السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

On the 12th of October 2017, I had the pleasure of visiting the First Movement art group’s first art gallery that has been held in Sama Creatives’ Hub.

 

I didn’t know much about the group before going. I discovered it through Mohanna Tayeb and Mudi AlBednah, both of whom I follow on instagram and love their works.

The group has been founded by Mohanna to gather amazing saudi artists and inspire aspiring or emerging artists, such as myself, to keep at it.

And the reason it is called The First Movement is that the first movement signifies the first stroke or move you make on the canvas that later transforms into a painting.

I knew I had to go and support such a concept and talent! So I did.

Before I get into the lovely artists, have you seem the way their pictures are displayed? My god are they wonderful! Those alone are masterpieces. And they do represent each artist’s style quite well. Or at least quite beautifully. 

The first one I will be talking about is one I have been basically stalking on social media since.. Forever. Which is Mudi AlBednah.

 

Mudi has a peculiar style in art, unlike any I have seen before. I have always admired the atrociously beautiful pieces she creates (for those who are confused about the use of the word atrocious next to beautiful, it is a recurring theme in most of the group’s artwork to showcase the beauty of atrocity). I love her choice of colors in these particular pieces and how she integrates different mediums in one piece (specifically the use of lead/charcoal with acrylic paint, as I have always been told those two shouldn’t be together yet she is another artist who is proof that art’s rules are meant to be broken and bent). Mudi’s pieces also happen to be poetic, i would call them visual manifestations of poetry (Mudi’s arabic writings do aid in this perception) 

Here’s a sad story: I really wanted to meet Mudi. However, I couldn’t tell which one she was and inquiring escaped my mind. I only made out who she was when I saw her instastory when I left the gallery. She took a picture of her shoes (which were cute) and I devestatingly put two and two together. I did message her on instagram telling her this and she was extremely sweet and appreciative of the support. Mudi if you’re reading this you’re one hell of a woman and one hell of an artist! I hope we can collaborate or meet in the future. 

 

Another artist in this group is Lujain Faqirah. She didn’t catch my eye at first but I followed my cousin and my friend to her artwork as they were mesmerised by the women piece. The more I kept looking at them, the more appreciative I grew of the ideas and artistic methods implemented in her artwork. Her artist signature is pretty unique and wonderful as she uses a wax seal in place of a traditional signature. 

 

Speaking of growing appreciation, the same thing happened with Najla AlWadaani. When I first glimpsed her work I actually did not like them at all. Curiousity drew me in to really look at it, analyse it if you will. It all suddenly made sense.

I think the unusual presentation and materials used in her work is meant to set you back a bit and draw you in. I felt this little series of hers presented an oxymoron of spontaneity and percision. A chaotic thought with a plan.

 

An artist that really had me and my “companions” (cousin and friend is a mouthful to repeat) contemplating was Rozan alKulaib. We actually had the pleasure of meeting her! She is a precious soul indeed. We talked to her about her work and our artistic lives. It was an inspiring conversation; she told us how she really just wants to make art to make art, to showcase herself with all the contradictions and nonsensical qualities. I would best describe it as art with no filter. She too, as Mudi does, describe her art as atrocious beauty. And I do not think there is a style of art that describes the human soul as this one does. 

 

The next participating artist is Dina AlBegumi. I have grown familiar to her through social media (not personally, artistically). I did also have her in mind when I decided to visit the gallery. The paintings she had on display where really small, but they packed a punch. I found her style to be an organised mess and poetic. In addition to that, I loved her choice of colors in her paintings, both as individuals and a series. 

 

Salma Wael is one artist that drew me in, well another one that drew me in. Her paintings seem to have the strongest presence in the space. You would think that her paintings’ placement would make the other more prominently placed pieces to overshadow hers, but her pieces just have too strong of a presence for that to happen. I mean everything from the colors to the brush strokes to the size (the matching sizes of the canvases along with the size itself and spacing all played a big role) just doesn’t allow anything but the equivalent of a stand out stage performance. I love the color choice and implementation (which is a fancy phrase for brush strokes, lol). Her paintings, like Rozan and Mudi, showcase the beauty of atrocity. Although if you ask me, hers has the closest resemblance to a human.. And that says something.

 

I am running out of transitional words but the next artist on this list is Anas AlGhanem. Anas usually draws humans, portraits to be more accurate. Portraits aren’t really my cup of tea so its kind of why I paid attention to it the least. 

 

But I loved the techniques he used to draw the women portraits. I love when artists mix mediums, especially with lead as it is viewed as an artistic taboo to leave pencil markings. So the utilisation of the taboo is something that always has me admiring the piece. 

 

Realistic pieces and portraits lead me to the next individual in the group, Mahmood alMahmoodi. The thing with realistic or semi-realistic paintings is that I always feel like the painting said it all for me, that there’s nothing new that I can add. As soon as I pick up on the techniques usedI am hooked. With Mahmood’s sea paintings, this is what happened. The one in the middle especially showcases the different brush strokes used, and I absolutely love visible brush strokes. 

 

The penultimate artist in my unordered listing is Ghada AlShaig. She has an art style that is best described as peculiar. Her pieces has kept thinking, even 2-3 weeks later I find myself trying to make sense of them. I love complexity in pieces, and I love that I keep thinking about it. You made a lasting impression Ghada. 

 

Finally, the group’s leader Mohanna Tayeb, another “atrocious beauty” artist. I love the depth his pieces has as well as the integration of different materials; he has inspired me to experiment with different materials in a single piece, and for that I am grateful. The way they are displayed also ties in to the story of all these pieces. 

 

I know that Abdulmohsen alRowais (doodlebyabdul) is also a participant and member of the group. But I haven’t come across his work in this exhibition. However, I do think he is incredibly talented as I have spoken highly of him in a previous blogpost. 

That’s it for the exhibition and participating artists. I will leave you with a few pictures I took in the gallery. Particularly of the shopping areas there. 

 

 

I did buy an artistic workbook, which I am enjoying so far. Think of it as the fine art version of wreck this journal. 

 

In conclusion, I would like to say that I had an inspiring and pleasant experience visiting the exhibition and gallery itself. I look forward to more of the group’s shows and to the Designers’ Hub exhibitions and activities in general.

Its really refereshing to see artists making art for the sake of.. making art. In a world where expression became a market (which isn’t bad per say, it feeds my perfectionism so that’s why I think seeing the latter category is refreshing) I love seeing a balance with people expressing to express. 

As for the reason why this blogpost isn’t translated, I decided to ditch translation for the time being and see how it goes. Add more spontaneity to my posts rather than structure, you know? 

Until next time, bye :)