The opening of the new art and culture space, coinciding with Art Dubai, presents its inaugural exhibition, featuring works by international and Middle Eastern artists in a space located in Dubai’s up-and-coming Al Khayat Avenue.
On View: March 3 – April 23, 2023
Private Reception: March 3, 6 – 10 PM
March 2, 2023 (Dubai, UAE) – NIKA Project Space, a new 250 m2 hub for art and culture located in Dubai’s Al Quoz district in Al Khayat Avenue, is opening on March 3, 2023 to coincide with Art Dubai’s 16th edition. NIKA Project Space is a new platform for artistic experiments, research and the advancement of curatorial practice for both local and international artists. The space provides a critically engaged program that emphasizes. contemporaneity and cross-cultural dialogue in art creation with a focus on conceptualization, abstraction, and philosophical inquiry with a strong focus on the works by female artists.
Designed by T.ZED Architects the space serve as a catalyst for artistic, cultural, and philosophical inquiry. For its first exhibition, NIKA Project Space will present a group show titled ‘Fragments of Time Unending’ on view through April 23, 2023. Curated by Sarah Daher, a Lebanese curator based in Dubai, the show features six artists, including: Olga Chernysheva, Nika Neelova, Adrian Pepe, Muhannad Shono and Alexander Ugay. Encompassing a variety of mediums such as painting, sculpture, photography, and digital media, the exhibition examines the theme of time as both a constant and a subjective experience, as reflected in the title.
The works on view explore the transience of life through reflection on both the fragility, beauty, and power of the everyday, prompting spectators to also ponder their relationship to time and everyday life.
“At the core of this exhibition is the idea that time is both a constant and a subjective experience. It is the unifying thread that connects all human experiences, shaping our memories, relationships, and perceptions of the world. The works on display invite the viewer to consider their own experiences of time through a reflection on the transience of life,” says curator Sarah Daher.
Daher juxtaposes the artworks according to their aesthetic and message. For instance, I’m Sorry from Above (2016), a delicate ink on paper work by Saudi artist Muhannad Shono interprets moments of trauma that has catapulted the globe from a satellite distance in miniature form. It is throwing the scale out of balance on multiple axes. In a similar vein, Kazakh artist Alexander Ugay’s installation series Obscurations (2018) showcases layered abstractions that are inspired by real-world events and are then reconstructed as pinhole-camera-inspired objects and subsequently photographed in space. The concept of time in these works is so precisely deconstructed that it becomes nearly invisible — an unknown variable that nearly ceases to exist and yet maintains itself as a principal element in both works.
On the other hand, Russian artist Olga Chernysheva’s Flowers Riot (2022), an oil on canvas painting, offers an explosion of color in a violent manifestation of hues and abstract forms just as Nika Neelova’s reclaimed mahogany handrails assume the shape of a circular infinite loop through recycled material. These abstract objects serendipitously show the effects of time as agents of change.
In the porous expanses of Adrian Pepe’s textile work, one can materially feel the reimagining of historically-significant craft and the time-ridden mechanics of physical labor.
Founder of NIKA Project Space, Veronika Berezina explains, “this show highlights the vision and mission of the NIKA Project Space. The artists present and implement research, a multidisciplinary and conceptual approach in their work. We want to elaborate on how time could be represented by different artists from different regions and through different mediums, fostering and expanding a dialogue between cultures, regions and generations, and show how connected we all are through the basic notion of time.”
NOTES TO EDITORS:
‘Fragments Of Time Unending’ will be on view at NIKA Project Space from March 3 – April 23, 2023.
