Artist Archives - Page 4 of 7 - The Majlis Gallery - Haven for Artists AND Art Lovers.

David Paskett

David Paskett studied at Hornsey, Exeter and Liverpool Colleges of Art. Elected to the RWS n 2001, he became Vice-President in 2007, and served as President from 2009 to 2012.

David has been visiting China since 1986, sourcing subjects for his paintings. Now he has a following in China he is regularly asked to judge, lecture and exhibit there. While David is known primarily for his precise tonal and personalized realism, abstract imagery and spirited linear drawings are also an integral part of his oeuvre. David lived in Hong Kong from 1986-1990 and exhibits there annually. He has also been Artist in Residence at the Pitt River’s Museum, Oxford and has published a limited edition book ‘ A Vision of China’.

He has won several awards for painting and his work is in many Collections in the UK and China including HM Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother; Standard Chartered Bank, Freshfields, Hargreaves Lansdown and The Hong Kong Jockey Club

View David Paskett Portfolio

Maritime UAE

For thousands of years the sea has dominated the daily life of the inhabitants of this part of the world. From the fish that formed the staple diet to the coral that created walls, the sea has given of its bounty, broadened horizons, enabled trade and taken its toll.

maritime uae pays homage to the influence of the maritime enviroment on diverse art forms, from the crafting of wood and palm fronds into boats to the sophistication of underwater photography.

View Maritime UAE Portfolio

Abdullah Al Shehhi

Abdulla is a prominent player in the photographic movement within the UAE. He is The Secretary General of The Association of Emirates Photography and a member of The Arab Union of photographers. His work has been featured in countless publications and exhibitions including the Hamdan International Photography Award

Alexander Creswell

Creswell’s early years as the son of a diplomat instilled in him a love of travel and the observation of diverse cultures. Largely self taught he has become one of today’s most revered and collectible watercolour artists. He is noted above all else for his splendid series of commissions carried out for the British Royal Family. His artist-traveler lifestyle takes him literally all over the world but he is often drawn back to Oman and the UAE to record the fast disappearing evidence of, as he puts it, “past footsteps” Alexander’s paintings so vividly capture the light and atmosphere of the region. In his words “you have to really understand a place before you can expect to paint it convincingly.”

Farid Al Rais

Farid’s journey as an artist started in his early childhood. At an age when most children are trying to draw a person using straight lines and a circle he was already attempting to sketch people in three dimensions. His father also an artist has been a mentor and guide throughout his development. After joining university he stopped painting for five years, returning to it 2006. His first showing in a public gallery was in 2008. A winner of numerous prizes Farid is dedicated to depicting the rich culture of the UAE.

Jamal Abdul Rahim

Originally a Fisherman, Jamal always knew he was an artist. His totally untutored journey into the creative world allowed him the freedom to experiment, discover and on occasions stretch the boundaries of conventional image making. It was the world of printmaking that first engaged him,

Jamal’s modern touch, which is often applied in a seemingly random fashion, is only found in the most confident of artists. He is a master of the print-making process but a fine painter and draftsman too, often presenting a series of etchings or paintings in highly original book form. This physical but deep thinking artist is fast becoming recognized as an important player in the Middle Eastern art world.

John Gregson

John completed his education in Fine Art, with a First Class Honours Degree from Manchester Metropolitan University in 1971. A successful career in Arts Education followed until 1995, when he chose to concentrate on the development of his own work. A painter passionate for detail and accuracy his travels through the Middle East have resulted in some stunning paintings that play with scale and abstraction. John revels in making the ordinary special, creating large works out of small subject matter.

Julian Barrow

Julian was the first artist to ever exhibit at The Majlis Gallery. The oils of Dubai and its environs that Julian painted on his first trip to the area in 1978 have become collector’s items. He is a true traveler painter in the Orientalist Tradition. A highly esteemed artist who travels and exhibits worldwide his work is shown regularly at The Royal Academy and the Fine Art Society in London

Nawal Khoory

A graphic designer with a tendency to address social and cultural issues, Nawal is a 2008 graduate in Visual Communication from the American University of Sharjah; she has a passion for experimenting with different mediums and styles. Her love with printmaking, typography and conceptual graphic design has defined her method of working and made a huge impact in the way she personalizes her work. As an individual, she believes that art is not limited to one audience only, but should reach and touch on many issues. Her Family origins, in the old Al Fahedi Neighborhood of Dubai, form a strong influence on her subject matter, bringing the past into the future.

