|
We plan to move beyond art exhibitions in a big way, Bait Muzna Art Director Ellen Molliet tells David Solomon The Bait Muzna Gallery has reawakened to life and light with an abundance of energy, vitality and a completely new look. In its new avatar, which has been an unbelievable opening up in an incredibly ingenuous reapportioning and readjustment of space and light. The gallery’s metamorphosis can now be likened to a sleeping giant awakening from centuries of deep slumber and stretching itself to its full height to revel in the magnificence of golden sunshine and blue skies. Bait Muzna’s Art Director Ellen Molliet, talking to the Oman Tribune says the biggest challenge in this whole process of remodelling the Bait Muzna and giving it a very contemporary, international look. “The whole idea was to become bigger without building, particularly by making clever structural adjustments. More importantly by allowing the light to flow in by covering the entire roof with glass, which creates a pleasant illusion of immense space. Letting the outside become a part of the gallery’s inside with the sunlight and blue skies blending in with the overall structure has been a piece of intelligent innovation”. Ellen goes on to explain: “As you can see, the gallery appears to be open from all sides while actually it is enclosed all around. This allows effective installation of air-conditioning in the entire gallery. In earlier times it was difficult to use the gallery for more than four-five months in a year due to the intense heat during the rest of the year”. In reply to a question whether this redesigning and remodelling was done with the help of professionals like interior designers, architects etc, Ellen replies the whole remodeling concept was her idea that was implemented by Carrillon Alawi through a sub-contracting company. Ellen, who is now into her fourth year with the gallery, says: “In the first six months of my joining the gallery, I knew exactly what I wanted to do to create the extra space. The original concept of the Omani courtyard has been maintained, but it is now bigger and less cramped and we have moved the fountain to one side and made the courtyard floor even and of one level. Other innovations include demolishing a wall on one side of the courtyard, widening the staircase and covering up some windows to increase wall space for hanging pictures”. The new face of the gallery will at the same time maintain the essence of Bait Muzna’s traditional architecture. The interior courtyard is roofed in glass and the balcony terraces have been extended to create a 380-degree gallery overlooking the garden galleries below. Interior spaces are opened up and stairways broadened according to a vision that is expansive and future-oriented. According to Ellen, the gallery with its international and contemporary look would become a great venue not just to stage art exhibitions, but many other exciting events. “We plan to move beyond art exhibitions in a big way. Other than that we plan to hold corporate events, since corporate houses are taking a keen interest in art. We also plan to host receptions and functions on behalf of embassies for their special guests. Besides all these, we would also be hosting lectures and seminars. In this way the activities of the Bait Muzna Gallery will be divided into several categories. Exhibition programme, collectors and clients, corporate world, offices and banks, hotel projects like the Grant Hyatt Doha, the Marriot project in Salalah and the Sheraton in Muscat and international art fairs. Ellen recalls that within a short period of time, the gallery has moved into the international art scene by promoting Omani artists at ArtParis in AbuDhabi and Art Dubai. The very next day after the reopening ceremony, Bait Muzna is taking a large consignment of paintings, including several by Omani artists to participate in the international art fair in Abu Dhabi. In March 2010, the gallery would also be participating in a big way in the Art Dubai international art fair. It must be recalled that in the year 2000, the same year that the Bait Muzna opened its doors to art lovers, the only major venue for art exhibitions was the Omani Society for Fine Arts. The Bait Al Zubair consisted only of the main museum; and Bait Baranda was not yet on the horizon. A few years after the opening of Bait Muzna, more local galleries began to appear on the scene. Bait Muzna Gallery had already set a trend of promoting local artists, both Omani and expatriate; and of holding major international exhibitions. Picking up on Muscat’s emerging art scene, several of the European and Asian embassies in Oman began to sponsor world-class exhibitions, as well as up-and-coming young artists from their home countries, often paired up with Muscat artists. Along with the Omani Society for Fine Arts, the Bait Muzna Gallery had become a major player in this exciting development. This fertile arts environment gave rise to The Circle, a group of Muscat and Gulf artists who promoted avante guard art, including exciting installations in the galleries and on the street. Again, Bait Muzna Gallery was a key force behind the movement. Next, Bait Muzna Gallery helped place Oman on the international art map by exhibiting annually at Art Paris Abu Dhabi, starting in 2006; and by entering the pages of the prestigious Dubai publication, Canvas, where important exhibitions in the major capitals of the world are announced. With all this under their belts, along with huge successes over the past two years and large-scale contemporary exhibitions on the horizon, the owners of the gallery, HH Sayyida Muzna Kais and Sayyida Susan Al Said, and Art Director Ellen Molliet, realised that Bait Muzna had outgrown its space. With characteristic ingenuity, Molliet devised a plan to double the wall space of the gallery within the existing structure of the old house.
