Housed in both Manarat Al Saadiyat Exhibition Center and Norman Foster-designed UAE Pavilion, the fourth edition of the Abu Dhabi Art fair returns to the UAE from November 7 to November 10. This year, the fair will include 50 international galleries and some 400 artists. The exhibitor list is, more or less, similar to last year, with 80 percent of galleries returning.
“You can see from the caliber of galleries we have again this year, that it was a difficult decision to select a small number from the exceptional submissions, to fit with our boutique platform,” said executive director Rita Aoun-Abdo in a press release.
In addition to booths from international powerhouses like David Zwirner, Gagosian, and Hauser & Wirth, Art Abu Dhabi once again will offer “Signature,” a platform for emerging artists to showcase their work in solo shows. Beirut’s Galerie Janine Rubeiz’s booth will be hard to miss. Artist Mazen Kerbaj will be sketching and painting from inside in a transparent cube throughout the fair, in an ongoing installation-cum-performance entitled “Don’t Feed the Artist.” More ambitiously scaled pieces will be showcased in, “Beyond,” a section of the fair dedicated to monumental installations and sculptures. Paris’s Kamel Mennour Gallery will present Tadashi Kawamata’s “Chairs for Abu Dhabi,” a 20-foot tall vaulted structure constructed from hundreds of chairs.
Another section, “Bidaya” (from the Arabic word for “beginning”), will showcase one lucky gallery that is less than three years old. This year’s featured newcomer is Istanbul’s CDA Projects, which will bring works by Iraqi artist Adel Abidin and young Turkish artists Burçak Bingöl and Zeynep Kayan. Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi’s in house design fair will highlight regional craft and design, while inviting British designer Stuart Haygarth to collaborate with UAE artisans on a major new piece.
“Whether you intend to buy or experience museum-quality art in an iconic setting; discover new or more affordable works in our dedicated section for emerging artists; or be engaged intellectually in the public programme, there is something for everyone during these four days,” says Aoun-Abdo. For visitors with shallow pockets but a lust for learning, the fair also boats robust programming, with notable speakers including Marina Abramovic, Beth DeWoody, Leila Heller, and Jean Nouvel.
Exhibiting Galleries Include
AB Gallery
Agial Art Gallery
Art Sawa
ARTSPACE
Atassi Gallery
Athr Gallery
Ayyam Gallery
Bait Muzna Gallery
CDA Projects
David Zwirner
Edward Tyler Nahem Fine Art, L.L.C
Gagosian Gallery
Galerie Brigitte Schenk
Galerie El Marsa
Galerie Enrico Navarra
Galerie GP & N Vallois
Galerie Janine Rubeiz
Galerie Jérôme de Noirmont
Galerie Kashya Hildebrand
Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac
Galleria Continua
Hanart TZ Gallery
Hauser & Wirth
Horrach Moya
Hunar Gallery
kamel mennour
Kerlin Gallery
Kukje Gallery / Tina Kim Gallery
Lam Art Gallery
Leila Heller Gallery
Lisson Gallery
Meem Gallery
October Gallery
Ota Fine Arts
Paul Stolper Gallery
Sfeir-Semler
Simon Lee Gallery
The Breeder
The Park Gallery
The Third Line
Tina Keng Gallery
Tony Shafrazi Gallery
Waterhouse & Dodd
— Chloe Wyma
