DIFC Gulf Art Fair to curate new exhibition: Transients by Nadim Karam

Karam was among the sixteen artists commissioned to make large-scale installations for the fair.

Nadim Karam is on the advisory board of the International Design Forum, and will be a key-note speaker at their event organized by Moutamarat this month. Running alongside the forum, the DIFC Gulf Art Fair will curate a display of his work both inside and outside at the Madinat Jumeirah working with the XVA Gallery, displayed with the work of Iraqi artist Halim Al'Karim.

For three months over the summer Nadim's sculptures will be displayed in the open courtyards of XVA Gallery in Bastakia, forming a major section of their summer show. Nadim's sculptures will be displayed both individually and in groups, some standing on recycled wooden shutters from Beirut.

'I call the series Transients as it depicts the changing face of Dubai. The sculptures represent everything - from humans to animals to plants to objects. In fact, some of them seem different things to different people. The idea is to showcase Dubai as a city of migrants and tourists which is in a constant state of flux,' said Karam.

The sculptures making up the Transients installation form an entire language of symbols, characters and forms which can interact both with man-made architectural structures and with nature. Some refer to the recent political troubles in Nadim's native Lebanon, others are merely playful references to objects used in our daily lives. The artist calls them 'Urban Toys', the title of a recently published book which chronicles installations Nadim has undertaken in cities across the world - in Melbourne, Tokyo, Prague, London and Beirut.

'Each of the pieces in Transients is unique. With these charming steel sculptures, Nadim has created a contemporary visual vocabulary where the insignias are shapes and colours. You can do so much with them, experiment and display them in fresh and innovative ways. They were commissioned to stand in water, but are equally compelling in other environments. These pieces would harmonize with any public or private space, and they are especially evocative in the ever-changing scenery of Dubai,' said Laura Trelford, the curator of the forthcoming Karam exhibition.

Nadim Karam is an internationally respected artist, architect and principal of his workshop Atelier Hapsitus in Beirut, Lebanon. He is on the advisory board of the International Design Forum.