Islamic Tourism: A unique collection of the works of one Iraq's most distinguished multi-talented artists, the late Issam El-Said (1938 - 88) are on show in London's Aya Gallery until April 2006. During two special open days, Saturday March 25th and Sunday March 26th, 1pm - 8pm the gallery at 15 Fulham High St, London SW6 3JH will be open to the public. At other times the exhibition can seen by prior appointment (Telephone 0207-371-5050 or email info@ayagallery.co.uk)
The exhibition is part of the Festival of Muslim Cultures which will host over 200 events - art, music, literature, poetry, performance, film, fashion, food etc - throughout Britain during the next 18 months.
The current exhibition, the first since the artist's death in 1988, includes artworks in various media, some of which have never been shown before.They were provided by his nephews and nieces who live in London.
The creative work of Issam El-Said in the form of painting, sculpture, printmaking, calligraphy, design and architecture show his dedication to the expression of Islamic cultural identity wonderfully demonstrating that the spiritual values of Islam can be integrated within the practice of art and architecture.
El-Said believed that "art is to serve a purpose and allow people to develop their own creative instincts from it. We have become far removed from such ideas. In the old days, art began as a craft; it was used towards a given end. This is not the case today. Take the architect for example, he is a master-builder of yesterday, but he has lost touch with his basic tools: earth, wood, brick, concrete. Things have become too abstract; so abstract that we can no longer relate to them on a practical level".
The exhibition at the Aya Gallery focuses on oil on canvas works, mixed media creations, pencil on paper drawings and geometric prints, which, in the words of Professor Keith Critchlow carry the imprint of integrity and authenticity as El-Said's magnificent contribution to the understanding of the geometry of Islamic art.
The works range from 100 x 100cm creations such as "Women with Watermelon" and 155 x 155cm "The Graveyard That Drowned" to a small self portrait and "Christmas in Baghdad" a mixed media work on card 14 x 11.5cm . The use of calligraphy reflects Iraq's glorious past while Sodom & Gomorah prophesied the dangerous present and oil on canvas abstract formation is indicative of an uncertain future.
Born in Baghdad in 1938, Issam El-Said was the son of Sabah Nuri El-Said and grandson of Nuri El-Said Pasha Iraq's prime minister from 1930 - 58. He received a BA Architecture from Corpus Christi College, Cambridge in 1961 and studied at Hammersmith College of Art and Design in London. He prepared for a PhD on the Methodology of Geometric Proportioning in Islamic Architecture at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1988 which was not completed due to his untimely death that year.
His artworks are in private and public collections world wide including the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Museum of Modern Art (New York) and the National Museums of Modern Art both in Baghdad and Amman.
Issam El-Said held numerous solo exhibitions in the Middle East, Europe and the USA and participated in various group exhibitions world-wide. Key extracts from his thesis were published by the Issam El-Said Foundation in a book entitled Islamic Art and Architecture: The System of Geometric Design, 1993. He was also co-author of Geometric Concepts in Islamic Art, published by the World of Islam Festival, London in 1976 and contributed numerous articles on Islamic art and architecture published in Europe and the USA. Issam El Said: Artist & Scholar a tribute to and celebration of the artist and his achievements was published by the Issam El Said Foundation soon after his death.
Munira Al-Kazi, a Kuwaiti graphic artist who worked with him during the 1960s and early 70's paid a moving tribute to El-Said in a poem:
the sun froze
in the burning waters
colours melted
spirals swept
trees plumed
life had no shadows
voice had no echo
the triangle has no sides
Other events hosted by the Festival of Muslim Culture include Palace and Mosque: Islamic Treasures of the Middle East from the V&A at the Sheffield Galleries. The exhibition shows a selection of objects from the V&A which have been on tour in America and Japan and will return to London for the opening of the new Jameel Gallery of Islamic Art in July. The 120 items are part of one of the world’s most extensive collections of Islamic art from the Middle East, dating from the eighth to the nineteenth centuries. Visitors will see a range of gorgeous decorative arts including ceramics, textiles, carpets, metalwork, glass and woodwork, and learn a number of stories that make them so magical.
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