An exhibition of over 80 works from the Barjeel Art Foundation’s collection in Sharjah has been inaugurated at the Institut du Monde Arabe (IMA) in Paris by Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan and Madhed Hareb Al Khaiili the UAE’s Ambassador to France. Jack Lang the President of IMA and Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi the founder of the Barjeel Art Foundation were also in attendance.
Curated by Philippe van Cauteren, the artistic director of S.M.A,K. Belgium, and Karim Sultan, Curator at Barjeel Art Foundation, this exhibition explores the act of exhibition-making and the role that a collection has in the construction of art history, within an emphasis on Arab modern and contemporary art.
Titled Chefs-D'oeuvre De L'art Moderne Et Contemporain Arabe, the exhibition highlights the role of the collection in defining artworks as masterpieces by displaying major works from the collection alongside works by lesser well-known artists. The exhibition aims to illustrate the methods that occur behind the scenes during the presentation and the conservation of artworks in an exhibition.
The exhibition will be split into two sections: a room which brings together leading artists from the collection in an archetypal museum scenography or ‘white cube’ format, and a second space focused on presenting the ‘back rooms’ of the museum. The works in this second room appear as objects of study, granting the visitor a rare intimate experience with these works.
Major artists include: Adel Abdessemed, Hassan Sharif, Mohammed Cherkaoui, Marwan Kassab Bachi, Kader Attia, Rachid Koraichi, Chafic Abboud, Asim Abu Shakra, Shakir Hassan Al-Said, Achraf Touloub and Etel Adnan.
