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Art through calligraphy

The fusion of modern art and traditional Arabic calligraphy in a Dubai exhibition this month is hoping to encourage more young artists to take up the pen and preserve the artform.

‘Arab Art: The Lasting Expression’, which opened last month, showcases the work of internationally acclaimed Bahrain-born UAE-based artist Hesham Malik.

The works blend modern art with Arabic calligraphy, using a range of techniques from traditional bamboo and Celi pen to finger-painting, sponging, splatter and dripping, along with his signature style of falling silver flakes on a vibrant background display of colours.

Exhibition organiser Manisha Sugandh said artists like Malik believed calligraphy was and remains fundamental to today’s world, being a “key tool of establishing communication among peoples” and “conveying and preserving human heritage along with its experiences over time”.

Malik’s work, which has been sold for more than $1 million through private auction, displayed the dynamic field of Arab art which fused traditional with modern, she said.

“It is not a thing of the past, but a living tradition that continues to fascinate us.

“In this day and age of digital and electronic rule, almost everyone is an artist. What was once considered unique art has now become known as a cliche. To impress or grab the attention of the public today, the art needs to be unique and different. It is the rhythm and placement as a cycle within the larger work of Malik’s art that makes his art worth regarding.”

Malik’s paintings, which were all about “love, respect and peace”, were modern in their pattern design and colour blending, but the painstaking colour work and elaborate design could still be associated with the austerity of ancient Arabic calligraphy, she said.

“What unfolds in the exhibition is a series of incredibly rich modern calligraphic detail and historical scripts...(ranging) from the Kufic script, Thuluth script to the Nasq script. These paintings overwhelm the viewer not only with their historical importance of Arabic calligraphy but also with their delicate and subtle rendering of volume, depth and material detail.”

Sugandh said there were not many young or modern artists using calligraphy in their works, but there had been an increase lately due to initiatives undertaken by His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

It was important to maintain this traditional artform, a keystone of Islamic fine arts, crafts and creativity, and a “symbol of love, care and happiness”, she said.

It was also an important means of decoration, with Islamic descriptions adorning mosques, schools, events and even shopping malls.

“The art has gradually extended and we need to promote it in a positive way to keep it going and preserve our history.”

For Malik, who studied in Dubai, learning calligraphy meant years of patience, practice and educating himself under the guidance of teachers.

“There is still a lot to learn and understand the influence of different scripts, art and religion. The relationship of calligraphy to painting, the differences within various appropriations of scripts ... its significance has always been challenging and in many ways mysterious. But in all honesty, I wouldn’t call myself a calligrapher: I’m more of an artist and one of my medium is calligraphy.”

The exhibition runs until August 12 at the Shangri-la Hotel on Shaikh Zayed Road, Dubai.

sarah@khaleejtimes.com