Qatar Museums (QM) has unveiled Autorretrato (Self-Portrait, 2022) by Argentinian artist Gabriel Chaile, a major new installation in celebration of the 15th anniversary of Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art.
Installed in Mathaf's performance space, the work underscores the museum's ongoing commitment to cultural exchange and its support for impactful contemporary artistic practices that resonate across the region and beyond.
Autorretrato is also part of the Qatar Argentina and Chile 2025 Years of Culture, a national initiative that builds lasting partnerships and celebrates shared creativity, history, and innovation.
The partnership with Argentina this year highlights the depth of artistic traditions, contemporary practices, and collaborative projects, positioning this new installation as a milestone in promoting cross-cultural dialogue and strengthening international artistic connections.
The deputy chief executive of ALRIWAQ, Public Art, and Rubaiya, Her Excellency Sheikha Reem al-Thani, said: "As Mathaf celebrates its 15th anniversary, the unveiling of Gabriel Chaile's Autorretrato highlights the transformative role of public art in connecting audiences with contemporary creative practice.”
“This artwork not only enriches the museum's anniversary programme but also serves as a catalyst for dialogue, inviting reflection on ancestry, heritage, and the ways in which personal and collective identities are interwoven,” she said. “By situating Chaile's sculpture within a public space, we aim to create meaningful encounters that resonate across cultures, histories, and generations."
Born in 1985 in San Miguel de Tucuman, Argentina, Chaile is renowned for sculptural practice grounded in the material cultures, archaeological histories, and native traditions of Latin America.
Drawing from his Afro-Arab and Indigenous heritage, Chaile's work examines how identity is shaped by inherited memory, community narratives, and centuries of cultural interconnection.
Autorretrato departs from traditional portraiture and expresses identity through symbolic and material elements.
The sculpture's surface is marked by raised clusters inspired in part by the prehistoric Venus of Willendorf, suggesting textured hair and referencing Chaile's hybrid Afro-Arab and Latin ancestry.
Subtle eye-shaped impressions appear on both sides of the work, echoing the dual-headed forms characteristic of pre-Hispanic ceramics and introducing a sense of duality and introspection.
"Autorretrato brings together material memory and lived experience in a way that feels both deeply personal and universally resonant,” said Mathaf director Zeina Arida.
“Gabriel Chaile's work encourages us to consider how form can carry history and resilience,” she said. “Presenting this work at Mathaf during our 15th anniversary year is an ideal way to introduce the museum's future focus on ceramic art, crafting a dialogue where tradition meets innovative form."
Crafted in adobe, a clay that was often used for Indigenous architecture and pottery across the continent, the work grounds itself in the earth, and the sculpture's conical form recalls traditional pipes once used in everyday life in northwestern Argentina.
By merging these references, Chaile creates a work that articulates what he describes as a "Genealogy of Form", a framework through which ancestral memory, material history, and contemporary identity converge.
The sculpture is presented as part of Evolution Nation, an 18-month campaign honouring Qatar's cultural journey over the past 50 years since the founding of the National Museum of Qatar (NMoQ).
Curated by Qatar Creates, the national initiative positions Qatar as a global hub for art, culture, and creativity.
As part of this celebration, the unveiling of Chaile's Autorretrato represents a significant milestone for the QM, highlighting the institution's ongoing commitment to commissioning and presenting contemporary public art that connects local audiences with global artistic practice.