Maisoon Al Saleh

Maisoon is one of the youngest Emirati Artists and Entrepreneurs to be making a name globally. She graduated from Zayed University in January 2010 with a degree in Interior Design, Her first solo show in autumn of 2010 was in Maraya Art Center, Sharjah. Her work was recently included in the Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah and in Art Dubai. Her art has mixed the figurative and surreal with her concerns for the modern and the traditional Emirati culture. A dedicated artist Maisoon undertook a scuba diving course in order to explore underwater.

Maitha Bint Khaled

Maitha bint Khalid is an Emirati photographer that has used the language of light since an early age. She translates her thoughts and ideas through to photographs through her own perspective. The main theme of her photos is falconry and Emirati culture in general, she is well known for taking falcon photos. Maitha achieved a number of awards locally and internationally in addition to honors like; “The best Emirati photographer of 2011” in Emirates photography competition besides the Honor of “AFIAP” from FIAP “International federation of Artistic photography”. She has also displayed her work in several national and international exhibitions. Her main aim is to spread the Emirati culture and traditions through photos to the world.

Mohammed Al Astad

Mohammed graduated in Graphic Design from the American University in Washington in 1987.

The ensuing years have seen him at the forefront of the UAE’s developing art movement. He has participated in over 300 joint and 20 solo exhibitions. A master of many genres Mohammed has more recently been pursuing his intriguing “art grave” series, a unique harnessing of the actual movement of the sea to create imagery articulated by the artists but formed by the action of the tide on canvases buried with their iron companions for anything up to 3 weeks.

Michael Chaikin

Michael originally trained as and became a hospital doctor. A desire for a more creative lifestyle eventually took him to Richmond adult education sculpture classes. This in turn led to him undertaking a sculpture degree. His knowledge of the internal workings of humans was invaluable in his kinetic studies of fish. These fish have guts and move in a fishy way. His recent trips to the UAE have seen him studying the inhabitants of these shores up close and personal. An enormous shark dominated his last show.

Nawal Khoory

Patrick Lichfield

Patrick , The Earl of Lichfield, a first cousin of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, was educated at Harrow and the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, after which he served for several years as an officer in the Grenadier Guards. In 1960 he inherited his grandfather’s earldom and, soon after left the army and became a photographer. Patrick Lichfield’s photography has spanned more than four decades of change. His iconic images, from the early 1960s to the present day include notable personalities and events that characterized their times. He visited the UAE many times towards the end of his life. His book Dubai A City Portrait contains many images inspired by the areas rich maritime environment

Richard Butterfield

Richard was born in the UK but has lived in the UAE for the past 20 years. His photographic skills were formed at an early age, when given a Zorki 4K , Russian Range Finder camera by his father. He has a passion for simplicity, and finds beauty in the simplest of objects. His maritime photographs in sepia are stylish contemporary images, demonstrating the historic relevance of the sea and its environs within the UAE.

Ronald Codrai OBE

1924-2000

Ronald Codrai was born in the Indian Himalayas in July 1924, and served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. In 1946 he was posted to Cairo, from where he travelled to many parts of the Arab World. He later joined an oil consortium and moved to what was then known as the Trucial States, now the UAE. A talented and enthusiastic photographer, with a superb eye for composition , Codrai amassed a collection of thousands of images in his spare time, many of which have been published or exhibited. He is the author and photographer of the six volumes of An Arabian Album and One Second in the Arab World

Shamsa Al Maktoum

Shamsa is a 21 year old Emirati who graduated with a bachelor in Visual Arts from Zayed University. Her interest in art started as a young child but was developed at Latifa School for girls where she did her GCSE and AS Level. Her passion towards the sea stems from the times spent with her father in or on the ocean, these idyllic days made her even more curious about what is out there or more accurately in there. Her ceramics sculptures are inspired by the soft and hard corals that exist in the waters of the UAE showing slight change and movement from once piece to another. Shamsa is passionate about raising awareness of environmental issues through her art practice.

Trevor Waugh

Trevor studied at the Slade School of Fine Art from 1970 to 1974, amongst his tutors were Sir William Coldstream and David Hockney. He graduated with a BA in Fine Arts. Alison Collins, the founder of The Majlis Gallery and Trevor first met in 1995 when she invited him to be an artist in residence at The Majlis Gallery. He took to the Middle East straightaway and was out painting on his first morning in Dubai. These early paintings focused on the amazing variation to the light values through the day. Many visits have ensued since, resulting in an abundance of sketches, watercolours, oils and more recently books.

