B21 is proud to host the third solo show of Dubai-based painter Jeffar Khaldi. His last exhibition, at B21 Gallery in March 2007, received wide acclaim, followed by Khaldi's invitation to participate in Shanghai Contemporary Art Fair's 'Best of Discoveries'. His pieces have also been purchased by prominent collectors such as the JP Morgan Chase collection.
The work of Palestinian artist Jeffar Khaldi is both confronting and compassionate, presenting a striking blend of personal mythology, craftsmanship and intuition. The cultural and even emotional atmosphere suggested by his work is instantly recognizable as one of nostalgia. His colossal paintings whisk the viewer into a fantasy world of dominating and disproportionate landscapes, blending dream and reality. These unexpected tableaux powerfully capture the brutal fallouts of geo-politics, echoing a disorder in society that verges on panic. Within this chaos, each element is in fact set carefully into a master plan of spatial composition and historical context, whether it be a glistening industrial machine, a mutating man, insidious robot, or abandoned deer.
In his new exhibition, aptly titled 'Wish You Were Here', twelve audacious canvases, along with works on paper, tell tales of isolation and longing. They are evocative of the artist's personal experiences and cultural background. His relationship to both Western and Eastern cultures informs a fascinating duality; born and raised in Lebanon, the artist spent many years studying in Texas before setting up his studio in Dubai's Al Quoz district ten years ago.
It is perhaps due in part to this personal history that Khaldi's works comprise a sense of ambiguity. His pieces often juxtapose danger and beauty, pushing and pulling the viewers interpretation in different directions. Khaldi is exploring the contradictory aspects of reality, demonstrating that something can be at once seductively beautiful and imminently dangerous.
In the surreal, dreamlike paintings, one finds symbolic meaning amidst the flora and fauna. A deer rests quietly in the grass and tropical birds perch beside bright flowers, tranquil in their oblivion to the human destruction around them. Khaldi's use of color, a rich mix of bright and warm tones, casts a blithe veil over the anxious tension that man has brought to his environment. The result is part contemporary rumination, part bleak projection of a future delegated to a race of unworthy, infantile creatures.
Khaldi uses his canvases as experimental zones, suffusing perennial observations with moments of inspiration. The result is a provocative, occasionally unsettling, amalgam of Khaldi's myriad artistic influences. Wisps of Arabic calligraphy ornament subjects depicted as Persian miniatures or reinterpreted cave-art, in a rough and violent style that employs vibrant swaths of color, reminiscent of German neo-expressionism.
Jackson Pollock once said 'Every good painter paints what he is'. Proud of his cultural identity, Khaldi paints what he sees and feels. His creations offer a fascinating play on the contradictions and absurdities of our world, leaving the interpretation to us.
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About B21 Gallery
B21 Gallery opened its doors in November 2005 and is located in a warehouse in Al Quoz, an industrial area near the centre of Dubai. Since then, the gallery has showcased more than 25 exhibitions, all emphasizing the importance of risk-taking in contemporary art and challenging its visitors and collectors to unfamiliar terrain. Focusing on the emergent and innovative artists of the Middle Eastern region, B21's primary goal is to discover the future rising talent. As a nexus of such artistic development, B21 Gallery continues to provide unique opportunities for collectors.
Al Quoz 1, near The Courtyard, opposite Spinneys warehouse. Sat-Thu 10am-7pm; Fri closed.
B21 Gallery
Tel: 00 971 4 340 3965
info@b21gallery.com
www.b21gallery.com
© Press Release 2008
