Portfolio
Hamad and Ali, two artists with a vision to explore the limits of concepts and design from around the world. With one mission, to launch a new perspective and understanding bringing these designs in the form of art and creative consultancy at your service.
EXHIBITIONS
Corniche Event Gallery
Kuwait Marina Hotel
Sultan Gallery
Athar Gallery
Joint show with Syrian
Reminiscing Kuwait
Harmony
Jeddah
artist Sara Shamma
December 2007
December 2008
Harmony Remix
May 2007
February 2010
EXHIBI
ITIONS
Omar Al Shareef
Harmony Exibition Athar Gallery - Jeddah February 2010
Monalisa
Harmony Exibition Athar Gallery - Jeddah February 2010
Hind Rustom
Harmony Exibition Athar Gallery - Jeddah February 2010
Abdul Haleem
Harmony Exibition Athar Gallery - Jeddah February 2010
Fayrouz
Harmony Exibition Athar Gallery - Jeddah February 2010
Um Kulthoum
Harmony Exibition Athar Gallery - Jeddah February 2010
Asmahan
Harmony Exibition Athar Gallery - Jeddah February 2010
Umm Kulthoum
Harmony Exibition Sultan Gallery December 2008
Sufi
Harmony Exibition Sultan Gallery December 2008
Asmahan
Harmony Exibition Sultan Gallery December 2008
fairouz
Harmony Exibition Sultan Gallery December 2008
Fatin Hamama
Harmony Exibition Sultan Gallery December 2008
Mahmood Al Kuwaiti
Harmony Exibition Sultan Gallery December 2008
Rushdi Abadha
Harmony Exibition Sultan Gallery December 2008
Vimto
Harmony Exibition Sultan Gallery December 2008
Hind Rustom
Harmony Exibition Sultan Gallery December 2008
Abdul Haleem Hafiz
Harmony Exibition Sultan Gallery December 2008
Reminiscing Kuwait
Reminiscing Kuwait
Reminiscing Kuwait Exibition Marina Hotel Kuwait December 2007
Reminiscing Kuwait
Reminiscing Kuwait Exibition Marina Hotel Kuwait December 2007
Reminiscing Kuwait
Reminiscing Kuwait Exibition Marina Hotel Kuwait December 2007
Reminiscing Kuwait
Reminiscing Kuwait Exibition Marina Hotel Kuwait December 2007
Reminiscing Kuwait
Reminiscing Kuwait Exibition Marina Hotel Kuwait December 2007
Reminiscing Kuwait
Reminiscing Kuwait Exibition Marina Hotel Kuwait December 2007
Reminiscing Kuwait
Reminiscing Kuwait Exibition Marina Hotel Kuwait December 2007
Reminiscing Kuwait
Reminiscing Kuwait
Reminiscing Kuwait Exibition Marina Hotel Kuwait December 2007
Reminiscing Kuwait
Reminiscing Kuwait Exibition Marina Hotel Kuwait December 2007
Reminiscing Kuwait
Reminiscing Kuwait Exibition Marina Hotel Kuwait December 2007
Hind Rustom
Umm Kulthoum
Corniche Event Gallerh Kuwait March 2007
fairouz
Corniche Event Gallerh Kuwait March 2007
Beduin Beauty
Corniche Event Gallerh Kuwait March 2007
COMISS
SIONED
Asmahan
Horse
Um Kulthoum
Royal Aviation Kuwait April 2008
Sawwah Restaurant Kuwait April 2009
Hamburger Union Restaurant Kuwait September 2008
IN THE
PRESS
Bazaar Magazine Kuwait April 2007
Clientele Magazine Bahrain October 2008
Clientele Magazine Bahrain October 2008
Bazaar Magazine Kuwait February 2008
Men’s Passion Magazine Kuwait November 2008
Hamad Al Saab & Ali Sultan Pop Artists
pop art Function: noun Usage: often capitalized P&A Date: 1957 : art in which commonplace objects (as road signs, hamburgers, comic strips, or soup cans) are used as subject matter and are often physically incorporated in the work - pop artist noun often capitalized P
I thought that might be a useful place to begin. For Hamad Al Saab and Ali Sultan I could just as well have searched my dictionary definitions for them as interior designers or graphic artists and introduced them to you in this way, rather than only as pop artists. Some days it appears possible to move around Kuwait and find that almost everybody one meets is an ‘artist’. An ‘artist’. Why? Because they own a few brushes and have spread paint across a canvas to the fawning delight of their friends and family? Surely it takes more than this to become an artist. Look at the artists of days gone by. Such was their skill and passion that their lives were consumed with the creation of objects of beauty. Many were created without a practical reason to exist other than that of aesthetics alone, while others would combine beauty with a purpose. Perhaps, as I discovered, this is closer to the work of Hamad and Ali.
