Haig Aivazian “Fugere” at Sfeir-Semler Gallery, Hamburg

At_every_sunset_5__charcoal_and_pastel_on_paper_200_x_130_cm_web
Haig Aivazian, At every sunset, I think of you. Not because of some sense of beauty, but simply because I become acutely aware of how much time has passed since I last saw you, 2013. Charcoal and pastel on paper. 200 x 130 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Sfeir-Semler Gallery, Hamburg/Beirut

Haig Aivazian
Fugere

2 November 2013 – 5 January 2014
at Sfeir-Semler Gallery, Hamburg

Haig Aivazian (b.1980 Beirut) presents new sculptures, drawings and videos from his ongoing series Fugere, where the artist layers various histories of violence: from a highly televised rebuttal in response to racist insults on the pitch, to the occupation of inner-city neighbourhoods by police; and from the ascension onto an Olympic podium in the first post Soviet Games, to the weight of a dictator’s body as the trap door is released under his feet. History is not just entangled in sports, but also treated like a match, with freeze frames, replays and reverse angles. Here, the notion of time is malleable: the decades separating the release of two models of coveted basketball sneakers can be condensed into a frantic instant where two shoes are hurriedly thrown at an occupying president. Continue reading “Haig Aivazian “Fugere” at Sfeir-Semler Gallery, Hamburg”

Rayyane Tabet “The Shortest Distance Between Two Points” at Sfeir-Semler Gallery, Beirut

Rayyane Tabet_Sfeir-semler_1
Rayyane Tabet, The Shortest Distance Between Two Points, installation view, 2013. Courtesy the artist and Sfeir-Semler Gallery, Beirut

Rayyane Tabet
The Shortest Distance Between Two Points

4 April – 20 July 2013
at Sfeir-Semler Gallery, Beirut

A line is a construction of distance – in space, in time, in vision. It gives definition to form and position through connection and separation.

The Trans-Arabian Pipe Line Company was established in 1946 as a joint venture between Caltex, Esso, and Mobil. TAPLine was formed to build and operate a 1213 kilometer long 78 centimeter wide steel tube to transport oil through land. With this endeavor the company described three intersecting lines – an arc of history, geography, and geometry.
Continue reading “Rayyane Tabet “The Shortest Distance Between Two Points” at Sfeir-Semler Gallery, Beirut”