Written Images by Sundaram Tagore Gallery

WRITTEN

IM AGES

C ON TE M P O RA RY C A L L I GRA P H Y F RO M T H E M I DDLE E AST

GA LL E R Y

MISSION

Established in 2000, Sundaram Tagore Gallery is devoted to examining the exchange of ideas between Western and non-Western cultures. We focus on developing exhibitions and hosting not-for-profit events that encourage spiritual, social and aesthetic dialogues. In a world where communication is instant and cultures are colliding and melding as never before, our goal is to provide venues for art that transcend boundaries of all sorts. With alliances across the globe, our interest in cross-cultural exchange extends beyond the visual arts into many other disciplines, including poetry, literature, performance art, film and music.

new york â&#x20AC;˘ beverly hills â&#x20AC;˘ hong kong â&#x20AC;˘ singapore

WRITTEN

IM AGES

by Karin von Roques

rabic calligraphy in its aesthetic and thematic complexity is still little known outside the Middle East. All too often it is viewed as an art form that belongs to classical Islamic art and thus to the past. But calligraphy occupies an important place in contemporary Arab and Iranian art. In many cultures of writing, there was, even early on, a desire for script to have an aesthetic component. Writing was supposed to be given a special form because the written word was also meant to convey an aesthetic impression. Writing, in addition to its semantic task, has an aesthetic function. It is not only text to be read, but also form and image. The essence of calligraphy is to aesthetically organize the pictorial meaning of the script. When the Quran was revealed to the prophet Muhammad in classical Arabic in the seventh century, it was initially circulated mostly orally. Its poetic language and its particular rhythm were created for such recitation. The written version of the Quran attempted to do justice to the flawless language of God with a perfect script. In less than a hundred years, writing, in the form of written images, developed into one of the first art forms.

One characteristic of traditional calligraphy is that it follows strictly defined rules. The mastery of the different writing styles required knowledge of these rules as well as years of practice. Over the centuries, calligraphers created new styles every once in a while, but they were always moving within the traditionally defined boundaries. The calligraphers did not regard themselves as artists as we understand that term in contemporary terms. Only with detachment from these strict rules did the transformation of writing into anything other than words begin. With the advent of modernism in the nineteenth century, calligraphers increasingly discovered the iconographic opportunities of their art. The growing interdependence between Europe and the Orient in the wake of economic interests and colonial policy was followed by mutual influence within the arts. In Europe, abstract art was discovered; in the Orient, artists encountered figurative painting. Artists in Europe, such as Eugène Delacroix, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Paul Klee and August Macke, were inspired by the Orient and merged ideas derived from their explorations of it into their works.

Left: Chaouki Chamoun, In the Beginning Was the Search for Word, 2011, acrylic on canvas, 63 x 59 inches

Arab and Iranian artists came to Europe to study at the art academies. They initially were focused on Western art but soon found their unique visual language. In the process of this struggle for an autonomous artistic statement, the question of their cultural identity increasingly came to the fore. Inspired by European art movements such as Cubism, stimulated by Georges Braque, Joan Miró and Antoni Tàpies, who all used writing in their works, many Arab and Iranian artists returned to calligraphy. By putting calligraphy in the context of contemporary art and using it as a means of expressing their artistic ideas, these artists attempted to reflect their roots and cultural identity.

Calligraphy by modern and contemporary artists is no longer about the continuation of a tradition. Artists such as the Iranians Charles Hossein Zenderoudi and Mohammad Ehsai, the Iraqi Dia Azzawi, or the Tunisian Nja Mahdaoui were the first to deal with writing from a new perspective and re-position calligraphy. They expanded the potential of writing until it became the approximation of an image—until it became an image. Many artists are now no longer interested in reproducing a word or text in a readable form or in a particular writing style. Writing is conceived as a pictorial element, as a formal element, and is put in a wide variety of contexts— religious, social, political and personal. Nja Mahdaoui, born in 1937 in Tunis, was one of the first to discover the artistic possibilities offered by calligraphy outside established rules and styles. He gained notoriety in the 1960s, at a time when North African artists returned to calligraphy and discovered it as a new art form. Mahdaoui was intensively engaged with the morphology of Arabic letters. He was particularly interested in the formal aspects and visual statement and less so in the meaning of the written word. Of his ideas, he once said: “The use of fragments of letters or symbols in my work is due to my instinctive rejection of the transfiguration of the value of characters.

