Qatar’s Mathaf opens new permanent contemporary art collection

Contemporary and modern art from more than 100 artists across the region has found a home in a new permanent exhibition at Qatar’s Arab Museum of Modern Art (Mathaf).

The exhibition, titled Mathaf Collection, Summary, Part 1, opened yesterday and draws from the museum’s collection of some 8,000 pieces. It features prominent artists like Farid Belkahia, Wafa al-Hamad, Hassan Sharif, Ibrahim el-Salahi and Jassim Zaini.

The pieces come from the vast collection of Sheikh Hassan bin Mohamed bin Ali Al Thani, the founding patron of Mathaf. This is one of the largest displays of artwork on offer at the museum since last December.

Included in the exhibition are works that show an intersection of African and Arab influences (Ibrahim el-Salahi), a unique French free figuration style developed by Serif Wanly under the limitations of colonial rule in Algeria, and modern Egyptian symbols of social and industrial progress in the works of Seif Wanly.

Other pieces include the works of Hassan Sharif and Farid Bekahia, who use natural materials, retrieved objects and local languages to express their views on the making of art in its contemporary context.

Original article by Chantelle D’Mello

Continue reading at Doha News:

Qatar’s Mathaf opens new permanent contemporary art collection