Published: Saturday, 10 May, 2008, 01:36 AM Doha Time
By Noimot Olayiwola
DUBAI-BASED Third Line gallery has opened an outlet in Doha with a solo exhibition of photographs by renowned artist Youssef Nabil.
The exhibition opened on Thursday and will run until July 1.
Located at the Wakif Art Centre in Souq Wakif, the gallery is touted to be the first centre in the Middle East that showcases different art forms including sculpture, painting, graphics, fashion design, ceramics and photography.
Major collections by the gallery, sponsored by Deutsche Bank, are contemporary arts of the Islamic world including the Middle East, Iran, Pakistan and parts of Africa.
Third Line gallery was founded in 2005 in Dubai by Sunny Rahbar, Claudia Cellini and Omar Ghobash.
Speaking to Gulf Times on the choice of Nabil, Rahbar said the Egyptian-born artist has established himself as one of the most influential photographers of his generation.
“Youssef Nabil is renowned for his glamorous studio portraits of famous Egyptian actresses of the ‘40s and ‘50s,” she said.
Through the use of the age-old technique of hand-coloured photographs, he “constructs work that is both beautiful and conflicting”.
“Our choice of him is very timely because we are presently on a tour. We have just concluded two major exhibitions in Kuwait,” Rahbar said.
She said it was Qatari art collector Tarik al-Jaidah who had suggested the opening of an outlet in Doha. “He is our local partner now.”