In calligraphy, the written letters acquire a symbolic status which they maintain until they carry a significance. But as soon as the letter loses its contours, the reader is bound to resort to his imagination in order to decode and reach the meaning of the word. With regards to representation and contextualisation, the work is such that it ignores the aesthetic effect of the piece of art. Unconscious reactions and instinctive repulsions are behind this effect.” In an effort to blaze a new path within calligraphy, some artists, including Hassan Massoudy from Iraq, use writing implements other than the classic qalam (quill). Massoudy selects poems and aphorisms that he writes at the bottom edge of a sheet using a brush or spatula. From these, he chooses individual, central words to be introduced into a monumental creation. In this manner, he gives words, originally written horizontally, a vertical dimension, and gives them a new meaning and aesthetic effect. At the same time, he creates an image that is meaningful on its own, detached from the text. The Iranian Golnaz Fathi uses the classic qalam, although she does not use it to write on paper but on large canvases. The evident hard work visible on her canvases is, in fact, far more than that. Fathi, who underwent training in classical calligraphy, often practiced the various structures of the Arabic alphabet up to eight hours a day. From years of such practice, the rhythm of writing has been inscribed into her; the rhythmic movement of her hand, which now moves with quill on canvas, has retained a reminiscence of tradition. Her works stand out in their simplicity and minimalist rigor. When it comes to the content of their paintings, many artists refer to their traditions as well. They incorporate knowledge about the symbolic, formal, musical and religious origins of Arabic letters and forms of writing into their work. The sacred origin of calligraphy has prompted Islamic mystics to attach complex meaning to the letters. For example, each

of the twenty-eight Arabic letters has a numerical value, and letters are also initials of sacred names. Letters take on lives of their own—they are used as metaphors and each letter contains certain powers and knowledge. The symbolism of the letters was developed in the circles of mysticism in a kind of Kabbalistic science and is common knowledge.

systems. It was one of their methods of creating geometrical patterns.” However, the artist did not just want to use Arabic letters in a system or follow the rules of Islamic geometry. She was really searching for new codes. “I wanted to create new ciphers for Arabic characters, with geometrical patterns and the word combined to form a whole.”

Letter combinations begin twenty-nine of the surahs (chapters) in the Quran. For instance, Alif Lam Mim at the beginning of surah 2 and surahs 29 to 32, or Taha at the beginning of surah 20. In an effort to explain these letter combinations, Muslim thinkers have developed a complex system of relations and combinations. Mystics and poets too liked to ponder the relationship between the letters or the written word and their hidden meanings. The mystics were especially inspired by alif (Latin A). Since alif is the first letter of the word Allah, it is the divine letter per se. Alif is also the first letter in Adam, the first man, and in Iblis, the devil. Hence, for many mystics, the letter alif contains the whole mythology. Alif is also connected to the idea that, just as everything comes from God who created Adam in His image, the letters come from alif, which corresponds to man (and resembles a standing man with its vertical form), who was created in His image.

A majority of Qatari painter Ali Hassan’s work is variations on the Arabic letter nun (Latin N). Choosing this individual letter from the Arabic alphabet was not arbitrary: The letter nun has a connection to surah 68, titled Nun wa al-qalam (N and the quill), which, as the artist knows, can be interpreted in different ways, and explores the question of purpose and destiny of mankind.

