Random Urbis. A visual transformation of Kuwaiti urban landscapes and local places in unusual prospective.
AL M Gallery presents an exhibition of one of the most talented Kuwaiti artist Fadhel Sulaiman Al Abbar. Fadhel Al Abbar is an artist well known for his large-scale wooden sculpture in many occasions and numerous exhibitions has demonstrated his artistic potential in different fields such as music, landscape architecture, bronze, stone and ice sculptures. His powerful, expressive style in paintings and drawings makes him an important historical figure of Kuwaiti art scene. He loved art since his childhood.The first and main impact that signed his long contract with art is happened in 1960 when he was a student of high school in Shuwaikh. In one of the hand craft classes he made several wooden sculptures of birds and some of them were exhibited at school for the whole year. Others sculptures were used as examples in various schools in Kuwait. Later In 1964 he traveled to the U.SA to study engineering, but it was only beginning his art formation in the USA and then in Holland for many years, where he held several succesful exhibitions presenting his paintings and sculptures.
Exhibition RANDOM URBIS - is a visual transformation of Kuwaiti urban landscapes and local places in unusual prospective. The city we live, the mosque we see passing in the car, old streets we walking – - the world is incredibly complex and always changing, staged as the big performance, transformed to be tell in a new story by artist as multitude of nuanced color plays on canvases. The artist see urban space that is more then simple concentration of buildings but composition of many corners, facades and shapes. Exhibition include 21 masterful vibrant paintings among them latest works as well as some of his early works executed in 60’s and 80’s. If in his early works we find evident domination of geometric construction and influence of cubism without any reference to human presence, in his latest works we see almost lyrical and delicate reflection about our everyday life and connection with metropolis. Smooth radiant effects on his paintings achieved perhaps through the listening of classical music durng his work. Love for music pushed Fadhel Al Abbar in 1978 to take piano. He studied piano for two years with the teacher Slovak pianist Pavol Kovac. His dynamic vision of rebuilding urban space is remarkable for his individualistic approach as a landscape architect, was applied for the projects of urban gardens he realized for Kuwait Municipality between 1969 and 1978 and his major achievement was the Kuwait Waterfront Project Metropolis we know filled with noise, traffic, concrete and technology appears in his paintings - harmonious, calm and trascend maintaining typical vibrancy of Kuwait neighborhood. It is not a first time when artists devoted their attention to depict a city, in these paintings Fadhel paints an intimate story of the Man and the City. Just few figures with long shadows in which a viewer can recognise himself.
AL M. Gallery
Salhia Complex, Mezanine 2, Gate 4, Place 16 - Kuwait
Saturday-Thursday 10am-10pm