Portrait of Michael Xufu Huang. Courtesy of M Woods.
Beijing’s not-for-profit museum M Woods is bringing its impressive collection of contemporary and classic artworks to the UAE. Founded in 2014 by Lin Han, his wife Wanwan Lei, and Penn graduate Michael Xufu Huang, the independent art institution will be exhibiting artworks from the likes of Paul McCarthy and Andy Warhol, alongside a lineup of contemporary works from celebrated Chinese artists that the trio has amassed in the last four years as part of its Chinese Masters collection, at The Dubai Mall. Billing itself as “the MoMA of China”, it’ll be the first time the trendy Beijing museum exhibits in the Middle East.
The art show will be divided into seven different pavilions with diverse focuses scattered throughout Fashion Avenue. Among them is an exclusive two-person show curated by Huang, that will feature the works of Emirati multimedia artist Mohammed Kazem and China’s most-expensive minimalist artist Richard Lin. The exhibition will showcase a number of works created over the course of their respective careers in an effort to spotlight the similarities in their creative approach, as both artists are focused on the abstraction and concepts behind their aesthetics and beliefs.
Courtesy of M Woods.
Millennial art aficionados will revel in “The Heart of Tin Man”, an exhibition also curated by Huang, that is dedicated to the Internet age. The interactive exhibition brings together works by 12 internationally renowned artists, including Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Amalia Ulman, and Yngve Holen, that explore technological practices, and was M Woods’ most visited show to date.
The exhibition comes just months after a three-day visit from the Chinese President Xi Jinping during the recent UAE-China Week in July, and is in line with the Emirate’s ongoing efforts to forge tangible cultural partnerships with the East Asian country— property developer Emaar announced recently that it will develop the region’s largest Chinatown. Indeed, the art show serves as yet another reaffirmation of the strategic partnership — established by the founding father of the UAE, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan 28 years ago, when he visited China in 1990 — the two nations have enjoyed over the years.
The art show will be on view at The Dubai Mall Fashion Avenue on March 12 until April 30th.
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