Hamad Al Saab
Their apparent broad range of work opens them up to the question how they define themselves. Hamad recalls an interview at the time of the first public exhibition of their work, “We were asked where our limits were in regard to our artwork, how far did we feel we could go with it. I often think back to that question. Since that time we have moved to media, to interiors to furniture”, and further to a wide range of not overtly ‘arty’ fields, “but to this day when I look back I see that everything we do in a creative way and through artists eyes”. You’ll see their work around Kuwait and the region more than you realize. I have to admit a familial interest here - it was Hamad and Ali that worked on the concept and style of Men’s Passion magazine prior to its launch in 2007 and for a full year after. Although no longer involved with the magazine they still
photos courtesy of Tahani Al-Ayoub
It true that both are artists in the purest sense of the word - in that they possess talent and have a clear way of expressing this through traditional work. That they have very skillfully taken this to another, and very 21st Century, level speaks highly of the importance they see in exploiting the tools available to today’s artists in realizing their creations.
Ali Sultan
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regard it as one of the projects to give them greatest professional satisfaction. As Ali says, “We regarded this as our baby. We got involved in many aspects of the magazine, more than just the concept, and in this sense it was typical of other projects”. Hamad continues “Most of our commercial work is like that, we take a very personal attitude to it, and wherever we see we can add [artistic] value, we do. We take it personally, we fall in love with the project - and that is when we become creative”.
Men’s Passion Magazine Kuwait November 2008
make people stop, look, and think about that object for perhaps the very first time in their lives”, he continued.
The partnership will always consciously seek an opportunity to find a more holistic approach to their creative work - be it corporate identities, interior designs, and also their artwork. We’ll
Although the pop art movement emerged in the United States as far back as the 1950s, many people do not consider pop art as a ‘serious’ art form. Despite this, pieces by some highly regarded and internationally collectable artists can sell for vast sums of money. “Pop art is valued as a ‘fun’ art form,” they say, “but a lot of people don’t understand the work processes involved in creating these pieces”. I contend that I don’t need to know how an Aston Martin is made in order to be able to drive it. Hamad and Ali make a fair point in responding, “but you do know that it is hand-
discover later how Hamad and Ali have even decided that the commercial success of their art can have other positive side effects on the community too.
made using the very finest materials and craftsmanship. And you do know how to appreciate that. We need to educate people to appreciate what goes in to creating a piece of pop art.”
Without doubt though, Hamad and Ali’s better-known public face is seen at their art exhibitions. Pop art exhibitions.
Many people when they think of pop art think of Photoshop. Clearly Hamad and Ali’s work, whilst on the whole (but not entirely) digital, relies on far more than that. These are not the artists with a brush and a canvas being fawned over by their family. These are the artists consumed by the possibilities their skills, when combined with the right tools, allow them to reach.
From the time they began working together in 2005 they have persisted in pushing the limits of (at least commercial) acceptability in Kuwait. Their work, whilst it doesn’t re-invent the pop art genre in any way, does explore the viability and taste levels of this part of the Arab world when considering past or present cultural and social icons. With more traditional art fields there are clear and defined rules some things work, and other things don’t. We know the reasons why, and whilst it is worth pushing hard against certain doors, it is clear that others will never open so we move along. Where pop art is concerned “these boundaries don’t exist, and because nothing we create is hand drawn, we find we can experiment with endless techniques and infinite possibilities”, says Ali. “What we aim to do is to put something on a canvas which is very familiar to everyone. But we’ll do it in such a way that it will
“The music we are listening too now”, it is some quite acceptable jazz-based funk, “was part created on a computer not so different from the one that we all have at home these days - but no one says “that’s easy, I know how you do that, I might as well just do it myself”, instead you appreciate it as a whole”. What is behind successful pop art is the technique with which the tools are used. Even then, with Hamad and Ali’s work, each canvas is hand-finished, and as a result no two pieces are the same. Whenever art or creativity is discussed in this part of the world, invariably the question of censorship arises. Interestingly though,
the typical answer is not what anyone from outside the region would expect - in that rather than blatant state-led censorship, it can more fairly be termed ‘self-censorship’ or perhaps less submissively put we’ll call it ‘sensitivity’. Hamad and Ali use even this to inspire their work. Ali - “Here you have to be more creative. We find we are more challenged to do something which is accepted by society”. It is a challenge they willingly accept, even if it proves a little frustrating at times. What of the future? Whilst in these past few years they have built a sizeable client (commercial work) and collector (pop art) base,
they have recently opened a commercial office in Dubai. Alongside this there is an exhibition of their art planned for Qatar. Now, what of their intention that their art should find a life in benefitting the local community? Their forthcoming show, entitled ‘Harmony’ and inspired by the depth of talent iin the music industry both past and present, will generate funds for the world-renowned Mencap programme which is now available in Kuwait, its first country within the Middle East region. “Everything Mencap does is about valuing and supporting people with a learning disbility. It is hoped that our contribution will make a valuable difference to the lives of these children and their carers”, said Hamad. Don’t misunderstand; this is no ‘charity’ sale. Whilst the exhibition will feature their latest works, some of which are featured on these pages, this is a cause that they both feel passionate about. This gesture, in its simplest sense, is typical of these artists as men. The mere act of ‘creating’ is not enough. For them it will always be about more. ‘Harmony’, at The Sultan Gallery, Subhan, Kuwait, 16 (opening 6pm) - 18 December, telephone: 2471 4325
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Men’s Passion Magazine Kuwait November 2008
Umkalthoum from the ‘Harmony’ exhibition by: Ahmad Al Saab & Ali Sultan
+965 97160011 • www.hamadandali.com