Such knowledge is taken into account by artists such as Lulwah Al-Homoud, a native of Saudi Arabia, the Qatari Ali Hassan and Egyptian-born Ahmed Moustafa. The Infinite Cube by Lulwah Al-Homoud is the result of mathematical research by the artist. It is based on the Vedic square. She was inspired to do this research by a quote from the Ikhwân al-Safâ’ (The Brethren of Purity) from the eleventh century. Lulwah Al-Homoud explains: “This inspired me to do my research on numerals and then I came across the Vedic square, a multiplication table based on a mathematical model of the universe. Muslims have integrated this Northern Indian system into their own synthesis of old

Egyptian-born Ahmed Moustafa is interested in the origin and scientific basis for the shapes of Arabic letters. He conducted a scientific study on the proportional system, which was developed in the tenth century by the calligrapher Ibn Muqlah and his successor Ibn al-Bawwab, and wrote his doctoral thesis on this topic. Inspired by the Kaaba in Mecca and the 99 names of Allah, he devoted further research to the relationship between the shape of the cube and the number 99. He wrote an essay titled “The Geometrical Cosmos of Arabic Numerals” on the Arabic number system, in which he illustrates that the Pythagorean proportion principles, used in music and the visual arts and known as the Golden Ratio in the Renaissance, are also used with Arabic numerals. His artistic works, which are characterized by a deep religiosity, are based on his findings. Syrian-born Khaled Al-Saa’i dealt with Arabic letters, their shapes, their symbolic, religious and musical roots early on. His work is influenced by the variety of meanings that he encountered in his studies, as well as the formal possibilities of different writing styles. He seeks to transform the meaning of poems or impressions from his many travels into visual art.

To reproduce his impressions of nature, he selects the style of writing that best corresponds to them, such as Thuluth or Diwani (two styles of Arabic script). Again, readability isn’t a concern. Khaled Al-Saa’i does not write letters or words in a straight line, nor does he arrange them horizontally, as would be customary, but writes them in an imaginary space, so to speak. In European art, geometric shapes are often used to express abstract content; Khaled Al-Saa’i exploits the possibilities of Arabic script and allows it to become abstract characters so as to visualize abstract content.

Religion and spirituality are often a part of the works of contemporary Middle Eastern artists. In the West, which is largely secular, it is sometimes difficult to understand that religion occupies an important place in people’s lives. In Islamic societies, the exercise of faith is common and partly shapes the routines of everyday life. Images that work with writing may express worship of the Creator, awe of creation, the act of creation, the mystery of God who cannot be represented, who cannot be conceived. The abstract form of letters is used to render the invisible visible. Religious references in the broadest sense—using writing as a pictorial element—are found in the idiosyncratic and remarkable works by the Saudi artist Dr. Ahmed Mater, who is a medical doctor working at a hospital in southern Saudi Arabia. As a physician, he deals with human suffering and with healing. Therefore, he has long grappled with life’s ethical and spiritual questions. One of his series of works focuses on humans: He uses radiographs and treats them like pages of the Quran, embellishing them with the classical technique of illumination. In so doing, he presents man in a complex context of meaning. The skeleton is part of the body, and it is what remains after death. To illuminate is a reference to giving light and is a metaphor for the essence of religious content and meaning. In many of Mater’s works, we find the word waqf, which he broadly defines as charity, compassion, and with which he thus produces a reference to the central message of all religions.

Numbers and spiritual content also take center stage in the work of Algerian artist Rachid Koraïchi. They are directly related to each other, thus supporting the message of the work. The eight works in Ibn Ata Allah Al Iskandar are dedicated to one of the Islamic mystics, a saint or a charismatic person. The number eight matters as much as the presentation does. Rachid Koraïchi was inspired not only by Arabic, but also by Chinese and Japanese calligraphy and developed his own unique fonts and characters. Koraïchi tried diverse materials and has discovered sculpture as his favorite medium. He, too, explored the 99 names of Allah in an artistic way and created ninety-nine sculptures, which he displayed as installations at exhibitions in different contexts. An important element of his sculptural works is the rhythm of light and shadow, which is assigned metaphysical references. Koraïchi’s work is infused by the ethos of Sufism, the mystical aspect of Islam. Some artists create works in which traditional calligraphy remains palpable. Other artists have developed concepts in which calligraphy, in the traditional sense, is only secondary. In works of this type, writing is often used minimalistically in abstract ways, as in the compositions of Hakim Ghazali, who was born in Morocco. He was taught the art of writing by the famed calligrapher Ahmed Al Haj before studying art and design in France, but his main focus was on combining text and abstract painting. His particular passion was the traditional North African writing style of Maghribi, which is found in many of his works. His work is captivating in its simplicity, in the reduction of color, in the economy with which he puts letters or characters in his paintings. He, too, plays with the contextual meanings of Arabic letters. To marry calligraphy and painting was also the intention of Qatari artist Yousef Ahmad. In his early works, he used, in addition to calligraphy, typical elements of Islamic art, such as arabesque or geometric shapes. The legibility of letters, words and text in his works, however, played an increasingly minor role. Playing with forms, experimenting, and the use of unusual colors and materials, came to the fore.

