2012-11-26 14:00:58 - The exhibition which will showcase 90 different artworks that include traditional and contemporary calligraphy by renowned Arab and Iranian artists

Dubai, 26th November 2012: Pro Art Gallery, the gallery that is synonymous with innovative art & collectibles is pleased to announce the opening of their exhibition, ‘The Beauty of Calligraphy ’. The exhibition which will showcase the artworks by Arab and Iranian artists, will run from November 28th to December 19th 2012, at Palm Strip Shopping Mall on Jumeirah Beach Road, Jumeirah.

The exhibition will illustrate how artists have successfully appropriated and further developed the universal contemporary art idiom by enriching it with local themes and their own hybrid visual language.

The Beauty of Calligraphy which opens on November 28th, at 7:00pm, will feature over 90 different works that include traditional and contemporary calligraphy from calligraphers such as Khalid Al Jallaf (United

Arab Emirates), Fatima Saeed (United Arab Emirates), Insaf (United Arab Emirates), Abdallah Akar (Tunisia), Tajsir Hasan (Sudan), Wissam Shawkat (Iraq), Majid Al Yousif (Saudi Arabia), Ali Shirazi (Iran), Shoughi Merhdad, Sasan Nasernia (Iran) to name a few.

About Pro-Art:
Founded in 2010, Pro Art gallery is the brainchild of art collector Mrs. Tatiana Faure and is one of the first places in the Middle East where collectors can acquire artworks such as masters, lithographic prints and serigraphs of over 100 artists from 15 different countries. Pro Art Gallery offers an impressive collection of fine arts, selection of styles and mediums from one-of-a-kind paintings to affordable limited edition prints, sculptures to photography. Our variety of portfolio gives collectors access to a range of artists with the highest level of quality, integrity and taste within their chosen field. From acclaimed street art, to renowned masters or the showcasing of upcoming artist, Pro Art is your one source for Art.

Showcased artists include works by Carlos Nadal, Pablo Picasso, Fernando Botero, Damien Hirst, Marc Chagall, Tyeb Mehta, S.H. Raza, M.F. Husain, Banksy, Andy Warhol, Alberto Giacometti, Bernard Buffet, and many more.

Additionally, Pro Art Gallery has an in-house framing setup supported by certified framers and framing advisors using the latest technology and imported European frames.
For further details, please visit ProArt gallery located in Palm Strip Shopping Mall, F 21, Jumeirah Beach Road, Opposite Jumeirah Mosque from 10am – 9pm Saturday to Thursday or call +9714 3450900. For further information about ProArt Gallery, please send an email on info@proartuae.com

Media Contact:
ProArt Gallery
Tel.: +971 4 345 0900
Fax: +971 4 345 0912
Mob.: +971 5 6682 1314
E-mail: info@proartuae.com
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Anila D'souza
OAK Consulting FZC
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Email: anila@oakconsulting.biz


Biographies of featured artists:

Abdallah Akar (Tunisia)
Born in the far south of Tunisia in 1952, Abdallah went to Paris in the late 1960s, where he met and trained under the master Ghani Alani. Akar has worked on the art of calligraphy for nearly thirty years and has taught at the ‘Institut du Monde Arabe’ since 1993. Abdallah as a painter and calligrapher, draws his inspiration from Arabic and Western poetry (Mahmoud Darwish, Omar Al Khayyam) using a luminous palette with a balanced mix of writing and colour, on materials as diverse as textile, wood and iron.

Khalid Al Jallaf (UAE)
The first Emirati artist to be featured is Khalid Al Jallaf. He is a man of many parts, a true bridge between the Arts, Sciences and Humanities. Qualifying originally as a lawyer in 1984, he is the Executive Editor of Hroof Arabia magazine (the only quarterly magazine about Arabic Calligraphy in the world). He is a big man with a generous spirit, an engaging sense of humour and a passion for expressing the glow of Arabic language and culture through the alphabet of his mother tongue. A great communicator at many levels Khalid loves using his art as a starting point for dialogue and chats about things creative, spiritual and uplifting. He has become somewhat of an ambassador in recent years travelling to various countries including Japan, Germany, Spain and Korea to represent the UAE in cross cultural exchanges that he freely admits are as much about fun as they are serious.

