Falling Leaves

Golnaz Fathi

January 22 – March 6, 2013

Golnaz Fathi returns to The Third Line with a new body of work, Falling Leaves. Using the epic poem Shahnameh by Persian poet Ferdowsi as a point of departure, Fathi interprets the work through a contemporary lens that breathes new life into an ancient practice and story.

Her new work branches out from her usual language based approach, incorporating figurative elements as well, that were inspired from a lithographic illustration of The Shahnameh or Shah-nama (Book of Kings). This distinct departure from her original text based exploration demonstrates Fathi’s inner visual dialogue and interpretation of the poem. The artist relates to the book themes of futile wars as still relevant today in her native Iran, and in the Middle East in general – confirming the notion of history repeating itself.

Sulook

Sahand Hesamiyan

January 22 – March 6, 2013

The Third Line is pleased to introduce Iranian sculptor Sahand Hesamiyan, the newest addition to the gallery’s represented artists. Sulook, the body of work in the gallery’s Project Space, presents ancient concepts of transcendence in an ultra-modern context. Highlighting the complex relationship between modernity and tradition through architecture, Sulook has its inspiration firmly rooted in the traditional architectural structure of the Orchin dome – a unique variation of domes found in the southern parts of Iran and Iraq. Despite its early origins, the Orchin dome demonstrates one of the key elements of modernist architecture: a seamless interdependence of aesthetics and functionality. Bridging science and piety, Hesamiyan references the construction of these domes with its intended spiritual philosophy of Unitarianism.

Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian 2004-2013

March 18 - April 19, 2013

The Third Line is proud to present a survey exhibition of Iranian artist Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian that reflects upon the past decade of her remarkable artistic journey. Showcasing works from 2004 to present, the exhibition highlights Monir’s stellar career as a pioneer in contemporary Iranian art.

Mapping a chronological trajectory through the different series of works that Monir completed over the past nine years, the exhibition follows the evolution of her signature style of aineh-kari mirror mosaics and her art practice of correlating mysticism with numerology, Islamic geometry and architecture also remain quintessential features within this exhibit.

Monir Farmanfarmaian at Sharjah Biennial 11
Sharjah Biennial 11, Re:emerge, Towards a New Cultural Cartography, Sharjah Art Museum | Mar 13 - May 13, 2013

In Re:emerge, Towards a New Cultural Cartography, curator Yuko Hasegawa proposes a Biennial that reassess the Westerncentrism of knowledge in modern times and reconsiders the relationship between the Arab world, Asia, the Far East, through North Africa and Latin America. Inspired by Iranian Gardens, Monir Farmanfarmaian will be presenting works that addresses this theme through the concept of the courtyard culture.

March 20 - 23, 2013
Booth A40

The Third Line will participate in the seventh edition of Art Dubai 2013 showcasing works by Hayv Kahraman, Laleh Khorramian, Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, Rana Begum, Sahand Hesamiyan, Tarek Al-Ghoussein and Youssef Nabil at Booth A40, Madinat Jumeirah Arena.

Returning to Art Dubai as a regular feature, The Third Line will participate alongside nearly eighty leading regional and international galleries. Art Dubai has grown from an idea to promote artists at an international level to a prominent art fair that has established its home in the centre of the Middle East's growing contemporary art community since 2007.

Art Dubai: GLOBAL ART FORUM 7

POLEMICS & DISCUSSION: MIDDLE EAST NERVOUS ANXIETY (MENA)
Oscar Guardiola-River (HOST), Slavs and Tatars, Uzma Z. Rizvi, Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi
Talk: Global Art Forum_7 (Day 3)
Location: Fort Island, Madinat Jumeirah
Access: Open to all
March 20, 2103 at 2:00 PM to 5:30 PM

Art Dubai: SCULPTURE ON THE BEACH

Sculpture on the Beach is a new programme launched at this year’s fair, featuring installation and sculptural work presented by Art Dubai participating galleries and selected by guest curator Chus Martinez (Chief curator of El Museo del Barrio, formerly Documenta 13’s Head of Department). Slavs and Tatars will be participating artists.

Slavs and Tatars - Friendship of Nations: Polish Shi'ite Showbiz

Location: Bookshop, Arena Foyer, Madinat Jumeirah
Access: Open to all
March 20, 2013 at 5:30 - 6:00 PM

Beginning as an investigation into the disparate events that bookend the 20th and 21st century — the collapse of Communism and the Islamic Revolution in Iran — Friendship of Nations: Polish Shi’ite Showbiz traces unlikely points of convergence in Iran and Poland’s economic, social, political, religious and cultural histories. Drawing on Slavs and Tatars’ multi-disciplinary practice encompassing research, installations, lecture-performances and print media, this publication embraces new contributions on subjects that range from 17st century Sarmatism to the 21st century Green Movement.

Slavs and Tatars is joined here by Agata Araszkiewicz, Ramin Jahanbegloo, Adam Michnik, Mara Goldwyn, Shiva Balaghi and Michael D. Kennedy.