Collage proved to be an appropriate means to achieve certain aesthetic effects (the artist manufactures his collage materials himself using palm tree leaves). Words and letters are only recognizable thanks to their forms and are detached from their meaning. In his latest works, poems often play a role. The emotions the poems trigger in the artist take center stage. Ahmad visualizes those emotions in the arrangement of the words and choice of color. The Syrian Ahmad Moualla, like many of the artists in this exhibition, started from classical calligraphy, but then turned to free painting, creating large canvases covered with expressive, sometimes socially critical, themes. He never lost sight of his interest in calligraphy as a visual tool. He explores the relationship between painting and calligraphy and how to get visual results in an artistic exploration of these two disciplines—how to make this process with all its traditional and cultural references visible. He aims to transcend the graphic and decorative boundaries of Arabic script, to pick up the rhythm of Arabic calligraphy and to convert it, with painterly possibilities, into a new aesthetic. In the process of creating his canvases, the painter, metaphorically speaking, meets the calligrapher. As a painter, he applies layers of paint; as a calligrapher, he adds letters and words. Colors and lettering are layered on top of one another, penetrating, approaching, uniting or canceling each other out. The legibility or non-readability of the words and text passages becomes a game. What is important is the resulting visual aesthetic. By bringing together some of the most important artists in the Middle East, this exhibition aims to show what happens when writing becomes a visual language and, as a consequence, a picture. It gives insight into the importance of writing in contemporary Arab and Iranian art. Calligraphy is part of the cultural background of the artists in this exhibition, who with their varied works, illustrate a process that, in the words of Ahmad Moualla, “wants to resurrect Oriental art in modern art.”

Karin von Roques is a noted German curator and art historian specializing in contemporary Arab and Iranian art. She is an authority on the Middle East and its culture and has garnered much praise for exhibitions on modern calligraphy of the Arab world. From 1997 to 2000 she was director of the Hermann Hesse Museum in Lugano, Switzerland. She has curated exhibitions for numerous institutions, including the Museum of Applied Arts, Frankfurt; Kunstmuseum Bonn; Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris; and the Cultural Foundation, Abu Dhabi. She has had extensive experience developing Arab art collections and currently oversees Deutsche Bank’s collection program focused on contemporary Arab art. She is also a curator of Arab and Iranian artists for the famed porcelain maker Meissen and a consultant to Sotheby’s, London, advising the Modern and Contemporary Arab and Iranian Art Department. —Translated from German by Barbara Wagner

Ahmed

Moustafa

Night Journey and Ascension, 2011, Iris print on fine art cotton canvas, 72 x 88 inches

Chaouki

Chamoun

The Apocalypse III, 2009, acrylic on canvas, 55 x 55 inches

Khaled

Al-Saaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;i

About Paradise II, 2011, acrylic on canvas, 82.7 x 35.4 inches

Golnaz

Fathi

Untitled, 2011, pen on canvas, satin varnish, 47.2 x 47.2 inches

Golnaz

Fathi

Untitled, 2011, pen on canvas, satin varnish, 47.2 x 47.2 inches

Nja

Mahdaoui

Jorf, 2009, India ink and acrylic on canvas, 78.7 x 39.4 inches

Lulwah

Al-Homoud

The Infinite Cube (Blue), silkscreen on paper, 46.8 x 35.6 inches

Hakim

Ghazali

Untitled, 2005, mixed media on canvas, 59.1 x 59.1 inches

Ali

Hassan

Noon IV, 2009, mixed media on canvas, 70.75 x 78.75 inches

Georges

Fikry

Ibrahim

The Carriage of the Farmer, 2006, mixed media on paper, 93.3 x 133.9 inches

Ahmed

Mater

Tholoth Mashq Illumination, 2011, gold leaf, tea, pomegranate, Dupont Chinese ink and offset x-ray film print on paper, 60 x 40 inches

