Sultan Gallery's Blog

Sultan Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of ’20 Seasons a Day’,  a solo show by Netherlands-based Iraqi artist, Nedim Kufi.

It’s the second time the artist is exhibiting in Kuwait, as Nedim Kufi is undoubtedly a man of talent. The way he undergoes transformation in his work, transforming himself from subject to object, is testament of the living energy instilled in such original artwork. Kufi uses pigments, twigs, leaves, seeds, henna and mud in his oeuvres. For him, the art-master is nature and we, the scrimmaging subjects of this world, are forever nature’s students.

For this exhibition Kufi was inspired by the physical and relational characteristics of a notebook. The thematic “daftar” (Arabic for workbook) has for long been a source of revelation throughout the development of his work. In 2004, the artist founded the online quarterly magazine called daftar, which can be visited at www.nkufi.com/daftar.html.  Part of this project was to take physical iterations, as the objective has always been for it to occupy a place between theory and practice –either as seminars, publications, performances  or presentations of work– hence the exhibition being announced herein. Here Kufi aims to open up to the audience through his artwork much like a notebook opens up to it’s owner. Partially reminding of the things we have noted down like points on a page, and partially giving us the freedom to fill up empty spaces through our own imagination. For Kufi the meaning of artwork is where it’s merit lies; not in it’s appearance, but in many cases the title. He insists on working on the end of the story more than on the start of it, as he encourages the viewer to do when analyzing his work.

It is with this objective that Sultan Gallery invites you to explore Nedim Kufi’s  ‘20 Seasons a Day’, where he analyzes the garden and questions the changing value of nature and the environment over the span of one day (Tuesday, January 11, 2011 from 7 to 9 p.m.).