“Despite brings together the work of a group of contemporary artists from Palestine – both the West Bank and Gaza, and includes work by artists such as Mohammed Joha, Hani Zurob, Majed Shala, Mohammed Abusal, Nidal Abu Oun and Raed Issa.”
The exhibition starts today and goes to the 28th.I love the title! Earlier this year some of the same artists paricipated in an exhibition entitled Defiance, as it “celebrates the determined agency of five artists to overcome the environment in which they work while simultaneously being inspired and challenged by it.”
I do wish there were Palestinian women artists represented. Here’s a good place to begin.
More on the artists:
Mohammed Joha
Mohammed Joha is one of the most interesting painters from Gaza, who has developed his own distinct style of painting like a child, yet with the highest academic standards and most sophisticated messages. His style is very individualistic and it combines a variety of artistic elements in one composition. Most of his paintings have a kind of a satirical message about the travesties of daily life in Gaza. For example, if you note the painting with the car stuffed with all the luggage, one’s imagination could run wild with the possibilities for interpretation.
Hani Zurob
Paris based artist, contemporary painter, visual artist, Paris based Palestinian artist, from Gaza.
And there’s a book! “Between Exits is the fist monograph to trace the evolution of Palestinian artist Hani Zurob, from his initial paintings produced in Palestine, through to his most recent works, developed during the artist’s exile in France,”
Hani Zurob
“Shala’s work uses the shapes identified with traditional Arabic script but these are not resolved into meaningful text. Breathing the Air invites us to consider a tradition of calligraphy alongside a more contemporary exploration of the human form and its environment and now, with the explosion of the Arab Spring and its demand for open societies, to breathe the air.”
Mohammed Abusal
Nidal Abu Oun
Raed Issa
Arab Hyphen 
It is wonderful to see the diverse art works and artists emerging from the Arab region.
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