Hassan

Massoudy

Untitled, 2008, ink and pigment on paper, 29.5 x 21.7 inches

Hassan

Massoudy

Unititled, 1997, ink and pigment on paper, 29.5 x 21.7 inches

Golnaz

Fathi

Untitled, 2006, acrylic and pen on canvas, 39.4 x 70.9 inches

Ayman

Semary

Deepening Quiet, 2008, acrylic, acrylic oxides on canvas, 59 x 59 inches

Rachid

Kora誰chi

Ibn Ata Allah Al Iskandar, 2009, lithographs (set of eight), 57 x 73 inches

Yousef

Ahmad

Untitled, 2009, thread, varnish, paint and paper on canvas, 71 x 71 inches

Ali

Hassan

Untitled, mixed media on canvas, 70.9 x 70.9 inches

Ahmad

Moualla

Untitled, 2010, acrylic on canvas, 23.6 x 78.7 inches

THE

ARTISTS

YOUSEF

AHMAD/ QATAR/ p.37

The work of Yousef Ahmad, born in 1955, is in the permanent collections of the Contemporary Arab Art Museum, Damascus; the Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC; the International Museum of Engravings, Asilah, Morocco; the Hiroshima Museum, Japan; The Jordanian Museum for Modern Arts, Amman; the Islamic Studies Centre, Istanbul; the Ministry of Information and Culture, Doha; the Sharjah Art Museum, United Arab Emirates; the Kindah Institute, Riyadh; and the Shoman Institute, Amman. His work is also included in the private collections of the German Bank, Riyadh; and the Qatar International Bank. Ahmad has exhibited in galleries and cultural venues around the world, including the Qatar International Exhibition Centre, Doha; the Kuwait Biennale; Sundaram Tagore Gallery, New York and Beverly Hills; and the Metropolitan Gallery, Barcelona.

LULWAH

AL-HOMOUD/ SAUDI

ARABIA/ p.20

Lulwah Al-Homoud’s work is included in the permanent collections of the Greenbox Museum, Amsterdam; the Jeju Museum of Art, South Korea; Athr Gallery, Saudi Arabia; Al Markhiya Gallery, Qatar; as well as the Abdul Latif Jameel Co. Ltd., Saudi Arabia. She has exhibited in galleries and museums around the world, including the Shanghai Duolun Museum of Modern Art; Musée du Montparnasse, Paris; the SOAS Brunei Gallery, University of London; and Sundaram Tagore Gallery, New York.

KHALED

AL-SAA’I/ SYRIA/ p.15

Khaled Al Saa'i has exhibited his work in numerous museums, galleries and cultural centers around the world, including the San Pedro Museum of Art, Puebla, Mexico; the Sharjah Art Museum, United Arab Emirates; the University of Michigan Museum of Art; the National Museum of Art, Damascus; the National Museum of Syria; Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris; the French Cultural Centre, Damascus; and Sundaram Tagore Gallery, New York and Beverly Hills. He is the recipient of many prestigious awards, including the Modern Calligraphy Prize from the Sharjah Art Museum Audio Visual Art Exhibition; First Prize of Diwany Jaly in the 7th International Competition of Calligraphy, sponsored by the Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture, Istanbul; and he placed second in Classic Calligraphy at the 2nd Biennial of Calligraphy, Sharjah.

CHAOUKI

CHAMOUN/ LEBANON/ pp.4,13

Chaouki Chamoun has exhibited work in numerous solo and group exhibitions around the world, including at the United Nations Plaza, New York; the National Museum, Kuwait; the Rochester Museum, Rochester, New York; Sursock Museum, Beirut; Sundaram Tagore Gallery, New York; Platform International, Washington DC; and the Karami International Exhibition Center, Tripoli, Lebanon.

