Dubai, UAE – 07 February 2023| -- As part of its 15th anniversary programme and marking the UAE Year of Sustainability, Tashkeel’s exhibition at its Nad Al Sheba gallery for Dubai Art Season, Counting Leaves by Alonsa Guevara, invites viewers to embrace the richness and diversity of the country’s natural environment. Visitors are invited to Tashkeel Nad Al Sheba from Tuesday, 28 February 2023, to view over 40 new artworks created by Guevara in Dubai over the last 10 months.

 

Alonsa Guevara is a Chilean-born, New York-based artist. She holds an MFA in Painting from the New York Academy of Art and has exhibited internationally in destinations including China, Mexico, Denmark, Argentina, and Chile. Deriving inspiration from living in three countries – Chile, Ecuador and the United States – Alonsa’s work is also heavily inspired by formative memories of her childhood spent in the rainforest with her family.  

Guevara’s new artwork continues to reflect her tropical background, yet includes pieces inspired by arid deserts of the Middle East, where she has resided for almost a year.

 

While commenting on this new body of work created during her Tashkeel residency, Alonsa Guevara stated, “I wanted to explore the common natural heritage and examine the integral role that trees play in the ecosystem of shared dependence evolved over millennia.”

She invites visitors to immerse themselves in the new body of work and take time to contemplate and be in the present. During the opening on 28 February, guests will be encouraged to participate in one installation and feast upon an ornate banquet table. Another highly anticipated piece in the exhibition is Ghaf and Migration: Uncovering the Unknown - a five-panel painting (oil on canvas) imbued with species and symbolism accompanied by a series of ethically sourced tree trunks, offering visitors a tranquil space in which to meditate.

The exhibition will be open to the public at Tashkeel, Nad Al Sheba from 1 March – 25 April 2023. Open 10 am–10 pm (Sunday–Thursday) & 9 am–12 pm (Friday); closed Saturday.

 

Along with regular gallery opening hours, the following activities are free and open to the public:

• Artist-Led Guided Tour: Sunday, 5 March 11 am–12 pm, 12 pm–1 pm

• Artist-Led Guided Tour: Sunday, 12 March 11 am–12 pm, 12 pm–1 pm

• In Conversation with Alonsa Guevara: Tuesday 21 March, 6-8 pm 

• An outdoor painting workshop will also be announced shortly

 

The Tashkeel Residency Programme was launched 15 years ago. Since then, the organisation has facilitated residencies for 80 artists, curators and designers from more than 30 countries. The Programme is just part of Tashkeel’s commitment to providing professional development opportunities for visual artists. It also runs year-round technical and theoretical workshops and seminars in addition to annual initiatives, the Critical Practice Programme and the Tashkeel Scholarship Fund. 

The Residency Programme consists of three strands: residencies for overseas practitioners at Tashkeel (Nad Al Sheba) for between 4 and 12 months, consisting of teaching, research, experimentation and the production of a new body of work; two-month residencies at Tashkeel (Al Fahidi) leading to a public outcome for UAE-based practitioners; and international opportunities for UAE-based practitioners, which has resulted so far in residencies in Japan, UK and USA.  

 

Currently in residence at Tashkeel alongside Alonsa Guevara is UAE-based artist Anja Bamberg, whose solo exhibition runs from 23 February – 5 March at Tashkeel Al Fahidi.