|
|
Rosteck’s ‘Light
Box’ Reflects Both Sea
and Sky 20 November 2009 ABU DHABI — Corina
Rosteck is among the few Europeans represented by Bait Muzna art
gallery of Oman. The gallery’s art director, Ellen Molliet,
included Rosteck’s “Double Sided Light Box” in the
selection she brought to Abu Dhabi Art (ADA) fair. “This is an artwork that is suitable for the lobby of a hotel or a corporate building, an airport lounge or even a large house,” Molliet told Khaleej Times.“It is also perfect for this part of the world as its theme is water flowing, and blue is the colour of Abu Dhabi, reflected in the sky and sea.” Not all artworks at the art fair are sold to Arab, Indian and generally private art collectors. Much of it, in fact, ends up in business offices or public institutions and, since this is an international fair, collectors of all nationalities are here in search of a rare piece or a good art investment. “Some of them stay in touch with us and sales may happen well after the fair ands,” pointed out Molliet. Bait Muzna is being held for the third time at the art fair in Abu Dhabi. “I find it excellent. This year is even better than before. The team is very professional, extremely polite and have great respect for galleries,” she said. The collection chosen by the Omani gallery include contemporary paintings and photographs by 10 Arab and Western artists. “When you choose artworks for a fair is quite different than when you put up an exhibition,” mentioned Molliet. “The exhibition you do on your own territory lasts a long time and you can choose a specific theme or a specific artist.” “For a fair that takes place elsewhere, outside your common ground, artworks must represent the whole gallery. Therefore, we choose a selection of the best artists, but we also include one or two young artists to introduce them to collectors.” Some international exhibitors, who are participating for the first time in the Abu Dhabi Art fair, were advised to bring along artworks inspired by horses and falcons, but Molliet believes that is wrong. “I disagree that Emiratis like a horse painting above anything else. There is a wonderful vision in Abu Dhabi and people here have a cultural intelligence. I think that ADA is even ahead of some western art fairs,” said Ellen Molliet.
PRESS RELEASE November 2009
Bait Muzna Gallery first opened its doors in Old Muscat at a time that could not be more auspicious - the start of the new millennium. This event, a milestone in the cultural life of the country, would turn out to be more significant than envisaged at the time, for it marked the beginning of a remarkable efflorescence of art. In the year 2000, the only major venue for art exhibitions was the Omani Society for Fine Arts. Bait Al Zubair consisted only of the main museum; and Bait Baranda was not yet on the horizon. A few years after the opening of Bait Muzna, more local galleries began to appear. Bait Muzna Gallery had already set a trend of promoting local artists, both Omani and expatriate; and of holding major international exhibitions. Picking up on Muscat's emerging art scene, several of the European and Asian Embassies in Oman began to sponsor exhibitions of world-class, as well as up-and-coming young artists from their home countries, often paired with Muscat artists. Along with the Omani Society for Fine Arts, Bait Muzna Gallery was a major player in this exciting development. This fertile arts environment gave rise to The Circle, a group of Muscat and Gulf artists who promoted avant guard art, including exciting installations in the galleries and on the street. Again, Bait Muzna Gallery was a key force behind the movement. Next, Bait Muzna Gallery helped place Oman on the International art map by exhibiting annually at Art Paris Abu Dhabi, starting in 2006; and by entering the pages of the prestigious Dubai publication, Canvas, where important exhibitions in the major capitals of the world are announced. With all this under their belts, along with huge successes over the past two years and large-scale contemporary exhibitions on the horizon, the owners of the Gallery, HH Sayyida Muzna Kais and Sayyida Susan Al Said, and Art Director, Ellen Molliet, realised that Bait Muzna had outgrown its space. With characteristic ingenuity, Ellen Molliet devised a plan to double the wall space of the Gallery within the existing structure of the old house. When the new face of the Gallery is unveiled on November 15 2009, visitors will enjoy a decidedly contemporary space that at same time maintains the essence of Bait Muzna's traditional architecture. The interior courtyard is roofed in glass and the balcony terraces have been extended to create a 380 degree gallery overlooking the garden galleries below. Interior spaces are opened up and stairways broadened according to a vision that is expansive and future-oriented.
To mark the re-opening of the Gallery as the momentous occasion that it is, not only for Bait Muzna, but also for the accelerating development of the arts in Oman, three leading artists in the world of Contemporary Arab Art will be featured - Yousef Amad from Qatar; Mounirah A Mosly from Saudi Arabia and Ahmad Al Bahraini from Iraq. YOUSEF AHMAD
is one of the pioneers of modern art in the Gulf. Educated in Cairo
and California, Yousef Ahmad produces abstract pieces works that
have won the praise of connoisseurs over the past three decades.
This prolific artist is inspired by refracted light on the forms
and changing hues of the desert landscape, as well as by calligraphy.
In Ahmad's mixed-media works colors and textures are often derived
from natural elements. Lines are elongated across canvas or wood,
and letters and patterns are layered in architectural arrangements.
Recognized by the prestigious Christie's Dubai Committee as among
the best abstract artists working in this genre, Ahmad has exhibited
throughout the United States, Europe, and the Arab world. He is
Art Consultant to the New Arab Art Museum in Doha.
-by Patricia Groves- The exhibition, sponsored by NBO, The National Bank of Oman, runs from 15th November to December 6th 2009 at Bait Muzna Gallery.
|
Muzna-morphosis
by David Soloman
20 November 2009
