ArtInternational Istanbul

Featuring Sami Al Turki, Jowhara Alsaud, Hazem Harb, Ahmed Mater, Basmah Felemban, Musaed Alhulis, Nasser Alsalem, Saddek Wasil and Ayman Yossri Daydban

Booth E5

16-18 September, 2013

Istanbul, Turkey

abc (art berlin contemporary)

Featuring Musaed Al Hulis

19-22 September, 2013

Berlin, Germany

From There, To Here, & Inevitably Into Eternity

Sami Al Turki Solo Exhibition

25 September - 15 November, 2013

Athr Gallery, Jeddah

Saudi artist Sami al-Turki discusses the event within the context of being a participant as well as an established practitioner of video art.

Rhizoma: (Generation in Waiting) -the Saudi Arabian Pavilion at this year’s Venice Bienalle produced by Edge of Arabia and co-curated by Sara Raza - opened on May 30 to critical acclaim. The exhibition features a number of young Saudi artists and, in particular, considers their interest in new-media practices.

Athr gallery presented the work of Sami Al Turki at VOLTA in Basel in June.

VOLTA - a fair founded in 2005 as a platform for presenting the vision of contemporary art galleries of global repute – exhibited works from selected galleries in Basel's Dreispitzhalle.

In the work shown by Sami Al Turki – named  'Barzakh', an Arabic word that alludes to a state of in-between - Al-Turki depicts unfinished architectural structures suspended amidst the clouds in a homage to a dream that is drifting farther away, not just out of his reach, but out of the reach of an entire generation and class of people. While appearing as a fanciful gesture, the work can also be seen as a stark depiction of mankind's capacity for greed, the artist suggests that if it were possible to own the sky and build walls declaring ownership, mankind would so.

Athr Gallery stated that video (works) is an introduction to video art in the region, showcasing artworks by the likes of Ahmed Mater and his camera view of Jamrat (the stone throwing ritual in Hajj); Ziad Antar’s short art/documentary on the 2006’s war in Lebanon with a mixture of sounds and visuals; Adel Abidin’s commentary on war and pop culture; Hans Op De Beeck’s architectural video masterpiece “Staging Silence 2;” David Zink Yi’s street dance performance; and Sami Alturki’s protest on overwhelming advertising billboards in the region.

In its seventh edition this year, Art Dubai hosted 75 galleries from 30 different countries showcasing the creative and artistic work of 500 artists. Saudi Arabia was represented by Athr Gallery.

Though Art Dubai might be a somewhat careful art fair—and certainly every fair has its share of “decorative” painting—a great number of its participants display works that lean towards social or political commentary—some more, some less subtle. Athr Gallery from Jeddah devotes one of their two booths to Saudi-Arabian born Sami Al Turki and his ongoing photographic series “Barzakh” (2012–). In these images of strangely hovering architectural structures against a vast expanse of cloudy skies, Al Turki makes a wry comment on the difficulties of finding a “home” in Saudi Arabia.