‘Metaphors’, an exhibition featuring the works of Mahmoud.
Join us on January 11th – February 27th, 2024 at XVA Gallery for the opening of ‘Metaphors’, a solo exhibition by Mahmoud.
Curatorial statement:
Metaphors is the newest series of my work. This exhibition at XVA is the first time I am presenting the works from the series to the public.
In language, metaphors are abstract notions that we use to help explain the concrete. For example, Borges describes dawn as “When Light like a climbing vine/ begins to implicate the shadowed walls.” Or Hafez likens the sunrise to the “Universe pulling a mirror from the pocket of the horizon.” We use metaphors often with little awareness – “Pearl of wisdom”, “heart of gold,” “sunshine of my life” – to elucidate the common and the mundane in a dramatic fashion.
The works in the series are visual metaphors. As if observing them helps us make sense of the concrete world around us.
Education:
John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
Master in Public Administration 1992
State University of New York, BA in Mathematics 1981
Collections:
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; The British Museum
About the artist:
Born in 1958 Iran, lives in New York
Mahmoud Hamadani’s works have been shown at The British Museum, The New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York, as well as numerous solo and group exhibitions in New York, London, Dubai, Lausanne, Beirut and Hong Kong. He is in the permanent collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The British Museum. He is a recipient of Pollock-Krasner Foundation grant.
Hamadani earned a BA in Mathematics from State University of New York and a Masters degree in Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
About XVA Gallery
XVA Gallery is one of the leading galleries in the Middle East that specializes in contemporary art from the Arab world, Iran, and the Subcontinent. Exhibitions focus on works by the region’s foremost artists as well as those emerging onto the scene. The gallery’s artists express their different cultural identities and perspectives while challenging the viewer to drop prejudices and borders.
XVA Gallery exhibits both locally and internationally; collaborating with galleries and participating in international art fairs, such as Art Basel Hong Kong, SH Contemporary,Singapore Art Fair and Abu Dhabi Art, in order to further expose Middle Eastern contemporary art. XVA Gallery and XVA Art Hotel are located in Dubai’s heritage district, now called Al Fahidi Historical Neighborhood. XVA founded and organized the Bastakiya Art Fair from 2007- 2010 as part of its commitment to raising the profile of contemporary art practice in Dubai.