusain
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