Three generations of artists bring 'different perspective' to local creativity

AMMAN — Three generations of Jordanian artists are currently on display at the Zara Gallery, as part of the group exhibition “From a Different Perspective”, offering the public an insight into Amman’s modern art scene.

Inaugurated earlier this month, the show includes the works of painters Ammar Khammash, Hani Alqam and Fadi Haddadin as well as sculptors Rula Atalla and Taghlib Oweis.

The established artists, emerging talents and young painters came together to express the aesthetic variations in reflecting the local society’s diversity of people, culture and landscapes.

“These five artists express the synergy between the visible and the invisible, accompanying the viewer in an intriguing journey from outside the surface entering through the layers,” said Dana Rousan, director of the gallery, adding “their work provide a connection between familiar and unfamiliar places, allowing the public to see beyond than just the surface”.

Upon entering the gallery, the visitor’s attention is drawn to the young painter Haddadin’s colourful piece, which mixes restless brush strokes with subtly chosen palates.

"I loved Haddadin colourful piece, with heavy and thick oil strokes. I truly look forward to the day this young artist finds his niche, as I love his talent and energy," commented art critic Dina Dabbas Rifai following the exhibition.

Considered as one of the more prominent artists of the 21st century Middle East, Khammash's paintings convey a similarly unsettling impression, depicting natural landscapes that encompass geology and biology in a very personal way.

“His paintings are not just old-fashioned depictions of place. He has walked alone through these places and has experienced them not just as a physical surface but also as an accreditation of disciplines and multiple expressions. The work transmits the richness of the place," art critic Trish Edelstein said of Khammash's art.

In a less abstract yet similarly captivating manner, Alqam’s “Dreams of a Soufi” leaves the visitor mesmerised by a combination of thick paint and strokes that seek to portray society’s frailty and complexities.

“As an expressive painter, I use my brush to portray the society around me, the human and his movements, and the person’s memory,” he explained, stressing “to me, ordinary faces play an important role in my thoughts; they provoke and instigate unknown things to me and further allow me to step into their mass where I try to see the world through their eyes in order to absorb and understand to satisfy my curious mind.”

A self-taught artist, Oweis uses the mountainous area of his Ajloun childhood as an inspiration for his sculptures, which reflect the infinite possibilities of a natural material: stone.

“I believe that besides techniques and strategies, sculpture in its essence is not a preplanned action; instead, it is an improvisation of a piece which finds its way through the artist,” he noted, stressing the sculptor’s freedom to shape any desired creation.

The show also displayed Atalla’s stone and ceramics creations, offering the viewers an unusual take on expressive art. Recognised for the homeware works that brought her family company Silsal Design House to the forefront of the regional creative scene, Atalla recently started experiencing more adventurous territories, such as the ones on display in “From a Different Perspective”. 

The exhibition, which is free of charge, will run through April 5.