INTERNATIONAL EMERGING ARTIST AWARDS (IEAA) The Winning Creations of Saeed Khalifa and Timothy Hyunsoo Lee

The key pieces from the self-portrait series 'Deliverance' by Emirati winner Saeed Khalifa and the series 'Traces' by international winner Timothy Hyunsoo Lee were on view at a unique location on the 40th floor of Media One Hotel. Alongside the winners, art enthusiasts were given the opportunity to admire the work of 12 Emirati laureates and the Top 15 international artists. An excellence award was given to Emirati laureate Sheikha Alyazia Al Nahyan bint Mubarak Al Nahyan for the Carrom station, a traditional game board converted into a contemporary art installation.

Visitor admiring one of the works on the show / Courtesy of International Emerging Artist Awards (IEAA)

Artist explaining work to visitors / Courtesy of International Emerging Artist Awards (IEAA)

IEAA is giving this year’s winners, Saeed Khalifa and Timothy Hyunsoo Lee, the unprecedented opportunity to launch their careers onto an international level: securing both winners a two-year representation at the acclaimed Sabrina Amrani Gallery (Madrid, Spain) which includes the participation at international arts fairs and group shows.

Saeed Khalifa, a self-taught visual artist living and working in Dubai (UAE), was chosen for his digital photographic work. Khalifa is attracted to the "unusual – the little things people usually don’t notice". The artist is interested in body language, which is overlooked in modern society as a form of communication method. He usually works with the body of the human being as a canvas and tends to keep the subject of the image honest but the surroundings bent or broken.

International Emerging Artist Awards 2014 - Winner Saeed Khalifa / Courtesy of International Emerging Artist Awards (IEAA)

Visitor admiring IEAA Winner Saeed Khalifa's work / Courtesy of International Emerging Artist Awards (IEAA)

Visitors admiring IEAA Winner Saeed Khalifa's work / Courtesy of International Emerging Artist Awards (IEAA)

Timothy Hyunsoo Lee, an emerging Korean-American artist working in New York (USA), withdrew his ambitions of attending medical school and instead focused on his art aspirations. Lee has developed a novel system of mind-mapping – "a cartography of his psychopathology". Lee works almost exclusively in watercolour and gouache.

International Emerging Artist Awards 2014 - Winner Timothy Hyunsoo Lee / Courtesy of International Emerging Artist Awards (IEAA)

Visitor admiring IEAA Winner Timothy Hyunsoo Lee's work / Courtesy of International Emerging Artist Awards (IEAA)

Visitor admiring IEAA Winner Timothy Hyunsoo Lee's work / Courtesy of International Emerging Artist Awards (IEAA)

Visitor admiring IEAA Winner Timothy Hyunsoo Lee's work / Courtesy of International Emerging Artist Awards (IEAA)

General view of IEAA Winner Timothy Hyunsoo Lee's exhibition area / Courtesy of International Emerging Artist Awards (IEAA)

Visitors talking in front of Timothy Hyunsoo Lee's work / Courtesy of International Emerging Artist Awards (IEAA)

IEAA’s mission is to promote and increase the visibility of both Emirati and international emerging artists on the global art scene. Every year, IEAA organises the prize presentation in Dubai, inviting its international winner to discover the UAE’s art scene before kick starting both winners’ international tour. Award director Rebia Naim: “What differentiates IEAA from other art contests is primarily its mission to identify the innovative aspect of the artwork submitted, its originality and the overall coherence of the exhibition project.”

Sabrina Amrani Gallery is the eponymous gallery, based in Madrid, opened in June 2011. The gallery represents artists across East and West, eliminating cultural gaps and promoting a dialogue exchange and intellectual growth through it.