AYMAN

SEMARY/ EGYPT/ p.33

Ayman El Semary, born in 1965, has work in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art, Cairo. He has exhibited in galleries, museums and international biennials around the world, including Kunstmuseum Bonn, Germany; the Venice Biennale, Italy; the International Dubrovnik Biennial, Croatia; Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Egypt; the Palace of Art, Cairo; Sundaram Tagore Gallery, New York and Beverly Hills; and the Egyptian Academy in Rome. His work has garnered awards from notable venues, such as the Alexandria Biennial, Egypt; and the International Dubrovnik Biennial, Croatia.

GOLNAZ

FATHI/ IRAN/ pp.16,17,31

Golnaz Fathi, born in 1972, has works in the permanent collections of the Brighton & Hove Museum, England; Carnegie Mellon University, Doha; the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur; The Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore; the British Museum, London; the Devi Art Foundation, New Delhi; and The Farjam Collection, Dubai. She has exhibited in galleries and cultural centers around the world, including the October Gallery, London; Sundaram Tagore Gallery, New York and Hong Kong; and Art Forum of Wiesbaden, Germany. In 2011, she was named one of the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders Honorees.

HAKIM

GHAZALI/ MOROCCO/ p.21

Hakim Ghazali, born in 1963, has exhibited in numerous solo and group exhibitions around the world. In 2005, Linotype chose one of his fonts as winner of its first Arabic Typeface Design Competition. In 2007, he was awarded the prestigious Al Burda Prize, from the Abu Dhabi Ministry of Culture.

ALI

HASSAN/ QATAR/ pp.23,39

The work of Ali Hassan, born in 1956, is in the permanent collections of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; the British Museum, London; the Chuan Art Museum, China; Rochan Gallery Hall, Saudi Arabia; the Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts, Amman; the Modern Arabic Art Museum, Doha; the Sharjah Art Museum, United Arab Emirates; the Modern Graphic Museum, Cairo; the Research Center for Islamic History, Art and Culture, Istanbul; Qatar National Museum, Doha; The Hope & Loyalty Organization, UNISCO; and The GCC Kings and Presidents Headquarters, Kuwait. He has exhibited in galleries and biennials around the world, including at Sundaram Tagore Gallery, New York and Beverly Hills; the AG Art Gallery, London; and the Arabic Calligraphy Biennial, Sharjah.

GEORGES

FIKRY

IBRAHIM/ EGYPT/ p.24

Georges Fikry Ibrahim has exhibited in numerous solo and group exhibitions around the world, including Kunstmuseum Bonn, Germany; El Arousa, Ahmed Shawki Museum, Cairo; the Venice Biennale, Italy; Sundaram Tagore Gallery, New York; the American University in Cairo; Zamalek Arts Complex, Cairo; the International Cairo Biennale, Egypt; and the Egyptian Cultural Center in Rome.

RACHID

¨ KORAICHI/ ALGERIA/ p.34

Rachid Koraïchi, born in 1947, has work in the collections of Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, the Musée National des Arts and d’Afrique et d’Océanie, Institut du Monde Arabe, Bibliothèque Nationale and Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Paris; National Francophone Multimedia Library of Limoges, France; the Abbey of Notre-Dame d’Aiguebelle, Montjoyer, France; Jardin d’Orient, Château d’Amboise, France; the British Museum and the Museum of Mankind, London; Wereldmuseum Rotterdam, Netherlands; the Vatican Library, Rome; the Smithsonian Institution, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and the National Museum of African Art, Washington DC; Miami Art Museum, Florida; Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, New York; the Vesti Corporation, Boston; Museum of Contemporary Art, Caracas; Museum of Modern Art, Cairo; Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts, Amman; Museum of Modern Art, Tunis; Museum of Contemporary Art, Baghdad; The Khalid Shoman Foundation, Darat al-Funun, Amman; National Gallery, Kuwait City; National Library, Algiers; Archdiocese of Algiers; and Our Lady of Atlas Monastery of Tibhirine, Algeria.

