With Dubai hosting a series of major arts and cultural events this weekend, further increasing its global reputation as a cultural hub, one of the most surprising locations for fine art has been the Dubai International Horse Fair.
The show has brought together companies with equestrian equipment, care products and services from around the world in one of the most international horse-related events ever held in the Middle East. As part of the exhibition, a multinational and multicultural selection of artists displayed a range of unique works, all celebrating the beauty and grace of the Arabian horse.
Abdulla Qassem, Board Member - Higher Organising Committee of Dubai International Horse Fair and Dubai International Arabian Horse Championship, said: “The presence of so many high quality artists at this year’s event has added an important social and cultural element to the Horse Fair. The horse plays an important role in Arab culture and is celebrated throughout the visual arts to have such a strong display from local and international artists is very rewarding.”
Rare 18th and 19th Century equestrian art and sculpture was on display with the debut of the Verdieck-Sher Collection, which includes over 35 paintings and lithographs from the 18th and 19th Century, all with the Arabian horse as their theme.
The Dubai International Horse Fair marked the first time that the full collection has been seen in public.
“It gives me the greatest honour to be able to share these important works of art. The Collection has been carefully assembled from private collectors and Dubai is the perfect location to unveil these works to the public,” said Eileen Verdieck, CEO and Co-Founder of Equine Management Services, the region’s only equine business solutions company.
One of the works receiving its global premier at the exhibition was “The Sword of Truth,” a major bronze sculpture by American artist Karen Kasper. The sculptor has become well-known in the Arabian horse world and her work is included in Royal Collections in Morocco, Jordan, Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
Among the artists with work on display is Mutasim Al Kubaisy, of Al Wasl Fine Arts. The sculptor has created a range of statues as trophies of horses from different ranches, including the UAE’s Shadwell Farm. His powerful and dynamic sculptures have received a strong response from visitors to this year’s show due to his impressive works based on imagination, including a number of horse-owners looking to have their animals replicated in bronze and granite.
“What distinguishes every visitor to our stand is their love of horses, whichever country they come from and whatever the calibre of the animal they own. This event has really demonstrated the depth of the equestrian community in this region. We have received commissions from villas and organisations across the region, so it has been a hugely worthwhile event,” said Al Kubaisy.
A UAE artist’s collective, Falwa Gallery, also debuted a new series of paintings and photographs of locally-bred and raised Arabian horses. The Falwa Gallery is among the first in the region to profile the work of UAE national women in the field of equestrian art.
Also on display are the sculptures of Hannah Shergold, an exciting and gifted young sculptress specialising in the equine form. Since graduating from Cambridge University where she was studying to become a vet, Hannah has turned her attentions fully to sculpting. She is self-taught and yet is already producing life-size limited edition works in bronze that are beautifully accurate and that express exquisite grace and movement.
Shergold not only captures the horse's physical features, but also its temperament and mood. Subtle alterations of an eye-brow, nostril, lip or ear all help to ensure that her horse sculpture is transformed into a bespoke work of art.
As well as traditional art, new computer-generated techniques were also on display. Artist Uwe Patzke, of Germany, brought his innovative 3-D portrait sculptures to the Dubai International Horse Fair and received a highly positive response.
A joint venture of two technology companies working with the sculptor, the image capture process creates an identical three dimensional sculpture of a horse, which can then be manufactured in gold, marble, cement or even Dubai sand.
Patzke said, “I’m very happy that I came to Dubai and participated in DIHF. The people have been very welcoming, and there’s been real appreciation of this new process of making equine art.”
In addition, Semper Fides, a company that creates diamonds out of animal coats and feathers, showcased their latest designs at the show. The company can create diamonds in many colors including yellow, green, red, white, or blue and offer different styles such as the traditional princess and emerald cuts. This unique kind of remembrance gives pet owners the opportunity to wear their faithful companion at all times.
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