Abu Dhabi: Louvre Abu Dhabi and luxury Swiss watchmaker Richard Mille have shortlisted seven artists for the third Richard Mille Art Prize. The selected artists will have their works displayed in the Louvre’s Art Here 2023 exhibition. The exhibition, opening to the public on November 24, 2023 and running till February 18, 2024, will offer the opportunity to discover these artists’ interpretation of transparency through visual and perceptional significance.
The 2023 Prize saw diverse submissions received from multinational artists residing in the UAE and the GCC region, with a select group of seven artists from countries including the UAE, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, India and Syria securing their place on the coveted shortlist. Artists Ms. Alaa Tarabzouni, Ms. Farah Behbehani, Mr. Hashel Al Lamki, Ms. Nabla Yahya, Ms. Sarah Brahim, Ms. Sawsan and Ms. Bahar Al Bahar, and Ms. Zahrah Al Ghamdi will have works showcased in the Art Here 2023 exhibition, and are in the running for The Richard Mille Art Prize and its accompanying AED220,400 cash award.
Ms. Alaa Tarabzouni, a Saudi Arabian architect turned art curator, centres her work around urbanity and the built environment. Ms. Farah Behbehani is a Kuwaiti multidisciplinary artist focusing on the Arabic letter, continuously investigating its layered meanings and exploring the boundaries of its physical form. Mr. Hashel Al Lamki is an Emirati painter and multidisciplinary artist who unpacks the relationship between humankind and their habitats in his work.
Born and raised in the UAE, Ms. Nabla Yahya is an Indian artist whose work explores celluloid, earth and the ethereal through video, space and text, revealing suppressed histories. Ms. Sarah Brahim is a Saudi Arabian visual and performance artist working across many mediums to present work rooted in experiences of the body. Syrian siblings Ms. Sawsan and Ms. Bahar Al Bahar are artists, architects and researchers who create multidisciplinary works that move between art, design, materials research and digital fabrication. Hailing from Saudi Arabia, Ms. Zahrah Al Ghamdi’s art explores memory and history through traditional architecture in both medium and assemblage.
Curated by Ms. Maya El Khalil, the sculptures and installations featured this year employ the interplay of sunlight, shadows and water reflections.
Reviewing the proposals for Louvre Abu Dhabi’s third Art Here exhibition was an inspiring challenge. The jury was struck by the wealth of thought-provoking submissions that offered fresh perspectives, expanding the theme of Transparencies in surprising ways. They work ambitiously with materials, challenge historical narratives, and invite reflection on urgent issues with local and global impact.
Ms. Khalil shared.
“Selecting just seven installations was difficult but rewarding. Together, the chosen pieces offer an intriguing dialogue through their diverse mediums, interpretations and concepts. I’m thrilled these artists have the opportunity to showcase their practice in one of the world’s most extraordinary museum settings and I look forward to the coming months of development, ” Ms. Khalil added.