The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi painted at night, with calligraphy swirling through the sky and the breaking of the dawn on the horizon, is just one of 90 paintings and sculptures celebrating Islamic heritage and traditions at Abu Dhabi Art Hub this week.
Pakistani artists, Abeera Atique, Naureeen Usmani and Samina Mumtaz have pooled their talents in a group show titled Heritage, which fuses architecture, scripture and geometric patterns into some poetic and inspiring works of art.
Mumtaz, who specialises in sculpture, says: “Heritage is the culture, value or tradition we inherited from our ancestors; and I keep it dear to my heart. In my work I have romanticised the traditional form of art in my own way, based on my perception of a sense of rhythm and beauty. My art is a long journey towards beauty and heritage of the classical era.”
Usmani has an interest in miniature painting and her work reflects this. She paints figures involved in daily scenes of village life, framed in gold leaf borders that are typical of the ornamental style of miniature works.
Ahmed Al Yafei, the founder of Abu Dhabi Art Hub says he decided to host the exhibition because of his wide subject matter. “Every artist uses their work to pass on key messages – whether that be what they see around them in daily life or the more weighty issue of religious belief,” he says. “Heritage is a topic to which we all respond and it covers a diverse number of concepts.”
As the work is all by female artists, Al Yafei says there is a clear “feminine touch” to the exhibition but there is “no doubt that the artworks are remarkable and have to be explored.”
* Heritage runs until April 30 at Abu Dhabi Art Hub, Mussafah, Abu Dhabi. Open daily from 9am-8pm. www.adah.ae
