Spotlight on art

A year since it opened its doors to Qatar, the Carré d’Artistes Doha by ArtFix Gallery has emerged as an interesting international platform for young and emerging artists from Qatar. Not surprisingly, this vibrant gallery, located in Gate Mall, West Bay, will be bringing in its first anniversary celebrations in a big way on the evening of October 17.
Martha Blanco, owner of the gallery, told Community, “Carrè d’artistes by ArtFix Gallery is proud to be celebrating its 1st anniversary under the patronage of [French ambassador] Eric Chevallier. The evening will be a prestigious event to honour the success of Carrè d’artistes Doha by ArtFix Gallery and to celebrate simple and innovative concept of accessible art here in Qatar.”
Carré d’artistes Doha by ArtFix Gallery seeks to promote the love for local culture and arts, Blanco pointed out. It is the gallery’s fundamental objective to make art accessible to everybody and to give young and emerging artists from Qatar, a global platform to expose their art.
The first anniversary exhibit presents the works of 13 contemporary artists including award-winning French artists Dominique Gaultier and Christian Hévin, and Qatari artist Ali al-Mulla.
While Gaultier’s bold-coloured canvases depict images of the south of France, in particular Aix-en-Provence, Hévin’s abstraction opens new doors inviting the viewer to discover the invisible. Hévin will also be in the gallery the week leading up to the anniversary creating his emotions live and available for signings. “For those keen on catching the artist in action, from October 14 to 16, from 6pm to 8pm, Hévin will be painting live in the gallery,” Blanco added.
Hévin uses oil paint (which he makes himself), epoxy or polyester resin, pigments and acrylics. His style changes as if to escape the shackles of conventional forms. At times, within the borders of reality and abstraction, he opens new doors to a constantly changing painting, like unexpected revivals.
As for al-Mulla’s work, his portraits are composed of a pronounced outline of the subject and “a riotous mélange of fiery colours such as intense and various shades of blue, red, green, yellow and orange”. Some “faces” are well-known and they cut across all fields. Through his works, Ali express the concept of modern realistic expressionism.
The exhibit also includes works by French artist Francois Poulat, an animal painter, portraitist and landscape artist. Poulat pays special tribute to African wildlife including Qatar’s national icon, the Arabian Oryx, in a unique collection that he has recently created for the The Westin Doha Hotel & Spa.
Some of the guests who would attend the celebration are the French ambassador Eric Chevallier, and Stéphanie Tosi and Patrice Martineau, founders and CEO of Carré d’artistes, and a whole lot of art enthusiasts from across the country.
The concept of Art Gallery Carré d’artistes was originally conceived by two French entrepreneurs. There are 35 such galleries in 15 countries on three continents (America, Europe and Asia).
A unique art gallery concept, Carré d’artistes Doha promotes fascinating original art. Now in business for more than 13 years, Carré d’Artistes is “a simple and innovative concept of accessible art galleries, which offers an alternative to the traditional art market”. By exhibiting international artists on an equal footing throughout the world, Carré d’artistes upsets traditional codes of the art world. This distribution method has been embraced by its target audience, who can now freely access high-quality contemporary original art. And the company has been highly successful.
Today, more than 600 talented artists exhibit original works in 27 galleries throughout Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and America. The galleries specialise in a wide variety of artistic styles — figurative, abstract, landscape, pop, and street art. The Carre d’artistes Doha by ArtFix Gallery is open at The Gate Mall daily, from 10am to 1pm.
Blanco says, “Art is a passion for my husband and I, and we always envisioned bringing the concept to life, in the Middle East. Our vision is meant to disrupt the art scene – we are changing the idea of buying art from stuffy traditional galleries, to a fun and interactive concept for everyone – from the first time buyer to regular collectors. Our mission at ArtFix Gallery is to provide artists greater exposure to new markets. So just as we bring international artists to Doha, we have showcased Qatari artist Ali al-Mulla’s work globally through the network of galleries.”