CONTINUUM | Rashid Al Khalifa
CONTINUUM | Rashid Al Khalifa
CONTINUUM
Rashid Al Khalifa
4.09 – 24.10.2024
Opening: Wednesday, September 4, 6 p.m.
Credo Bonum Gallery | 2 Slavyanska St., 1000 Sofia
Credo Bonum Foundation & Gallery presents the exhibition Continuum by Bahraini artist Rashid Al Khalifa.
The exhibition includes works from three series: Spectrum, Waves, and Les Roses de Bagatelle, on which the author has been working in recent years. In the concept of Spectrum lies the modern reading of the ‘rules of repetition’ in the tradition of Islamic art. The works from the Waves series are constructed in a similar way. They pay homage to the sea that surrounds Bahrain on all sides, and the rhythmic repetitions of shapes and lines correspond to the cultural tradition of the island. The works from the Les Roses de Bagatelle series take us on an emotional journey inspired by the flora of the Château de Bagatelle. These works reflect Rashid’s artistic contemplation of the rose, as a natural creation but also as a metaphor for perfection. Although the works included in the exhibition are among the last created by the artist, they embody the artistic evolution of the author. They represent a synthesis between rhythm, purity and ephemerality.
Rashid Al Khalifa was born in 1952 in the Kingdom of Bahrain, Rashid Al Khalifa moved to the UK in 1972 to study at Hastings College of Arts and Technology in Sussex. Inspired by impressionism, and it was upon his return to Bahrain in 1978, that he began his own renditions of his country’s landscapes, producing a series of works of the desert, sea, and historical sites.
Recognized as the foremost patron of the arts in the Kingdom of Bahrain, Rashid currently holds the position of Chairman of the National Council for Arts, Bahrain. An avid art collector, he established a foundation in his name in 2020. Located in Riffa, Bahrain, The RAK Art Foundation is dedicated to the development of the art scene by providing encouraging cross-cultural collaborations and exchange.
***
More about Rashid Al Khalifa’s work
Regularly inspired by his surroundings, Bahraini artist Rashid Al Khalifa formulates works that merge traditional and contemporary architecture with the natural environment. The light, colours and atmosphere specific to Bahrain’s landscape determine, to a large extent, Rashid’s resulting formations, as he transforms these qualities into prominent wall sculptures and immersive installations. Rashid continually draws upon his experiences and environment as a source of inspiration. His latest work reminisces about the past in the same moment that it reflects on the future and in doing so, is suggestive of tradition and heritage, as well as inherent of a futuristic sensibility.
Bahrain’s topography has undergone drastic changes since Rashid embarked on his artistic career as a landscape painter in the 1970s, yet despite rapid urbanization, the spirit of those early days lingers. It is to witness the vivid pastel hues that are cast across the horizon at dawn, or the glowing sunset shimmering over teal blue waters; to experience the nostalgia of traditional architecture, or to feel the warmth of Bahraini culture, that evokes one’s memories of the past. Rashid aims to both immortalize these traditions and anticipate the transitions.
Each period of Rashid’s oeuvre describes his ongoing investigation and desire to meld tradition with modernity, as well as the natural with the manmade. In many ways, his work is built on contrasts, through his subject matter and use of medium; a means to examine the transformation of his native landscape and to contemplate changes in his life.
More details about Rashid Al Khalifa here
