ArtCalendar
The Hague - February
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February 2011
Afifa Aleiby
Solo Exhibition
Galerie De Twee Pauwen - The Hague
until 6 February
Solo Exhibition
Galerie De Twee Pauwen - The Hague
until 6 February
AFIFA ALEIBY was born in Iraq, the land that at present is in such disarray, but at one point was the land of the Euphrates and the Tigris, which knew villages already at ca. 7000 BC, and was one of the earliest writing cultures of our civilization. In 332 BC Alexander the Great seized power in Mesopotamia, which then became part of the Hellenic world. From that moment on, but even before that, there are in fact no separate developments in the East and the West, those polarizing terms that determine thinking so often these days. Mesopotamia was just as well the cradle of our civilization.
Afifa Aleiby received her education at the Art Academy in Baghdad, where the study of Western art history was part of the program. After this, she studied at the Surikov Institute for Fine Arts in Russia for several years. During the 1970's, in Russia art was still largely determined by socialist realism, monumental painting with the self-realization of the laborer as its main theme, even though Russia had already become somewhat less strict during these years. Can one observe this influence in Aleiby's work? I don't know. The human figure always plays a central role in her work, mostly women, and they are of monumental appearance. In the early 1980's she traveled to Italy, where she finds herself surrounded by the Renaissance, the works of Uccello, Botticelli, Ghirlandaio, the sculpted painting of Michelangelo. Other important references are the early 20th-century Pittura Metafysica of Giorgio de Chirico, the classicist work of Severini and Picasso.
Classification
How, then, should one classify the work of Afifa Aleiby? Is she an Iraqi artist because she was born in Iraq? When reasoning thus, we reduce the artist to her place of birth and run the risk of orientalism, the search for - what we at least take to be - traces of Iraqi/Arabic elements in her work. That would be to disregard her internationalism. I would like to call Afifa Aleiby a child of art-history in the broadest sense of the word, not subjected to the Western canon therefore, but in the awareness of a production of artworks which stands in an international tradition. She knows her art-history well and explicitly places her work in that tradition, the tradition of painting as craftsmanship. Afifa Aleiby has developed an entirely personal style of painting which refers to the great traditions in art, but has its own voice within them: I would like to qualify her work as poetic realism of the predominantly female domain in a monumental plastic style of painting.
Taken from the essay of Kitty Zijlmans, Professor of Contemporary Art History and Theory, Leiden University, The Netherlands
Afifa Aleiby received her education at the Art Academy in Baghdad, where the study of Western art history was part of the program. After this, she studied at the Surikov Institute for Fine Arts in Russia for several years. During the 1970's, in Russia art was still largely determined by socialist realism, monumental painting with the self-realization of the laborer as its main theme, even though Russia had already become somewhat less strict during these years. Can one observe this influence in Aleiby's work? I don't know. The human figure always plays a central role in her work, mostly women, and they are of monumental appearance. In the early 1980's she traveled to Italy, where she finds herself surrounded by the Renaissance, the works of Uccello, Botticelli, Ghirlandaio, the sculpted painting of Michelangelo. Other important references are the early 20th-century Pittura Metafysica of Giorgio de Chirico, the classicist work of Severini and Picasso.
Classification
How, then, should one classify the work of Afifa Aleiby? Is she an Iraqi artist because she was born in Iraq? When reasoning thus, we reduce the artist to her place of birth and run the risk of orientalism, the search for - what we at least take to be - traces of Iraqi/Arabic elements in her work. That would be to disregard her internationalism. I would like to call Afifa Aleiby a child of art-history in the broadest sense of the word, not subjected to the Western canon therefore, but in the awareness of a production of artworks which stands in an international tradition. She knows her art-history well and explicitly places her work in that tradition, the tradition of painting as craftsmanship. Afifa Aleiby has developed an entirely personal style of painting which refers to the great traditions in art, but has its own voice within them: I would like to qualify her work as poetic realism of the predominantly female domain in a monumental plastic style of painting.
Taken from the essay of Kitty Zijlmans, Professor of Contemporary Art History and Theory, Leiden University, The Netherlands
About Galerie De Twee Pauwen
Galerie De Twee Pauwen presents high quality, figurative, contemporary art. The emphasis is on artists who use their technical ability to own visionary worlds. The gallery represents several Dutch painters and sculptors of the name, and renowned artists from Russia, Belarus, France, Italy and Belgium.
Galerie De Twee Pauwen is located in the historic center of The Hague. The Hague is the residence of the royal family, the Dutch government, many foreign embassies and the International Court of Justice. A visit to this "royal" city in more ways worthwhile. Apart from the Peace Palace and the Royal Palace, there are several world famous museums.
The gallery can boast of a lasting partnership with its artists and a thorough knowledge of the contemporary art offerings. On this basis, advises and assists the gallery private collector in the acquisition and installation of valuable art objects in their own home, office and garden area.
Galerie De Twee Pauwen presents high quality, figurative, contemporary art. The emphasis is on artists who use their technical ability to own visionary worlds. The gallery represents several Dutch painters and sculptors of the name, and renowned artists from Russia, Belarus, France, Italy and Belgium.
Galerie De Twee Pauwen is located in the historic center of The Hague. The Hague is the residence of the royal family, the Dutch government, many foreign embassies and the International Court of Justice. A visit to this "royal" city in more ways worthwhile. Apart from the Peace Palace and the Royal Palace, there are several world famous museums.
The gallery can boast of a lasting partnership with its artists and a thorough knowledge of the contemporary art offerings. On this basis, advises and assists the gallery private collector in the acquisition and installation of valuable art objects in their own home, office and garden area.
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