Overview
7 March–7 June 2018
Sharjah Art Museum
Sharjah Art Foundation, in collaboration with Sharjah Art Museum, presents the solo exhibition Mona Saudi: Poetry and Form. Co-curated by Hoor Al Qasimi and Noora Al Mualla, the exhibition will include works by the artist from the mid-1960s until today, encompassing a large selection of the stone and marble sculptures for which she is best known as well as paintings, drawings and other works on paper inspired by renowned poets including Mahmoud Darwish and Adonis.
Noora Al Mualla, co-curator of the exhibition, said, ‘The exhibition Mona Saudi: Poetry and Form is an important opportunity to get to know Saudi’s rich and unique experience in its various stylistic and expressive components, especially in the sculptural works, which juxtapose the solidity of the material with the flow of poetic shapes and compositions. We hope that this exhibition will be an enjoyable and thought-provoking experience for the local art audience.’
Commenting on hosting this exhibition at Sharjah Art Museum, Manal Ataya, Director-General of the Sharjah Museums Department, said, ‘Mona Saudi has been one of the most prominent Arab artists over the last five decades. Since completing her first sculpture, she has continually received international acclaim for her impressive works of art. Saudi is an author, an art activist and a very gifted sculptor. Her work has great social and intellectual importance for our region and beyond.’
Mona Saudi: Poetry and Form will highlight the artist’s exploration of the intertwined relationship between stones and modern form. In many of her works, notions of growth, fertility and the body are explored through her introduction of compositional movement into conventional geometric shapes. A substantial presentation of the artist’s sculptures will provide rare insight into the evolution of Saudi’s aesthetic and intellectual journey, which is particularly evident in her work with different types and colours of stone, including white marble, pink limestone, green marble and black diorite, all sourced from the greater surrounding region.
Mona Saudi (b. 1945, Amman, Jordan) creates movement in shapes and presents different types of stone in abstract forms characterised by serenity, harmony and high sensuality in order to create a poetic dimension in her work that reflects both opposition and contrast.
Saudi’s work has been exhibited at the Institut du monde arabe, Paris (2012); Sursock Museum, Beirut (1993–2011); The Mosaic Rooms, A M Qattan Foundation, London (2010); Jacaranda Images Gallery, Amman (2010); International Cairo Biennale (2003); Les Ateliers Arabes, UNESCO, Beirut (2001); Al Oudaya Museum, Rabat (1999); Darat Al Funun, Amman (1995); National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, DC, (1994); Institut du monde arabe, Paris (1987); Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo (1981); Oriental Museum, Moscow (1979); International Art Exhibition for Palestine, Beirut (1979) and Musée Rodin, Paris (1978), among others.
Saudi studied sculpture at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris and currently lives and works in Beirut and Amman.
About Sharjah Art Foundation
Sharjah Art Foundation is an advocate, catalyst and producer of contemporary art within the Emirate of Sharjah and the surrounding region, in dialogue with the international arts community. Under the leadership of founder Hoor Al Qasimi, a curator and artist, the foundation advances an experimental and wide-ranging programmatic model that supports the production and presentation of contemporary art, preserves and celebrates the distinct culture of the region and encourages a shared understanding of the transformational role of art. The foundation’s core initiatives include the long-running Sharjah Biennial, featuring contemporary artists from around the world; the annual March Meeting, a convening of international arts professionals and artists; grants and residencies for artists, curators and cultural producers; ambitious and experimental commissions and a range of travelling exhibitions and scholarly publications.
Established in 2009 to expand programmes beyond the Sharjah Biennial, which launched in 1993, the foundation is a critical resource for artists and cultural organisations in the Gulf and a conduit for local, regional and international developments in contemporary art. The foundation’s deep commitment to developing and sustaining the cultural life and heritage of Sharjah is reflected through year-round exhibitions, performances, screenings and educational programmes in the city of Sharjah and across the Emirate, often hosted in historic buildings that have been repurposed as cultural and community centres. A growing collection reflects the foundation’s support of contemporary artists in the realisation of new work and its recognition of the contributions made by pioneering modern artists from the region and around the world.
Sharjah Art Foundation is a legally independent public body established by Emiri Decree and supported by government funding, grants from national and international nonprofits and cultural organisations, corporate sponsors and individual patrons.
All events are free and open to the public.
Media Contacts
Alyazeyah Al Reyaysa
+971(0)65444113
alyazeyah@sharjahart.org