Entertainment | Visual Arts
A creative flight
The acclaimed artist has had no formal training but says he acquired his skills painstakingly to develop a style of his own.
- Source: The Majlis Gallery
- Published: 00:00 January 18, 2007
Abdul Qader Al Rais's story is a fascinating one. Born in Dubai, he moved to Kuwait at the age of six when his father passed away, and was cared for by his sister. During the 1960s, an unofficial cultural revolution was gaining momentum in that the government was subliminally supportive of all things creative - it was during this time that the young Abdul Qader developed an abiding love for art in particular and culture in general.
Although Abdul Qader received no formal artistic training, he recalls copying some of Rembrandt's masterpieces at an age when most children were mastering the art of drawing simple stick figures (to coin a phrase). He readily admits that the skill which he has now refined was painstakingly acquired from art books - he copied, revised and interpreted the work of the greats such as Monet, Renoir and Pissarro, and through experimentation developed his own style.
Abdul Qader recalls selling his first piece in 1964 and emboldened, he held his first exhibition in 1974 to critical acclaim. Then, surprisingly, he stopped painting. It was not until 12 years later, during a driving holiday around the US, that he began painting again. He is reticent about the reason for this hiatus, but nevertheless, by 1989 he had regained his confidence in his work. The rest, as they say, is history.
Today, Abdul Qader is considered the UAE's most accomplished artist. Indeed, he was the recipient of the first Shaikh Khalifa Prize for Art and Literature - a great honour. He has participated in numerous exhibitions, both at home and abroad and his work can be found in museums and private collections around the world, including China, Italy, United States, France and the United Kingdom. It seems that no palace within the GCC is adequately furnished without an Abdul Qader Al Rais.
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