Exhibitions

Shapeshifters and Transformations

21 Dec 2016 - 28 Feb 2017 Ayyam Gallery Dubai (DIFC) is pleased to present Shapeshifters and Transformations, a collective exhibition that brings together five leading artists from the Arab world. Highlighting works by Samia Halaby, Faisal Samra, Safwan Dahoul, Tammam Azzam, and Athier Mousawi, Shapeshifters and Transformations details the ways that artists are currently addressing exigent subject matter, including large-scale violence, the adverse effects of technology in the modern age, and changing landscapes. Read more

Farzad Kohan

Migration Stories 15 Nov - 19 Dec 2016 Ayyam Gallery Dubai DIFC is pleased to announce Migration Stories, the solo show of Los Angeles-based artist Farzad Kohan. In his latest body of work, Kohan records the experiences of migrants who have resettled in the United States or Europe, mostly from the Middle East. Detailing their stories with text-based paintings that are written in American typewriter font, the artist adopts the role of a documentarian. This is also suggested with the vertical folded canvases of the series, which recall letters or messages that are shared in secret or tucked away for safekeeping. Read more

Khaled Jarrar

Castles Built from Sand will Fall 13 Nov 2016 - 7 Jan 2017 Ayyam Gallery Dubai (12, Alserkal Avenue) is pleased to present Castles Built from Sand will Fall, the solo exhibition of multidisciplinary artist Khaled Jarrar. Read more

Mouteea Murad

Thresholds 13 Nov 2016 - 7 Jan 2017 Ayyam Gallery Dubai (11, Alserkal Avenue) is pleased to present Thresholds, the solo show of Sharjah-based painter Mouteea Murad. Organised by critic and curator Murtaza Vali, Thresholds highlights the artist’s latest body of work as he further experiments with the use of mathematics in geometric abstraction, an approach to non-objective art that he developed over the course of a decade. Read more

Mohammad Bozorgi

Against the Darkness 10 Nov 2016 - 7 Jan 2017 Ayyam Gallery Beirut is pleased to announce Against the Darkness, the solo exhibition of leading Iranian calligrapher and painter Mohammad Bozorgi. Read more

Lara Zankoul

As Cold as a White Stone 20 Sep - 10 Nov 2016 Ayyam Gallery Dubai (DIFC) is pleased to announce As Cold as a White Stone, the solo exhibition of Lebanese artist Lara Zankoul. Highlighting an eponymous body of work, As Cold as a White Stone explores what the artist describes as ‘the coldness, resistance, and numbness of human relationships nowadays.’ Read more

Shurooq Amin

It's A Mad World 17 Sep - 5 Nov 2016 Ayyam Gallery Beirut is pleased to present It’s a Mad World, a solo show of recent work by Shurooq Amin. Featuring mixed media paintings that explore a number of sociopolitical issues, the exhibition will travel from Kuwait, where it debuted at Contemporary Art Platform, a leading art space in the Gulf. There, It’s a Mad World was organised in collaboration with Ayyam Gallery under the direction of guest curator Martina Corgnati. Corgnati previously served as the curator of In the Eye of the Thunderstorm: Effervescent Practices from the Arab world and South Asia, an official collateral event of the 2015 Venice Biennale that highlighted a diverse group of established artists, including Amin. Read more

10:52

1 Jun - 29 Oct 2016 Ayyam Gallery is pleased to present 10:52, a collective exhibition that commemorates the tenth anniversary of its founding. Highlighting all fifty-two artists who have had solo shows at its different locations in the past decade, this selection of works reflects Ayyam Gallery’s evolution as one of the leading art spaces in the Middle East and North Africa. Read more

