Saturday, April 30, 2011

Sliman Mansour: Terrains of Belonging Retrospective Exhibition May – June 2011

Early in the Morning, 1978, oil on canvas, 120 x 90cm. Courtesy of Yvette and Mazen Qupty.

Rituals Under Occupation, 1989, oil on canvas, 100 x 120 cm. Courtesy of Rana Sadik.

Dreams Kite, 2009, oil on canvas, 90 x 100 cm. Courtesy of Amman Cairo Bank.

City of Dreams, 1979, oil on canvas, 125X 95 cm.

Camels of Hardship, 1973, oil on canvas, 152 X 98 cm.
http://www.thisweekinpalestine.com/details.php?id=3413&ed=194&edid=194

Sliman Mansour: Terrains of Belonging Retrospective Exhibition May – June 2011

Opening 12 May 2011 Official opening @19:00 at Palestinian Art Court - al Hoash Open Reception @ 20:00 at Dar Isaaf Alnashashibi Artwork will be exhibited in both locations. Curated by Dr. Tina Sherwell

Terrains of Belonging is a retrospective exhibition for pioneering artist Sliman Mansour, curated by Dr. Tina Sherwell. The exhibition comes as part of al Hoash’s bi-annual initiative to honour and appreciate the contributions of pioneering Palestinian artists in the art movement locally and internationally, in addition to properly documenting their life’s work through the production of comprehensive books.

Sliman Mansour is one of the most prominent Palestinian artists today, and is the creator of many memorial works that are part of the Palestinian collective memory and identity. His practice spans several decades in which he has distilled experiences of Palestinians through the prism of his canvas, providing important reflections on the changing times he has lived through. Mansour’s works are dispersed across the corners of the world, and are held in many individual collections. This retrospective is an attempt to bring together, in a single exhibition, a wide range of works reflecting the different facets of his practice over the decades.

As a point of departure, the works are loosely collated into different themes rather than a chronological display. This arrangement attempts to create new juxtapositions that reveal recurring themes and concerns of the artist, and the transformations in his approach to the work of art. Several themes are prevalent, including Jerusalem: The City of Dreams, which examines the iconic imagery Mansour has created of the city over the years, reflecting on its central place in the Palestinian imagination. This is set in contrast to the Imprints of Everyday, which profiles the artist’s most recent works on the landscape of checkpoints and the culture of waiting, most famously at Qalandia, which severs Jerusalem from the West Bank. The exhibition also includes archival material from the artist’s personal collection and Mansour’s portraits.

The exhibition also looks retrospectively at the artist’s large body of work on the Palestinian landscape in Terrains of Belonging-after which the exhibition is named-and spans several decades of his practice. Examples from the early works are dominated by symbolism and imagery of the Palestinian village later evolving into his famous works in mud that became a cornerstone of his visual language and practice. More recent work casts more intimate portrayals of the landscape of the homeland and its connection to individuals over generations.

The exhibition will be combined with a comprehensive book of artist Sliman Mansour. The book comes to document and shed a light on Mansour’s artistic and personal life through a wide range of artwork arranged according to the mentioned themes. In addition to the gallery, the book also contains two analytic essays. One is written by professor and artist Bashir Makhoul, Rector of Winchester Campus and Head of Winchester School of Art at the University of Southampton, UK. The other essay is by artist and writer Nicola Gray. On the personal aspect the book includes an interview with the artist conducted by Dr. Yazid Anani alongside archival material of press articles and old photos.

Several educational and artistic activities are planned to accompany the exhibition and to ensure the maximum social involvement of the community with this significant exhibition. It’s rather important for us to reach out to as many audiences as we can and give them the chance to be part of this cultural event. With this in mind we are holding interpretive programmes for schools and students, an artist’s talk, and workshops.

For the same purpose of reaching out to a wide range of audiences and in order to enable Palestinians living in different areas to enjoy and attend to the exhibition, after the premier in Jerusalem, it will tour to Ramallah, Bethlehem, Nazareth-and hopefully to other places in the world.

The exhibition is produced by Palestinian Art Court - al Hoash, in collaboration with Dar Isaaf Al Nashashibi - Dar Altifl Al Arabi. It is funded by the European Union, A.M Qattan Foundation, Al Mawred al Thaqafi, and sponsored by the Palestinian Investment Fund and the Consolidated Contractors Company.


Sliman Mansour

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