Sir Wilfred Thesiger CBE, DSO

1910-2003

Described as “the quintessential English explorer” and “the last, and certainly one of the greatest, of the British travellers,” Sir Wilfred was born at the British Legation in Addis Ababa and spent his first nine years in Abyssinia, a country utterly remote from the modern world. Spurred on by a desire for adventure, Thesiger set out to define his life by action. During the 1940s, he travelled with the Bedu in the Arabian Peninsula, becoming one of the first Europeans to negotiate the Empty Quarter (Rub al-Khali), the most forbidding region of Arabia, which he crossed twice. His motive for the crossing was not to reap glory, but to share the hardship of the life of the Bedu and to earn their comradeship. Travelling with him was his trusty camera with which he recorded many stunning images of life as it was in those times. He became a true friend of His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan

Danny Ambing

View Danny Ambing Portfolio

Shahla Moghaddam

Inner peace and simplicity are main characteristics of the artwork of Shahla Moghaddam, designer and painter. These characteristics reflect upon the artist own qualities in which she demonstrates into her art. Shahla was born and raised in Tehran, Iran, and she graduated from The Culture and Literature School of Tehran. Throughout her solo career, Shahla has had nine solo exhibitions and more than 32 group exhibitions throughout the world. She has earned many awards and accolades in her profession. In the last seven years, Shahla has exhibited in many locations in the UA including Bally’s Hotel Las Vegas, Ryan Gallery Las Vegas, Markman Gallery Las Vegas and The Lagerquest Gallery in Atlanta. Shahla’s various years of experience have enhanced her eye for detail, choice of color and dramatic brush strokes which make her artwork a unique personal signature. Her art consists of the vast use of color, analysis of the forms of landscapes and figures and a unique composition. These are a result of her immense experience of various techniques that she employed in media. She has reached a personal analysis in her landscapes that create her signature in her work. Currently Shahla resides in Atlanta and in her studio she explores modern media of art and also new environments of society’s global nature in art.

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Noureddine Daifallah

Moroccan Calligrapher born in 1960 in Marrakech where he teaches Fine Arts. His artwork has been exhibited in In Morocco, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, UAE and Turkey. The Guggenheim Museum in New York acquired two of his paintings in 2002.

View Noureddine Daifallah Portfolio

Abdul Qader Al Rais

It was not as an artist that Alison met Abdul Qader but as a rather shy, soft spoken meticulous “official” at the Ministry of Labour who in 1976 inspected her first application for residency in the UAE. A small biro sketch on a pad at his side was a clue to his other life, one that would lead to our paths intertwining over the ensuing 35 years.

Can you imagine the Arab World without Abdul Qader Al Rais ? His creativity dedication and sheer talent are a visual testament to the values, aspirations and achievements of a man and a nation.

So much has been written about his life and his work, work that doesn’t ask or need to be analysed, critical appraisal is inappropriate. All that is needed is a complete immersion into the poetic quality of his paintings, paintings richly full of honesty, integrity, tension and passion. True investments that reward at every level.

The Majlis Gallery is honoured to be associated with Abdul Qader, working with him is a delight. As we got to know him we came to appreciate his wonderful sense of fun and whimsy. His eyes twinkle with a joy of life, his hands move in descriptive arcs even when not holding a brush. He is the ultimate family man who cherishes those close to him. He loves his farm and giving guests incredible juices made from the fruit it produces. He is always delighted to talk with people about his life, thoughts, and work but most conversations finish with a small shrug of self depreciation and a comment of “ there we are “

A man who is a master of his craft though he won’t admit it, this sums up the man and the artist.

View Abdul Qader Al Rais Portfolio

Mimouni El Houssaine

My painting could be compared to archaeology, a passion for rediscovering the lost object, a universe of forms , signs, traces and memories. These are places of inspiration, or graphic breaths, of simple forms, of rapid writing, of the exploration of exterior and interior spaces. My quest draws on memories, recollections of forms, tangled curves, nervous quick lines that are never shown in a static position, but a caught in full movement. This archaeology of materials is often found in my paintings. Here. besides the traces and gestures and signs, many intimate objects linked to my childhood abound.

