Steven Naifeh’s return to art

The last time Steven Naifeh’s work was exhibited in Abu Dhabi, there were no art galleries in the city and Saadiyat Island was the site of an experimental hydroponic farm.

The two-day show, which was held at the Embassy of the United States in August 1975, featured 15 works, including paintings and sculptures made from white Formica, influenced by the work of contemporary abstract artists such as Frank Stella and the British op artist Bridget Riley.

The works were created by Naifeh while he was staying in Abu Dhabi with his parents. Naifeh’s father George worked as first secretary for cultural affairs at the American embassy and his mother taught English at a local Emirati girls’ school. Their apartment, which stood facing the sea on Abu Dhabi’s Corniche, served as the 25-year-old’s studio.

The local English language newspaper at of the time, the UAE News, gave the one-man-show a glowing review under the title “American Arab’s Exhibition of Paintings and Sculptures”. “I cannot wait to see more of his work and have a strong suspicion that in 10 years or so anyone who was lucky enough to have seen this exhibition will be boasting,” wrote the reviewer, Barbara Hughes. “Let us hope that we shall see his work in public buildings here in Abu Dhabi as well as in the homes of private collectors.”

At the time, it would have been impossible to guess at the circumstances surrounding Naifeh’s return, but the artist’s life and the reviewer’s prediction have come together in ways that now seem uncanny.

For the first time in 39 years, public and private collectors visiting Abu Dhabi Art will have the opportunity to appreciate Naifeh’s work on UAE soil.

Not only are the works being exhibited in a gallery built near the site of Saadiyat Island’s former greenhouses, but the capital now has its own international art fair and will soon have a Louvre and a Guggenheim, part of whose permanent collection is about to be seen in the capital for the very first time.

If the capital is unrecognisable from the city where Naifeh spent his university holidays, the man also returns transformed.

Original article by Nick Leech

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Steven Naifeh’s return to art