Fatima Saeed Al Bagali (UAE):
The second spotlighted local artist featured is Fatima Saeed Al Bagali (born in Dubai in 1974). Fatima has a certificate of excellence in scripts from the Institute of Arabic Calligraphy and Islamic Art and has also studied at the Sharjah Centre for Arabic Calligraphy. She was trainded in Arabic calligraphy by Dr. Salah Shirzad. She enrolled in courses in Turkey to learn the Thuluth and Naskh scripts with Sheikh Hassan Chalabi and Dawood Bektash from 2005 to 2009. She continued her study in other scripts (TA’LIQ) with Sheikh Hassan Chalabi, and other courses to learn gilding and Islamic Illumination by Mrs. Sayma Chalabi in Turkey. From 2005 to 2007, she worked as a coordinator for the Dubai international exhibition for Arabic Calligraphy Art. She was also a coordinator for Al Basmalh exhibition in 2009 and for Al Mashq exhibition in 2010. She has participated in many group exhibitions and has also won awards both local and abroad. Fatima is currently working as a project manager at the Dubai Arabic Calligraphy Center.

Majid Alyousef (Saudi Arabia):
Majid Alyousef is a calligrapher, designer and creative professional, with a set of skills that combine calligraphy, typography and digital art.

Since early childhood he has been especially drawn towards the arts and creative expression. His interest began with drawing, painting, model making, followed by calligraphy. At a very young age, Majid began focusing on the art of calligraphy, guided by teachers and experts in the field. In the beginning, he followed the traditional path set by master calligraphers and was very keen on acquiring the necessary skills and techniques taught by the very best. But with time, effort and enthusiasm towards innovation, he began carving his own path and setting his own trademark upon his creative work.

Majid has participated in several exhibitions in the UAE and abroad, and has also taught calligraphy and typography in various art institutions and colleges.
Although he carries a deep passion for calligraphy, Majid continued developing his other creative and artistic inclinations during his academic years and early career, leading him to earn his expertise as an interactive designer and digital artist.

Sasan Nasarnia (Iran):
Calligrapher, painter and musician Sasan Nasernia, was born in 1974 in Tehran. He graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design from Tehran’s Azad Art University in 1997. As a graphic artist, Persian and Arabic words and letter forms never ceased to fascinate him. Although digital typography was the trend of that time, Sasan grew to realize that it wasn’t his method of choice to satisfy his sheer fervour for art. This led him to start creating unique calligraphic paintings, as the means to express his artistry and self-exploration.

In search of his own language and style over recent years, Sasan has resorted to a minimalistic approach as a result of his “less is more” motto. The majority of his works are monochromic and dichromic, where the intertwined letter forms are created instantly, characterized by the melody of chanted poetry. Since 2008, Sasan has held various solo and group exhibitions in galleries in both Tehran and Dubai.

Wissam Shawkat:
Originally from Iraq, Wissam Shawkat has been passionate about calligraphy since an early age. Currently residing in Dubai, UAE he is a civil engineer by profession. His degree in Civil Engineering, received from Basra University in 1996, complemented his artistic pursuits and offered him the skills necessary to excel at craftsmanship and design. His unique style borrows from the exquisite craftsmanship of traditional practitioners and the vibrancy of contemporary culture.

A calligrapher and designer of logotypes with over 20 years experience, he has worked for well-known clients in branding design, advertising agencies and big corporations. In addition to the graphic applications of his calligraphic works, he has practiced calligraphy as an art form, producing fine art calligraphy pieces that are included in many private and public collections throughout the world. He has participated and won in many local and international competitions and exhibitions and is a judge and a consultant for several local and international calligraphy functions and exhibitions. Wissam’s work has appeared in many books and publications featuring the art of calligraphy and logos while selected pieces are a part of important private collections across the world.