Reflections and visions

Interview Julia Zaltzman Photograph Gallery Collectional

When it comes to Middle Eastern art, the hottest trend around is girl power, from works that embolden women to incredible female artists providing stepping-stones for younger generations. And Dubai’s Gallery Collectional is leading the charge.

OANA MARIA SOFRONIA Over the past 20 years, the enthusiasm for art from the Middle East has grown steadily. In 2013, prices for paintings by Fahr ElNizza Zeid began hitting the $3.6 million mark. The opening of Louvre Abu Dhabi in 2017, the continued success of Mathaf in Dohar, and major exhibitions of painters, such as Saloua Raouda Choucair, revealed a voracious appetite for art from the region. And not just any art, but creations at the hands of women. So, when Dubai’s first permanent collectible design gallery – Gallery Collectional – threw open its doors for the first time in November 2021 with an exclusive exhibition of Sabine Marcelis’ layered glass and mirror artworks, it felt like a natural evolution.

FRANK caught up with Catalina Ruiz Urquiola, creative director of Collectional, the design studio behind the gallery, and New Zealand-born, Netherlands-based artist Sabine Marcelis to learn more about the new space and the art showcased within.

Catalina Ruiz Urquiola

WHAT WAS THE INSPIRATION BEHIND COLLECTIONAL? Dubai’s design and art scenes have been building over the past five years and the approach to both has been maturing across the region. The growing number of art collectors in Dubai gave us the confidence to introduce something new to the market and allow the art collectors, as well as aesthetes, to not only gain access to some of the most exciting new collectible design pieces, but also be able to collect design pieces that have been commissioned with the region in mind. Our long-term aim is to work with local and regional designers, providing international exposure and championing regional collectible design in the design capitals of the world.

HOW DOES GALLERY COLLECTIONAL DIFFER FROM OTHER GALLERY SPACES? We’re Dubai’s - and the region’s - only permanent collectible design gallery; that’s the first differentiator. We also commission exclusive pieces by designers that are specifically inspired by, and created for, the region. We also see collectible design as a category that can enter the digital realm of Web 3.0, which is the focus of our next exhibition.

HOW DO YOU SELECT WHICH ARTISTS TO EXHIBIT? For me, the process is intuitive. Together with the gallery’s founder Cristiano Baccianti, we have a clear, shared vision for the aesthetics and ideas that we want Gallery Collectional to represent. We are always seeking innovative materials, unexpected forms and new applications of physical designs.

WHAT WAS THE BRIEF FOR THE WORK COMMISSIONED FROM SABINE MARCELIS? Our collaboration with Sabine came about organically, through conversations and sharing ideas. We asked Sabine to create new works inspired by Dubai and to explore other materials. This was achieved by combining light, color and mirror in the Mirage pieces.

WHAT EXCITES YOU ABOUT THE MIDDLE EASTERN ART SCENE TODAY? The Middle Eastern art scene has been established for several years, but what’s very exciting is the new design scene, especially the new addition of collectible design and pieces that sit at the nexus of design and art. When it comes to trends, the region is exploring possibilities of local materials and is reflecting on its own culture, through contemporary, visual interpretations.

WHAT NEW COMMISSIONS/EXHIBITS DO YOU HAVE IN THE PIPELINE? We are currently planning our second exhibition which will launch in March 2022 and see design objects through a digital lens.

OANA MARIA SOFRONIA, REMI MANSOUR