Mohammad Bozorgi

Against the Darkness 30 May - 17 Sep 2016 Ayyam Gallery Dubai (DIFC) is pleased to announce Against the Darkness, the solo exhibition of leading Iranian calligrapher and painter Mohammad Bozorgi. Selected from the artist’s recent series, Coloured Tears, Grey World, the featured works were produced in response to regional conflicts, and describe the impact that such widespread destruction has on the global community. Bozorgi’s latest body of work also serves as an exploration of colour and the high level of abstraction that can be realised when calligraphic forms are freed in complex compositions. Read more

Mohannad Orabi

Mu'allaqat 26 May - 10 Sep 2016 Ayyam Gallery Beirut is pleased to present Mohannad Orabi’s most recent body of work in a solo exhibition titled Mu'allaqat. Read more

Safwan Dahoul

Still Dreaming 14 Mar - 21 May 2016 Ayyam Gallery Dubai (11, Alserkal Avenue) is pleased to present Still Dreaming, the solo exhibition of seminal painter Safwan Dahoul. A selection of new works from the artist’s ongoing Dream series is highlighted in this large-scale exhibition, including several mural-sized canvases. Read more

Rashed Al Shashai

Salvation 14 Mar - 26 May 2016 Ayyam Gallery DIFC presents Salvation, the solo exhibition of conceptual artist Rashed Al Shashai. Read more

Athier

Machine Hearts 14 Mar - 21 May 2016 Ayyam Gallery Dubai (12, Alserkal Avenue) announces Machine Hearts, the solo show of British- Iraqi artist Athier. Read more

Nadim Karam

Stretching Thoughts 21 Jan - 2 Apr 2016 Ayyam Gallery Beirut is pleased to present Stretching Thoughts, the solo show of internationally renowned artist Nadim Karam. Read more

Elias Izoli

Connected 20 Jan - 3 Mar 2016 Ayyam Gallery Dubai (DIFC) is pleased to announce Connected, the solo exhibition of artist Elias Izoli. Featuring a new body of work, the exhibition highlights a recent conceptual departure for the Damascus-based painter. As a response to current events, Izoli has sought to address the suspension of ordinary life in the face of large-scale conflict through the imagery of Syria’s most celebrated figurative painter, Louay Kayyali (1934-1978). In doing so, Izoli comments on the relevance and urgency of Kayyali’s work in the political context of today. Read more

Tammam Azzam

The Road 18 Jan - 3 Mar 2016 Ayyam Gallery Dubai (11, Alserkal Avenue) is pleased to announce The Road, a solo show by Tammam Azzam. Comprising of a brand new body of work, The Road centers around Azzam’s first series of paintings executed since leaving Damascus over four years ago. Read more

Rula Halawani

For My Father 18 Jan - 3 Mar 2016 Ayyam Gallery Dubai (12, Alserkal Avenue) is pleased to present For My Father, the solo show of leading Palestinian artist Rula Halawani. Featuring a recent series of photographs, For My Father serves as Halawani’s debut exhibition with the gallery since joining its roster of artists earlier this year. Read more

Khaled Hafez

A Temple for Extended Days 16 Nov 2015 - 14 Jan 2016 Ayyam Gallery Dubai (12, Alserkal Avenue) is pleased to announce A Temple for Extended Days, a solo exhibition that marks the addition of Khaled Hafez to the gallery’s roster of artists while inaugurating its new outpost. Read more

Sama Alshaibi

Collapse 16 Nov 2015 - 11 Jan 2016 Ayyam Gallery Dubai, (11, Alserkal Avenue) is pleased to present Collapse, the solo exhibition of Sama Alshaibi. Featuring a diverse range of work spanning several years of her artistic career, the exhibition highlights Alshaibi’s conceptual approach to photography and the layered and collapsing signs that are integral to her distinctive aesthetic, particularly her use of the body as a metaphor for spatial and temporal transgressions. In addition to outlining Alshaibi’s intricate sense of formalism, the photographs, installations, and videos of Collapse indicate the underlying themes that have shaped an ongoing narrative in her work, as the artist traces the consequences of war, the psychic effects of forced migration, and the ecological crises that have resulted from such manmade disasters. Read more