Today's Edition
SARA ALZAABI (ABU DHABI)
Speaking to Aletihad, pioneering Emirati artist Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim reflected on his first solo exhibition “Two Clouds in the Night Sky”, which has been unveiled at the Cultural Foundation and runs until February 22.
“My first solo exhibition at the Cultural Foundation… and this exhibition clearly lays out my journey over the years,” he said, noting it traces “moves from one phase to another, from technique to technique.”
Ibrahim developed his distinctive “cipher” forms in the 1980s, styled on his meditative, process-driven practice rooted in Khorfakkan’s landscapes.
Influenced by rock carvings and intuition, Ibrahim helped forge a new conceptual language for art in the UAE.
“My message is to communicate my culture: the culture of the UAE, and to describe the place I live in, like Khorfakkan. I try to connect time with place, and with space,” he explained.
Materials and colours are key features of his art.
“I love working on objects - organic materials like paper and trees… I work as a painter in sculpture and as a sculptor in painting,” he said, preferring “object” to “sculpture” and testing “clay, straw, tea, paper; any natural, organic material.”
“I always [try] to reach a tone that is uniquely mine… you will feel the colours are always bright. Sometimes I might waste two kilos of paint just to get 200 grams of the exact shade.”
Clay evokes memories, he said.
“God created humans from clay… we used to build our houses from clay… as children we played with it and shaped it, so that bond stayed in my memory.”
Curated by Noor AlMehairbi and Medyyah AlTamimi, and presented with support from Lawrie Shabibi, the collection affirms Ibrahim’s influence.
Four thematic sections emerge in the exhibition: In Transit, Traces Made Visible, Shapeshifters, and Where the Land Turns to Play.
They gather recent cloud and insect series, black-and-white rhythm studies, selections from “Sitting Man” (2010–2015), and the never-before-exhibited “Sitting Woman Only One” (2010).
Archival pieces revive his land-art interventions, including “Draped Trees” (Ashjar Muqammasha) (1996) and “Khorfakkan Circles” (2004).
Anchoring the show is Cultural Foundation’s commission “Time | Place | Void” (2025).
In “Where the Land Turns to Play”, a second commission, “Touchable” (2025), is conceived for tactile engagement, the first of its kind in Ibrahim’s body of work.
Beyond the building, at Al Hosn, visitors can encounter “Al Ain Oasis” (2023), commissioned by Abu Dhabi Art.
The exhibition includes a nod to Ibrahim’s landmark 1991 solo at Cultural Foundation, presenting the rarely seen Untitled from that show.
It is a full-circle moment that bridges early milestones and the breadth of new work.
