Calligraphic Innovation
Calligraphic Innovation
Rafia Gallery hosts four Arab calligraphers with a passion for Arabian ‘khatt’.
As soon as Rafia Gallery announced its Calligraphic Innovation exhibition to interested art aficionados, many flocked to the display rooms of the gallery to savor the beauty of Arab-inspired calligraphy.
Opening on May 19, the Calligraphic Innovation exhibition managed to be the highlight of the contemporary art events last month. Visiting the world of traditional calligraphy with modern perspectives managed to appease even the tastes of those who were repelled by traditional calligraphy due to the regularity of its presence in their communities.
What distinguished this exhibition was its introduction as a unique opportunity to present Arabic calligraphy as an innovational and refined art to show that this art form does not require a radical deviation to acquire the status of modernity. Unlike the predominant traditional and ancestral exhibitions that only show the variations of the Ottoman calligraphic style, this one highlighted a conscious approach to the essence of beauty and structure of calligraphy, acquired through the advance of a liberal and creative imagination that set this art form into originality, expressed through its aesthetical structure and outlines that makes this art whole.
The works exhibited in Rafia were by four creative Arab calligraphers: the Sudanese Tagelsir Hassan who received his Masters Degree in arts and graphics from CNNA, UK in 1983; the Egyptian Essam Abdul Fattah whose passion for calligraphy led him to study, teach, and join many calligraphy institutions in the region; the Syrian Mouneer al-Shaarani, whose works are internationally renowned and do not need to be introduced; and finally the Iraqi Wissam Shawkat, whose self-taught techniques managed to have his works displayed in many museums and private collections around the world.
Heralding and preceding this exhibition was a seminar on Arabic calligraphy in the gallery by al-Shaarani, delving into the details of contemporary Arabic calligraphy which he sets as controlled by two trends; the first is a traditional trend that mummifies Arabic calligraphy and preserves it in a cage at museums of folklore, refusing the calligraphers the freedom to add, innovate and develop their art; while the second is the modern trend that modern colors and techniques of other arts to dress its lines and letters, degrading it into a crossbred style of work.
To conclude, al-Shaarani said: «I hope that the few works exhibited in this gallery provide you with some of the answers and are also a practical example of what the creative calligrapher can generate from the essence of the true form of Arabic calligraphy. This is an open invitation to all creative calligraphers to use their skill, talent, and knowledge alongside their experiences, to produce an original and unique piece of contemporary art using calligraphy that can be considered a real contribution to the path of its rebirth as a true art form.»
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