Address:
NIKA Project Space
Al Khayat Avenue, Unit 11, 19th Street Road – Al Quoz 1
First Al Khail Street, Dubai, UAE
About Nika Project Space
Nika Project Space is a new platform for artistic experiments, research and the advancement of curatorial practice. It is the brainchild of Veronika Berezina, born and raised in St. Petersburg, Russia, passionate about the cosmopolitan character and creative potential of Dubai. Nika Project Space offers the possibility of representation through art exhibitions and other initiatives for both emerging and increasingly established artists from the Middle East and internationally. The space provides a critically engaged program that emphasizes. contemporaneity and cross-cultural dialogue in art creation with a focus on conceptualization, abstraction, and philosophical inquiry with a strong focus on the works by female artists. Through its diverse programming the space emphasizes intercultural exchange through a variety of events, exhibitions, talks and education initiatives both at Nika’s Dubai space and through pop-up events in Europe. Additionally, Nika Project Space aims to break down barriers and forge dialogue across cultures through contemporary art by artists working in a range of artistic mediums, including performance, painting, photography, sculpture, installation and the digital realm.
Nika Project Space will also develop a research center and publishing arm. Of pivotal focus to the mission of Nika Project Space is to invite artists from the region and internationally to make new works that implement investigative research and experimental creative processes. A dynamic year-long program of events, curated exhibitions, non-profit projects, educational programming, participation in art fairs and talks serves to further foster a bridge between the space and art community locally and internationally, supporting artistic vision, creative thought, dialogue, as well as elevating the practice of female artists worldwide. The space itself has been designed to serve as a catalyst for artistic, cultural, and philosophical inquiry. Designed by T.ZED Architects, the 250 square meters space is located in the new Al Khayat Avenue in Dubai’s industrial Al Quoz district. Nika’s brand design was developed by internationally acclaimed brand consultancy Wiedemann Lampe.
About Veronika Berezina
Veronika Berezina, the founder of NIKA Project Space, was born in Saint-Petersburg, Russia and now lives between Switzerland and Dubai. From a young age she had a passion for art and began studying art history and taking courses on collecting while studying International Relations for her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Moscow State University of International Relations. After she graduated, she worked as an international tax lawyer, but continued pursuing her love for art by regularly attending art exhibitions at major museums and galleries in Russia and internationally. Her passion led Veronika to begin collecting art in 2013, first from emerging artists in galleries in St. Petersburg and then from international artists. To further gain knowledge of the rapidly changing genre of modern and contemporary art, she enrolled in courses at Sotheby’s Institute of Art while also simultaneously supporting art charity auctions and young artists contests at home and abroad, notably as a patron of the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art in Moscow. Berezina also intends to hold pop up projects with NIKA in Europe. In Dubai Berezina aims to offer a cross-cultural platform for artists from around the world, particularly from Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. She believes in the power of art to forge intercultural dialogue, spark creativity and innovation. With NIKA, in its new home in Dubai, Berezina’s dream is to provide a space where art speaks a language that goes beyond national borders and where creativity becomes a transcendent means to bring diverse cultures together.
About Sarah Daher
Sarah Daher is a Lebanese curator, researcher, and writer. She holds a Masters degree in Curating Contemporary Art from the Royal College of Art in London and a BA in Theater and Economics from New York University Abu Dhabi. Sarah is currently based in the UAE where she works as a curator and writer. Her most recent shows include After the Beep held at Satellite on Alserkal Avenue in Dubai and Fulfilment Services Ltd in collaboration with Gasworks London. She is the founder and co-host of ‘Khosh Bosh with Anita and Sarah’, a conversational podcast platforming the work of UAE-based creatives. Sarah worked as a researcher for Temporary Art Platform, a curatorial platform focused on the development of social practice in Lebanon, the region, and the Global South.
Image Credits:
1.&2. Adrian Pepe. Karyotype #3. Embroidered hand-felted wool. 90x75, 2022. Courtesy of Adrian Pepe.
3. Alexander Ugay. Obscuration 9. Vertical Horizon, wood, silver, gelatin, 215 х 23 х 23, c-print (each), 2018. Courtesy of Alexander Ugay.
4. Alexander Ugay. Obscuraton 6. Wood, silver, gelatin, 40х45х20, c-print, 2018. Courtesy of Alexander Ugay.
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