The different modes of expression- drawing, painting and engraving – reflect my inquisitive mind. Paintings on reused papers are a vital and essential element of my work, perhaps because of their fragility. This is embodies in the action of the paper itself which can add a playful element to the painting, expanding its freedom through movement, making it breathe. The brittleness of the puddled clay architecture of Taroudant,my birthplace in Morocco, these walls where time has left its trace, and the monochromy bound to this soil,its wrench, all this maintain the deep affinity that I feel for its architecture, signs and pottery.

Constantly prodded by an urgent need to paint which drives me to the point of exhaustion, I want to transcribe my inner hustle and bustle.

View Mimouni El Houssaine Portfolio

Noureddine Daifallah

Noureddine Daifallah was born in 1960 in Marrakech, Morocco where he still works and lives. Daifallah studied at the Marrakech School of Arts as a sculptor however painting was his passion.

Daifallah works with traditional Arabic Calligraphy, with a contemporary interpretation, thus breathing new life into the noble artform of calligraphy. His unique approach through playing with letter formation, expresses a beautiful contrast to his intricate handwriting, thus evoking emotion and beauty from the Arabic script. Arabic calligraphy has a long history with the calligrapher being held in high status within the community, Daifallah has modernised this age old tradition opening a new chapter.

Daifallah’s first exhibition was when he was 17 and since his works have been exhibited in his homeland of Morocco and throughout Europe. His works have been acquired by such institutions as the Sharjah Art Museum in UAE, the Guggenheim Museum in New York and the Museum of Marrakech. He is currently a Professor of Fine Arts

Morteza Darehbaghi

An abstract search for man and nature structured my ideas as regards the immediate surrounding, motivating me to set my “a priori” knowledge along with imagination, depicting the pastoral man in his innocence and liveliness, thus incorporating nature into man, who considered himself part of, and belonging to, nature. This idea characterized my earliest paintings. The image of a light, luxuriant atmosphere of the ancient eras prompted me to search for them, serving as an unconscious drive behind all my attempts. A great yearning for the past traditions and ancient civilizations was responsible for the emergence of certain motifs and elements, such as fretwork, figures of Persian painting and geomtric pictures. My works in this period are marked by the use of geometrical configurations, level and color planes, and a tendency toward aggrandization.
The young generation of artists, following the social upheavals, war, and crises they went through, are trying to materialize their ideas. Aware of the magnificent art of the past, this generation has attempted to elucidate their ideals. This period is further characterized by ambiguity of forms, so that, in these works, man doesn’t appear distinctly but his true presence can be felt all the more emphatically. Here, form manifests an inner charm, which leads to something like an epiphany, being deeply rooted in dreams and visions. Thus, the thought transcends the canvas. An interest in tradition, being with me all the time, was so persistent that it permeated even my conceptual works. Religious signs and symbols, seen through a modern eye, all arose from the same religious and traditional notions that I have entertained. My childhood, along with religious ceremonies, has been responsible for my present creativity, which seeks a way to link the past to the future.

Mustafa Ali

Mustafa Ali, Syria’s foremost sculptor, was born in Latakia in 1956. Known for elegant, monumental sculptures that pierce the consciousness and underscore the fragility of mankind, he has been widely collected in the Arab world for nearly three decades. Mustafa has been a major contributor to the Majlis Galleries Exhibition programme since the mid 1990’s. He will be showing new works with us in Design Days 2013

After training in sculpture at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Damascus, he continued his studies at the Fine Arts Academy in Carrara, Italy, graduating in 1996. He has exhibited extensively on the international art circuit since 1979 and has participated in a number of high-profile events such as Latakia Sculpture Biennial (where he was awarded the Golden Prize) (1997), the Biennial of Alexandria, Egypt (1994), the Sharjah Biennial (1995), and the International Symposium for Sculptors in Valencia, Spain (2001).

Ali’s work is housed in private and public collections, including a number of official institutions in Syria such as the National Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Damascus, in addition to the Jordan National Gallery in Amman, the Sharjah Museum of Art and the Arab World Institute in Paris. Many of his bronze and wood sculptures can also be found in public spaces, such as “The Gate of Syria,” which is on display in the Mediterranean Olympiad in Pari, Italy, and “The Tower of Memory,” which stands in the Damascus International Fairground.

Indispensible to the Syrian art scene for years, Ali is also the director of the renowned Damascus art center The Mustafa Ali Art Foundation, which presents exhibitions, workshops, lectures and cultural events throughout. A highly acclaimed artist but also a man who loves to play within his genre.