BUILDING BAUHAUS
October 25, 2019 - June 30, 2020
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Building Bauhaus marks the 100th anniversary of the movement’s founding by architect Walter Gropius. Established in 1919 in Weimar, Germany, the Bauhaus was
one of the most influential schools of the twentieth-century. Through student exercises, iconic design objects, photography, textiles, and archival material, the exhibition explores the school’s pioneering approach to art education, its influence on design and its significant impact on architecture showcasing the work of Marcel Breuer, one of the most notable figures to come out of the Bauhaus. The exhibition also sheds light on the movement’s influence and relationship to our region, revisiting key buildings across the Middle East, including our house, JPNF, designed by architect Mario Jossa of Marcel Breuer & Associates. ENJOY A 360 WALK-THROUGH The Jean-Paul Najar Foundation (JPNF) is pleased to announce a special online edition of our exhibition Building Bauhaus. Please click here for a 360 experience of the exhibition. |
THE MONOCHROME REVISITED
October 25, 2018 - June 30, 2019
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The Monochrome Revisited explores the history and evolution of the monochrome, a provocative and innovative art form that invites introspection as it challenges perception. The exhibition begins by inviting audiences to question the origin of the monochrome - the ‘first’ documented monochromes can be found in publications as early as the seventeenth century. The core of the exhibition, inspired by Marcia Hafif’s historical 1978 essay, ‘Beginning Again’, looks at how Hafif and her contemporaries used the materiality of painting as the subject of their work to express their artistic and philosophical principles. Finally, we look at how contemporary artists today still engage with the art form to address contemporary issues, demonstrating the vitally important role the monochrome continues to play.
Marcia Hafif’s ‘Beginning Again’ was published in September 1978 in Artforum. Full List of Artists (in alphabetical order): Miya Ando, Francisco Almengló, David Batchelor, James Bishop, Alteronce Gumby, Marcia Hafif, Dale Henry, Ralph Humphrey, Alfredo Jaar, Mohammad Kazem, Lucio Pozzi, Douglas Sanderson, Hassan Sharif, and Susanna Tanger. |
JENE HIGHSTEIN: SPACE AND PLACE
March 19 - June 30, 2018
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Jene Highstein: Space and Place presents the artist’s seminal sculptures as well as works on paper from the 1970s through the 1990s. A key figure of sculptural abstraction, Jene Highstein used bronze, concrete, steel and wood to create primal and organic forms. Throughout his fifty year-long career, Highstein’s sculptures experienced constant shifts in size. He was adept at creating artworks of immense and intimate scale. Highstein’s quasi-manufactured sculptures create a dialogue between raw materials and biomorphism, while also stressing the importance of the object’s presence within a surrounding space and its impact on the viewer. The solidity of Highstein’s sculptures complements the delicacy of this works on paper. His drawings of intense bone black pigment, charcoal and Chinese ink share the same processes as his sculptures. A frame is constructed through graphite and then covered with pigment, like the trowelling of cement over a steel frame. Highstein’s drawings exist independently of his sculptural mounds, spheres and totems.
The extensive archival component of the exhibition similarly reveals Highstein’s commitment to the experiential. With documentary photographs and film of his work this exhibition journeys into Highstein’s creative processes and the deep friendship that bound him to the collector and patron Jean-Paul Najar. |
OLIVIER MOSSET: ABSTRACTION
November 7, 2017 - February 28, 2018
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Olivier Mosset: Abstraction is the first exhibition of the artist's work in the Middle East. Mosset was a key figure of conceptual art in the mid-1960s in France and was a member of the groundbreaking BMPT movement. Curated by Hervé Mikaeloff, the exhibition features the scope of the artist's work from his iconic circle paintings of 1966-74 to his more recent monochromes.
Curated by Hervé Mikaeloff Olivier Mosset: Abstraction is sponsored by: The Embassy of Switzerland in the United Arab Emirates and ADS Securities. |
PIERRE DUNOYER: VERS LE TABLEAU
September 13 - October 26 2017
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ARTIST RUN NEW YORK: THE SEVENTIES
March 9 - June 30 2017
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Artist Run New York: The Seventies explores the transformation of contemporary art in 1970s New York. The exhibition looks at the vital role artists played in an artistic revolution that underscored multi-disciplinary collaborations that went beyond the visual arts to include performance, film, theatre ,dance, writing and music. The blurring of these lines served to influence the trajectories of each discipline for decades to come.
Curated by Jessamyn Fiore. |
CHRISTIAN BONNEFOI: DOUBLE TAKE
November 13 2016 - February 28 2017
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Curated by Slvie Turpin, Christian Bonnefoi: Double Take features works by Christian Bonnefoi and includes some of the artist's earlier paintings from the 1970s demonstrating the evolution and growth his work has made over the decades.
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Judy Rifka: RETROactive
September 5 - November 3 2016
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Judy Rifka: RETROactive is the first comprehensive exhibition for the artist in the Middle East. Rifka's work - complex in its simplicity, varied in its form and medium - is the result of a life spent learning, experimenting and exploring the depths of her creativity. Her works on plywood, of which examples from the 1970s cup to the recently commissioned triptych produced during her residency in Dubai, have been widely acknowledged to be among the most significant works of the 1970s. |
Jean-Paul Najar: Vision & Legacy
March 14 - June 30 2016
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The Foundation's inaugural exhibition, Jean-Paul Najar: Vision & Legacy, curated by Jessamyn Fiore, reflects on Najar's immense care for, and understanding of the artists. Presenting individual masterpieces from the last half century, as well as letters and ephemera from several artists throughout the decades, the show will provide an insightful look into the Founder's lifelong friendships with the artists.
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