The most extensive presentation of works from the Sharjah Art Foundation Collection to date opens on 15 July 2023, following its debut at Deichtorhallen Hamburg in November 2022. For its presentation in Sharjah iteration, In the Heart of Another Country has been reimagined to include new acquisitions and restored works, many of which are on view for the first time.
Spanning all six galleries in Al Mureijah Art Spaces, the exhibition features over 150 works by more than 60 artists across three generations, and is on view through 24 September 2023.
This exhibition identifies key themes evident throughout the collection and brings them together in an exploration of artists whose work engages with concepts of longing, belonging and rootedness.
Drawing inspiration from the late artist and author Etel Adnan’s landmark memoir, In the Heart of the Heart of Another Country (2004), the exhibition charts sentiments of longing, memorial and homecoming though a constellation of artworks that unfold across borders, both real and imagined. From the tessellating architectural structures conceived by Saloua Raouda Choucair to the sensuous abstraction found in the paintings of Huguette Caland, these forms convene in space and in dialogue with the arched architectures of Sonia Balassanian, whose work is being presented at the Foundation for the first time.
A significant geometric abstraction by Marcos Grigorian is shown alongside Adam Henein’s delicate drawings on papyrus. In between these visual journeys are extensive presentations of the reconfigured body, as seen in self-portraits by Rasheed Araeen and Amal Kenawy, whose evocative images reveal the possibilities of distinguishing the self and the other.
Questions of nationalism, space and refuge emerge in an illuminating work by Halil Altindere and in the textured seascape of Minam Apang.
Organised by Deichtorhallen Hamburg and Sharjah Art Foundation, the exhibition is curated by Dr Omar Kholeif, Director of Collections and Senior Curator, Sharjah Art Foundation.
Alongside In the Heart of Another Country, Sharjah Art Foundation will offer a series of workshops inspired by the artists featured in the exhibition as part of its Learning Programme this summer as well as a public closing event reflecting on the themes of the exhibition with key scholars and academics.
The exhibition is on from 15 July – 24 September 2023 at Galleries 1 to 6, Al Mureijah Art Spaces. Admission is free.
