Artist B'lu of Henosis today launched her grand solo exhibition, "Grandpa Says", in Abu Dhabi, with no less than the Ambassador of India snipping the ribbon. Spanning almost all of February and featuring a palette knife workshop run by the artist, works spanning diverse themes, sizes, and media adorned the display boards of The Space.
The artistic talent on display is evident in the attention to salient detail and the delicious harmony of colors, across works ranging from the very small to the very large. Some of my favorites were of the scenery perspectives: looking up into sky in a grove, or across a distant field at sunset, or down at reflections on a pond -- these are definitely her forte. A couple of paintings done in mainly grey, wintry tones stood out in particular.
Accompanying many of the paintings were short poems. Constructed mainly as narratives, these were notable for their simple flow and occasional colloquialisms that create a sense of intimacy.
Among other explorations of media, gold and coffee -- two among the most expensive commodities in the world, incidentally -- were used in a few works to very harmonious interplay of hue and luster.
This weekend, I paid a quick visit to the twofour54 building in Abu Dhabi City's Al Muntazah, taking the opportunity of the opening night of Henosis' month-long multi-artist exhibition, Mind Your Hashtags, to check out this space called, well, The Space.
Unlike its Dubai counterparts (at least the ones to which I've been), The Space is one long, continuous hall. The configuration at the time of my visit had a long table running almost all of its length, with a cluster of privacy seats at one end, and a work table and cinema at the other. A window cafe sits in the middle, and few walls have shelves to hold assorted books and magazines.
Mind Your Hashtags, featuring the works of numerous expat artists from around the world, consists mainly of the 2D, although there were a few video and object pieces, such as this interesting one by Deislava Dare (top left). Some particularly striking variations on technique and/or medium could be seen, like those of Nissa Riyas (bottom left) and Sarah Amer (right).
I especially liked the drawing pieces on display, appreciating some sharp and artistically distinctive samples of work by (clockwise from top left) Michael Turda, Haafiza Sayed, and Sumanta Dahda.
