Retrospective: Abdulqader Al Rais

Abdulqader Al Rais, one of the UAE’s most prolific contemporary artists, was asked to display 58 artworks in the Institut Du Monde Arabe, in Paris. On request from the Dubai Culture Authority & working closely alongside the artist, his pieces were curated in to an experience spanning the 5 centuries of his career, from the 60’s to present day.

The entrance space holds his most recent large-scale, colored, abstract paintings. The environment has darkened walls and black polished concrete to make the paintings float within the space and reflect below your feet. As you approach the central core of the space you see his more historic and rarer works. The space lightens and the walls begin to encroach and levitate, bringing the visitor closer to this reserved but formidable artist.