From 13th to 27th April, 2011, two extraordinary contemporary artists – Kate Toledo and Katerina Smoldyreva will showcase their striking new works at a joint exhibition titled Echoes of Old Persia and the Middle East at Corp Executive Hotel Apartments in Al Barsha – Dubai. The exhibition is supported by Dubai International Art Centre and sponsored by Al Shafar General Contracting (ASGC) and HMH – Hospitality Management Holdings. On display will be 15 acrylic paintings by Kate and over 12 sculptures by Katerina.
Aamir Pervez, General Manager, Corp Executive Hotel Apartments – Al Barsha, said, “We are very enthusiastic about the exhibition. What awaits visitor is out of the ordinary. By any artistic standards these are outstanding works. We are hugely grateful to both Kate Toledo and Katerina Smoldyreva for choosing Corp to display their latest creations and hope our guests will enjoy the show.â€
Added Ayesha Chen McKeever, Manager at Dubai International Art Centre, “The latest exhibition at Corp Executive Hotel Apartments offers a magical combination of abstract and sculpture and will be an aesthetic feast for visitors. I truly admire the rigor and consistency of Kate’s paintings in which compelling images reveal their complexity slowly over time. Her varied works are big, bold and colourful. Equally fascinating are the painstakingly crafted pieces by Katerina who pays mind-boggling attention to detail.â€
About Kate Toledo
Kate Toledo is a British subject who has travelled widely. She was born in Tanzania where she also spent her early years. She then lived in New Zealand and finally spent many years in Sao Paulo, Brazil before more to Dubai.
Kate will be showing her Medieval Persian and Arabian Doorways Collections. Her densely worked canvases take shape through a gradual process of layering and tell stories of the Middle East. The prices of her paintings range from AED 4000 to AED 7800 per piece.
Q & A with Kate Toledo
- When did you first start painting? And what was your first medium?
I first started painting in my early 20’s and my first medium in paint was probably gauche.
- Did it take you a long time to master your art?
Mastering ones art is a long and winding road. I have been working in different creative mediums all my adult life from Italian plate painting, photography, sculpture and painting, tapestry, sewing, spinning, knitting, patchwork…the list goes on.
- What medium do you work with today?
When painting Acrylic paints are my favorite at the moment.
- Do you have colours you dislike, that you find put you off a painting?
I love all the colours. It is more the combination of colours and their tones, chosen by the artist that can ‘put me off’ a painting.
- What are your compositions based on or What inspires you the most?
My compositions at the moment are based on images from the Middle East, where I have been living for the past 5 years. Everything around me inspires me.
- Who are your favourite artists and why?
Matisse is my absolute favorite artist, I love his colours and heavily pattered paintings. Gauguin for his colours and subject matter. Iranian Khosrow Hassanzadeh and the Egyptian Chant Avedissian, both of these artists use lots of colour and interesting backgrounds, and of course the observation of humans.
- How long does it take for you to complete a painting?
It depends on the size of the canvas. The 120 x 150 paintings can take a month or more, they are often heavily detailed and this can be time consuming.
- What do you think is the ideal place for your art? Is it a home, office, hotel, any other and why?
The ideal place for my art is any wall that people look at. My aim is that whoever looks at one of my paintings will feel delight and joy. They are about colour and pattern.
About Katerina Smoldyreva
Katerina is a Russian artist who has been a resident in Dubai for over 10 years. Her vocation is figurative sculpture and the medium of her choice is ceramic clay. She has been always fascinated about the infinite creative opportunities the clay offers and the challenges it presents.
Katerina’s works are always narrative, trying to tell an intimate story or to answer questions about our identities in relation to history and global cultural differences.
Her current exhibition Echoes of Old Persia is a series of ceramic sculptures, vases and bas reliefs, inspired by 15-16 centuries Persian miniatures, in which the artist has long been interested. It opens a window into the magnificence of Persian courts, legends of national epic Shahnameh, poetry of Hafez, Rumi, Saadi .
The flat, two-dimensional images of old manuscripts rise from the pages and tell stories, filled with poetry, music and humour, still as relevant today as they were then, for art is not limited by time and cultures.
Q & A with Katerina Smoldyreva
- When did you first start sculpting? And what was your first medium?
I have been sculpting since I was a child and my first medium was plasticine and air dry clays.
- Did it take you a long time to master your art?
It took me years to become what I am now and I am still learning every day.
- What medium do you work with today?
I work with ceramic clays and my main interest is figurative sculpture.
- What are you calling your exhibition and why? What are your compositions based on or what inspires you the most?
The exhibition is called Echoes of Old Persia because it is inspired by the Perisan miniature paintings of the times when it was Persian empire. These are very beautiful manuscript illuminations sparkling with colors, lyricism and beauty. I have always been inspired by paintings, book illustrations and manuscript illuminations because literature has been always very important to me.
- Who are your favourite artists and why?
It is so difficult to choose, but, probably Botticelli, Picasso (especially his Blue period), George Grosz. Though very different, their subjects are always very emotional and very human.
- How long does it take for you to complete a sculpture?
It takes about a month to complete a sculpture as it has to be modeled first, then dried, fired, painted, fired again and maybe several times.
- What do you think is the ideal place for your art? Is it a home, office, hotel, any other and why?
I think my sculptures will look good anywhere where people can enjoy them. I do not sculpt them for a specific place.
Further information from info.cpab@corp-hotels.com or www.corp-albarsha.com, telephone 00971 4 3164040.