NJA

MAHDAOUI/ TUNISIA/ p.19

The works of Nja Mahdaoui, born in 1937, are in the permanent collections of the British Museum, London; the National Museum of African Art and the Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC; Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha; Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris; the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur; Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris; Museum of Modern Art, Tunis; the National Museum of Scotland; Osaki O’ Art Museum of Tokyo; the National Museum of Modern Art, Baghdad; Beit Al Quran, Manama, Bahrain; and the Royal Museum of Contemporary Art, Amman. He has exhibited at many international galleries and cultural centers, including the Gutenberg Museum Mainz, Germany; Barbican Centre, London; and Sundaram Tagore Gallery, New York.

HASSAN

MASSOUDY/ IRAQ/ pp.28,29

Hassan Massoudy, born in 1944, has shown his work at The Kennedy Center, Washington DC; the British Museum, London; Musée d’Avranches, France; October Gallery, London; the Hunar Gallery, Dubai; Centre d’Art Contemporain, Abbaye de Trizay, France; Palais des Congrès, Grasse; and Sundaram Tagore Gallery, New York and Beverly Hills.

AHMED

MATER/ SAUDI

ARABIA/ p.27

Ahmed Mater, born in 1979, has had work exhibited at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; the British Museum, London; the SOAS Brunei Gallery, University of London; and the Venice Biennale, Italy, 2009 and 2011; the International Cairo Biennale, Egypt; Sundaram Tagore Gallery, New York; and The Vinyl Factory, London. Mater has lectured on the topic of art and calligraphy at many notable venues, including the Frieze Art Fair, London; the Louvre Museum; and the Open Art Forum at the Armory Show, New York.

AHMAD

MOUALLA/ SYRIA/ p.40

The works of Ahmad Moualla, born in 1958, are included in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Arab Art, Qatar; the British Museum, London; Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture & Heritage; as well as the private collections of Sheikh Sultan Sooud Al-Qassemi and Sheikha Paula Al Sabah. He has exhibited in galleries and cultural venues around the world, including the French Cultural Center, Damascus; the International Cairo Biennale, Egypt; Galerie Kashya Hildebrand, Zurich; and Sundaram Tagore Gallery, New York and Beverly Hills.

AHMED

MOUSTAFA/ EGYPT/ p.11

Ahmed Moustafa, born in 1943, has work in the British Museum, London; the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford; The Museum of Modern Arts, Alexandria; the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh; St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art, Glasgow; the Convention Centre Islamabad, Pakistan; the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome; the National Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo; and the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur. He has exhibited in galleries and cultural centers around the world, including Museu Diocesà, Barcelona; and Sundaram Tagore Gallery, New York. In 1997, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II commissioned him to create Where the Two Oceans Meet, which was presented to Pakistan to mark the country’s fiftieth anniversary. The Vatican also invited him to stage a retrospective exhibition, a first in the history of Christian-Islamic relations.

SUNDARAM new york new york beverly hills hong kong singapore

TAGORE

GALLERIES

547 West 27th Street, New York, NY 10001 • tel 212 677 4520 fax 212 677 4521• gallery@sundaramtagore.com 1100 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10028 • tel 212 288 2889 9606 South Santa Monica Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90210 • tel 310 278 4520 fax 310 278 4525 • beverlyhills@sundaramtagore.com 57-59 Hollywood Road, Central, Hong Kong • tel 852 2581 9678 fax 852 2581 9673 • hongkong@sundaramtagore.com #01-05 Gillman Barracks, 5 Lock Road, Singapore 108933 • tel 65 9771 0554 • singapore@sundaramtagore.com

President and curator: Sundaram Tagore Director, New York: Susan McCaffrey Director, Hong Kong: Faina Goldstein Designer: Russell Whitehead Printed in Hong Kong by CA Design

Art consultants: John Haas Teresa Kelley Joseph Lawrence Benjamin Rosenblatt Melanie Taylor

www.sundaramtagore.com Written Images was curated by Karin von Roques First published in Hong Kong in 2012 by Sundaram Tagore Gallery Text © 2011 Karin von Roques Images © 2012 Sundaram Tagore Gallery All rights reserved under international copyright conventions. No part of this catalogue may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any other information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. Cover: Golnaz Fathi, Untitled, 2006, acrylic and pen on canvas, 39.4 x 70.9 inches ISBN-13: 978-0-9839631-5-8