Summer Group Exhibition at Anima Gallery in Qatar

The exhibition showcases works by renowned Qatari artists, Yousef Ahmad, Ali Hassan, Amal Al Aathem, Yasser Al Mulla and Iraqi artist Omar Alshahabi.

Yousef Ahmad

Qatari Artist Yousef Ahmad is a pioneer of modern Arabic contemporary art forms. His works are owned by some of the most renowned international museums, including the Metropolitan and the British Museum, as well as displayed by prestigious galleries, auction houses, and international art companies throughout the world. His work entered a new stage where his use of Arabic letters became independent of embellishment, sometimes forming an Islamic architectural component and at others a pure abstract, until reaching the next phase where the character became an absolute abstract. His latest creation is using the palm tree leaves as the canvas for his paintings, thus embracing his environment in his work.

Yousef Ahmad / Courtesy of Anima Gallery

Ali Hassan

Ali Hassan is focusing on exploration of Islamic calligraphy. His earliest works, black-and-white Arabic calligraphic lithographs on paper, mainly presented Surah from the Qurâ€™an and Arabic poetry. He then began to add hue to his black-and-white works, using watercolour, which in turn led him to the next, celebrated phase in his artistic development, explorations of the Arabic letter noon. â€œThrough my art I wanted to show my audience that it is not necessary for the artist to consider all letters but rather, that is possible for an artist to focus on a single letter his entire life because of the beauty, power, timelessness and malleability of a single Arabic letter,â€ he says.

He experimented also with striking and unconventional watercolour combinations such as cadmium orange with cobalt violet, and cerulean blue with chartreuse green. He further explored noon using acrylic paint and stencils, gradually moving away from paper to work exclusively on canvas with acrylic paint. His palette became increasingly muted, at times revisiting his original monochrome scheme on wood panel. In his continuing quest to push the limits of noon, Ali also began to experiment with mixed media on canvas. This noon period, for which Ali Hassan is best known, saw this singular Arabic letter repeated and reworked on all possible variations and permutations.

Ali Hassan / Courtesy of Anima Gallery

Amal Al Aathem

The art of Qatari artist Amal Al Aathem dwells into the soul of women, an echo of their spiritual dimensions. She uses her brush to dig deep into cultural dilemmas, expressing them through colours and lines, stamping her artistic identity in all her work. Amalâ€™s installations and sculptures are an abstract melody of the same theme. Bold, swaying figures, interwoven to create provoking and whispering thoughts. Amal initiated her creative journey in 1989 at the High Institute of Dramatic art in Kuwait, after which she graduated from Qatar University in 1995 with a Bachelor Degree in Arts Education from Qatar University. She held her first private exhibition in Bahrain in 2000. Since then her work has been exhibited locally and internationally and has won several awards.

Amal Al Aathem / Courtesy of Anima Gallery

Yasser Al Mulla

Qatari Artist Yasser Al Mulla exhibits intricate black and white drawings on canvas inspired by the writings of Persian philosopher and poet Alhallaj.

Yasser Al Mulla / Courtesy of Anima Gallery

Omar Alshahabi

Iraqi artist Omar Alshahabi is showcasing several new art pieces and this is his first participation at Anima Gallery. His work was exhibited in many galleries in Doha, Amman, Damascus, Baghdad and Iraq. He is a Member of Iraqi performing Society, Iraqi Artists Syndicate and Qatar Performing Society.

Omar Alshahabi / Courtesy of Anima Gallery