Jameel Arts Centre, Dubai’s contemporary art institution, has announced its diverse Spring 2020 programme, headlined by a major, two-floor exhibition, ‘Michael Rakowitz’ -- a comprehensive self-titled survey of work by the highly influential Iraqi-American artist, organised by Whitechapel Gallery, London, and Castello di Rivoli, Turin, in collaboration with Art Jameel. 

 

This is Michael Rakowitz’s first solo show in the Middle East and Asia. In May, following the current show by Sarah Abu Abdallah (through April 20), three new Artist’s Rooms open on the ground floor, featuring major works by Larissa Sansour, Taysir Batniji and Lawrence Abu Hamdan.

 

This Spring sees every site within Jameel Arts Centre activated by a particularly broad and timely programme: from architecture intervention ‘Follies’ in the desert gardens and immersive public works by major international artists Conrad Shawcross and Hassan Khan in the Sculpture Park, through to ceramicist Lubna Chowdhury in the Lobby and anthropologist Nathalie Peutz in the Library. 

A broad public, outdoor programme highlights the Arabic language, through music, poetry and podcasts.

 

One of the best-known and most influential artists of his generation, Michael Rakowitz draws on complex histories, politics and cultures to create highly charged, inspirational large-scale installations.

 

Organised by Whitechapel Gallery and Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea in collaboration with Art Jameel, this major survey exhibition features Rakowitz’s most significant projects from the past two decades; the eight multifaceted installations – in sculpture, drawing, film, sound and photography -- draw on architecture, cultural artefacts, cuisine and geopolitics. The exhibition is curated by Iwona Blazwick and Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev with Habda Rashid, Marianna Vecellio and Art Jameel’s Nora Razian.

 

Rakowitz’s installations involve extensive research and investigation. His works touch on a broad range of social issues, conflicts and the destruction of material heritage – from the failure of modernist architecture and the condemned dwellings of an Aboriginal community in Sydney through to the destruction of 6th-century statues by the Taliban, the collapse of Pan-Arabism, and the theft and destruction of thousands of archaeological artefacts in Iraq following the 2003 invasion.

 

Marking the artist’s debut solo show in Asia and the Middle East, the exhibition is accompanied by a large-scale print publication and a free-to-download Arabic e-book, and is complemented by a captivating and varied public programme for all ages. On March 14, Michael Rakowitz will be in-conversation with writer Shumon Basar, in an edition of THE ESSENTIAL, the Jameel’s ‘live interview’ series that highlights the cultural influences that have shaped the work of major personalities.-- Tradearabia News Service