A batch of 24 contemporary Omani artists are featured in the upcoming summer exhibition – Among Friends – hosted by Matti Sirvio Art Galleria, opening on Saturday (May 11)

Summer in Oman lasts for over four months and so will the upcoming summer exhibition, hosted by Matti Sirvio Art Galleria at the ABCN in DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel.  And this time round, you can enjoy warm camaraderie ‘among friends’.

The exhibition, titled ‘Among Friends’, has been curated by Finnish artist and proprietor of the gallery, Matti Sirvio. It will be inaugurated on May 11, at 7.30pm and continue till September 4 as summer begins to fleet. 2. Around 50 artworks by 24 artists, including Matti himself, will be on display.

“I, bearing the name of the curating gallery, have given myself the right to be included in this dignified group of friends. During my ten years in Oman, I have been privileged to know a lot artists, both

Omanis and expats. Generally speaking, all artists are insecure and careful about showing their art. Sometimes they need another artist or a mentor to pull them out from their cave. I’m sure, there are hundreds of other secret artists all over Oman, waiting to be discovered and given an opportunity to convey their message to the world,” Matti asserts.

The exhibition features 24 leading contemporary Omani artists, including Alia Farsi, Essa al Mafarji, Hafsa al Tamimi, Haneen al Mossawi, Humaid al Aufi, Juma al Harthy, Kawthar al Harthi, Majid al Amri, Mays al Moosawi, Mohammad Allattar, Mohammed Khalifa, Mohammed al Rashdi, Murtadha al Lawati, Naif al Ghafri, Ruqaiya Mazar, Radhika Hamlai, Rawan al Mahrouqi, Saleem Sakhi, Saif al Amri, Sarah al Aulaqi, Sara Balucchi, Tahira Fida, Iman al Maskari and Warith al Hosni.

About curating and selecting works for this joint exhibition, Matti said, “Every exhibition needs to be defined and works need to be selected, otherwise it becomes a bazaar where everybody and anybody can just throw their stuff on a towel and start selling. This exhibition is not attempting to be a full representation of contemporary art in Oman. I don’t feel like being in a position to do that. I could not call the participants ‘The’ leading contemporary artists, rather simply ‘leading contemporary artists’.”

He further said, there are so many important, cutting edge, artists who could not participate for some reason. “Also, there are a lot of great artists whom I don’t know – some of them are still in their caves,” he quips, adding that “Omani artists are interesting for all of us, for their uniqueness in this time of history and as describers of our friendly memories of Oman. For those of us who are from another country, art gives an opportunity to take a piece of this lovely country and it’s people with us when we move on or return home.”

About having the exhibition open for as long as four months, Matti asserted, “In Europe the art exhibition season usually starts in mid August and closes in the end of May, matching with the school summer vacation and professional holiday season. In Finland, summer is the time for big summer events. In Oman, even though many do travel away for the summer months, many don’t and can enjoy the bliss in a nicely air-conditioned gallery with a lot of vibrant, meaningful, local art to be explored.

Offering a thumb-up for the evolving skill of Omani artists, Matti said, “Oman has already claimed its place on world art map. This year’s Oman Pavilion, curated by Alia Farsi, in the Venice Biennale, made a strong statement for the unique contribution that Oman has already made in the world. Oman is already considered to be one of the most interesting art travel destinations. With a bigger investment in a contemporary art museum, more international exhibitions, more galleries, and art residences, Oman could serve more highly cultured visitors instead of mass tourism.

Inspiration from friends

“I love to see art of famous contemporary artists such as Joan Miro. I just love his art and even just a photo of his can inspire me to create a full collection for a solo exhibition. Whenever I see his art, I experience freedom, deep reflections, and profound emotions that words cannot describe. His colours can captivate my attention and make anyone fly to another planet, and this is what I want to reach in my own creations.”

Tahira Fida

“Of course, there are so many, if not all of them (friends who inspire). The list is so long, from the Stal Gallery and all its brilliant initiatives of bringing young artists a platform, to Matti’s Gallery which is always active in the art scene and supporting the Omani art scene. There have also been icons like Anwar Sonya, to young kids from the orphanage sharing their pure hearts on paper. Really, collectively, they all have something special that I keep in my heart moving forward.”

Sarah al Aulaqi

That coexistence between me and the environment has become a source of creativity and inspiration. I participate in this exhibition with works about the Omani environment. The environment has always been an inspiring and motivating ‘friend’ for me. I’m influenced by the resettlement project of Arabian Oryx done by the sultanate in order to save and to protect them from extinction. That project has become for me personally an obsessive issue prompting and inspiring me to the form of Arabian Oryx paintings as an attempt from me to remove them from their barren environment to a world full of life and vitality.
Saleem Sakhi

I have a poet friend who was my inspiration for my artwork presented in this exhibition.

Majid al Amri