The first MONEYworks “Bronze & Art“ exhibition currently running in Dubai is showcasing nearly 200 art pieces from over 40 global artists, some of whom are all-time greats.

The event opened recently at Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), and will remain open from 10 am to 10 pm till December 15.

“Dubai Government has affirmed that DIFC is rapidly being recognised as one of the fastest growing financial centres and the hub of arts and culture in the region,” said Abdulla Bin Hamad Bin Sougat, chief executive officer of DIFC Lifestyle Group.

Bin Sougat continued: “We already count several world-class galleries in our community and DIFC have hosted many expositions of famous global, regional and local artists,” he added.

“Support by Dubai’s Government, DIFC acted as a facilitator, to bring what is best from the world over to the members of the DIFC community and to its visitors. Dubai has exerted great efforts to promote a culture of fine art so that local and regional artists can find patrons and our community can access and enjoy the works of the masters.

“The MONEYworks Bronze and Art Exhibition bringing the works of Picasso and Brancusi to our emperor hall will surely add value to the lifestyle experience of residents and to its visitors.”

Saud A Al Amri, chairman of Rasalmal Financial Publishing, the publishers of MONEYworks, said: “We are delighted to present an art exhibition that is unique in its scope and range. Where do you see such a display of modern and contemporary artists, covering a span of three centuries, under one roof, at an event like the one that we are bringing to the UAE?”

One of the highlights of the first MONEYworks Bronze & Art exhibition is the art workshops that Cecilia Rodhe, an accomplished artist whose works have been exhibited at the United Nations and galleries worldwide, will be conducting at the event. Miss Sweden in 1978 and a runner-up at Miss Universe the following year, Cecilia’s works are also displayed at the exhibition. 

“It is a great pleasure to be here as part of such a multi-cultural and multi-national exhibition which has at the forefront the education of children through art, which is something that lays very close to my heart. I am excited and honoured to participate in an event that opens borders and allows us to share different cultures,” Cecilia said.

Among the central pieces of attraction at the exhibition are Constantin Brancusi’s bronze sculpture “Mademoiselle Pogany II” and Pablo Picasso’s “Tete de Femme, Fernande”, which is one of the final bronze casts of the artist’s model Fernande Oliver.

It is significant that Brancusi’s “Mademoiselle Pogany II”, which is on display at the exposition, is at the core of the most celebrated themes of the famous 19th century Romanian sculptor’s work. It is the second of the three portraits that the sculptor executed between 1912 and 1931 of Margit Pogany, a Hungarian art student whom he met in Paris.

Only very few of Brancusi’s more famous pieces have come to the market in recent years with most already owned by museums or large private collectors. The most famous one in recent years was Danaide, which sold for US$16.5 million in May, 2007, at a Christie’s auction in New York.

Picasso’s “Tete de Femme, Fernande” represents the artist’s first cubist sculpture and was modelled for by Fernande Oliver. “Tete de Femme, Fernande” is considered to be one of the great moments in the history of modernist sculpture. Casts of this piece are famously included in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection of Modern Art in New York and Tate Modern, London.

The MONEYworks Bronze & Art exposition also includes famous artworks of some of the leading exponents like Jasper Johns, Alex Katz, Anthony Quinn, Pierre Jules Mene, Lena Cronqvist, Frederic Sackrider Remington, Ian Smith and a number of others, including a few Arab artists. – TradeArabia News Service