Youssef Nabil

Location: Bookshop, Arena Foyer, Madinat Jumeirah
Access: Open to all
March 21, 2013 at 5:30 PM - 6:00 PM

A new self-titled monograph on Youssef Nabil’s work is being published by Flammarion and will be launched at Art Dubai 2013. It includes conversations with noted art critic and historian Hans Ulrich Obrist and New-York based Serbian artist Marina Abramović. Egyptian-born artist Nabil is known for his hand colored silver gelatin photographs and portraits of celebrities from the world of art, cinema and music. The book provides an in-depth display into the work and mind of the artist and his evocative vision.

Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian

TRANSPARENCIES, Contemporary Art & A History of Glass, Anna K. Meredith Gallery, Des Moines Art Center, Iowa| February 22 — May 22, 2013, PREVIEW PARTY: Thursday, February 28

Monir Farmanfarmaian is a part of Transparencies, which brings together a group of international contemporary artists whose work explores glass as both medium and as subject matter. The artists selected for Transparencies come from around the world, and vary widely in their art-making practices. Some have always worked with glass, both actually and conceptually, while others have only explored it occasionally. Combining sculpture, video, and installation with traditional forms of artisan techniques such as stained glass and blown glass, Transparencies explores the role of glass in today's contemporary art world as well as our everyday lives. Transparencies is organized by Laura Burkhalter, associate curator.

Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige

Release of The Lebanese Rocket Society: The Strange Tale of the Lebanese Space Race in theatres in France| March 27, 2013

This documentary tells the incredible story of the Lebanese Rocket Society which began in the early sixties at Haigazian University at a young Armenian University in Beirut where a group of students led by a professor of mathematics, Manoug Manougian, set up the Lebanese Rocket Society to “create and launch rockets for space study and exploration.” Directed by Joana & Khalil Joreige, The Lebanese Rocket Society was part of the Toronto International Film Festival selection and was awarded the best feature documentary award at the 2012 Doha Tribeca Film Festival

Laleh Khorramian

Watermill Centre Residency, The Watermill Center, 39 Watermill Towd Road, Water Mill, New York| March 4 - 17, 2013

For her residency at Watermill, visual artist Laleh Khorramian will be utilizing the time to develop the lead performance as well as soundtrack for an upcoming Science fiction film installation called M-Golis. Her focus will be on developing the main character, portrayed by actor Sean Daly. They will focus on character study, unearthing the psychological framework for the work, as well as storyboards. This line of work is closely related to new works she will be presenting at The Third Line's booth at Art Basel Statements in June 2013.

Abbas Akhavan

Western Front, Vancouver| March 6 - April 20, 2013

Abbas Akhavan will produce a solo exhibition of new work at the Western Front. Akhavan was born in Tehran, and currently lives and works in Toronto. His practice ranges from site-specific ephemeral installations to drawing, video and performance. For the past five years, the domestic sphere has been an ongoing area of research in Akhavan’s work. Earlier works explore the relationship between the house and the nation state and how the trauma of systemic violence enacted upon civilians can be inherited and re-enacted within the family lineage – the home as a forked space between hospitality and hostility. More recent work has shifted focus onto spaces just outside the home – the garden, the backyard, and other domesticated landscapes.

Arwa Abouon

The Nawaya Network Fundraising Auction, Shalhoub Villa / Garden in Jumeirah One, Dubai | Saturday, March 16, 2013 at 4.00 PM

The Nawaya Network is a non-profit organisation based in Lebanon. Their main objective is to empower underprivileged youth by connecting them to financial, educational and material resources that will develop their talents and strengthen their skills in areas such as art, music, dance and athletics. Arwa Abouon will have a work from her Roundabout Series featured in the auction.

Ebtisam AbdulAziz

A.i.R Residency, Sikka Art Fair, Al Fahidi House 11, Al Fahidi Cultural District | March 14 - 24, 2013

Ebtisam Abdulazizi is one of six artists selected for the A.i.R Dubai 2013 residency programme which gives artists and curators the opportunity to be based in Dubai in the lead-up to and during Art Dubai and Art Week each March. The residency culminates in a an open studio exhibition held in parallel to the SIKKA and Art Dubai Art Fair in March. A.i.R Dubai is a collaboration between Art Dubai, Tashkeel, the Delfina Foundation and Dubai Culture and Arts Authority.

Twenty-Five Years of Arab Creativity, Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation in partnership with Institut du Monde Arabe, Curated by Ehab El Labban. Location Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi | March 5 - 31, 2013

Created to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Paris-based Institut du Monde Arabe. This unprecedented exhibition presents the most exhaustive panorama of contemporary Arab art to date, and features painting, sculpture, photography, video and installations, as well as special commissions and works by UAE artists including Arwa Abouon with her work "Al Matar Rahma" produced especially for this exhibition. Ebtisam Abdulaziz will also present on her artistic practice on Monday, March 18, 2013 at 5:30 - 7:00PM at The Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi.

Pouran Jinchi

New Blue-and-White, Museum of Fine Arts Boston | February 20 - July 14, 2013

Pouran Jinchi’s Prayer Stones 2 will be shown as part of New Blue-and-White at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston from February 20 - July 14, 2013. Curated by Emily Zilber, the exhibition explores the ways in which contemporary artists, working in ceramics as well as other media ranging from fiber to furniture to glass, have explored this rich body of material culture.