I AM is a touring exhibition of work by Middle Eastern female artists, which attempts to redress engrained stereotypes. It is currently showing in London

Reviews, Editor's PicksAnna SeamanAugust 3, 2017Jordan, London, Rania Matar, Maitha Demithan, Janet Rady, Caravan, Hanaa Malallah, Iraq, UAE

A Fast Moving Sky: a podcast

In a podcast interview with Dexter Wimberly, Anna Seaman discusses cultural hybridity and how it affects our identity to live in a multicultural world. The conversation was in the context of The Third Line's exhibition A Fast Moving Sky

Features, Editor's PicksAnna SeamanJuly 24, 2017The Third Line, Dexter Wimberly, A Fast Moving Sky, Andrew Lyght, Valerie Piraino, Rushern Baker, Leonardo Benzant, Podcast

Modernist Women of Egypt

As Egypt struggled for sovereignty in the mid 20th century, the country's female artists were also striving for a voice, not only for themselves but across classes, gender and race.

Reviews, Editor's PicksAnna SeamanJuly 13, 2017Green Art Gallery, modern art, Modernism, Inji Efflatoun, Effat Naghi, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai

Dive into the magnificence of Turner with CGI technology

One of the only Turner masterpieces left in private hands is brought to glorious life with CGI technology

News, Editor's PicksAnna SeamanJuly 9, 2017JMW Turner, Sotheby's, auction, modern artComment

Abdullah Al Saadi: A UAE National Treasure

Tucked away in the mountain valleys near a village called Madha on the Omani border with the UAE, Abdullah Al Saadi’s studio is a veritable treasure trove of discovery for the art enthusiast. Al Saadi, born 1967, is one of the most prolific Emirati artists and his studio, which he built himself next to his family home, houses the results of his life-long dedication to his art.

Features, Editor's PicksBeth PayneJune 22, 2017Abdullah Al Saadi, 56th Venice Biennale, My Mother's Letters 1998-2013, Sharjah Art Foundation, Naked Sweet Potato, Emirati Expressions, Manarat Al Saadiyat, The Watermelon Series, Stone Slippers Comments

Living Shrines: Lisa Ross

Listening to a description of the materials that feature in Lisa Ross’s photographic series Living Shrines, raises doubts as to where, exactly, the living element comes in.

Reviews, Most Popular, Editor's PicksBeth PayneJune 14, 2017Lisa Ross, Living Shrines, Gulf Photo Plus, Uyghur culture, Living Shrines of Uyghur ChinaComment

How Picasso and Giacometti Inspired a New Exhibition in the Middle East

This exhibition is also is the first time these two artists have been compared in a scholarly fashion, which is important, not least because Picasso was a notoriously difficult character. His friendship with Giacometti seems to reveal a lot of respect for the younger’s talents.

Reviews, Editor's PicksBeth PayneMay 24, 2017Pablo Picasso, Kunsthaus, Alberto Giacometti, Montparnasse, Catherine Grenier, Fondation Giacometti, Serena Bucalo-Mussely, Virginie Perdrisot, Musee National Picasso, Fire Station Artist in Residence Centre, Maeght Gallery

Marwan Sahmarani: Drifting Island and The Bruce High Quality Foundation: The Second Coming

It is testament to the Lebanese artist’s mastery of the medium that, as his viewers take in each work as a whole, its stories reveal themselves easily. In his latest show, the tales are heartbreaking realities of our time.

Reviews, Most Popular, Editor's PicksBeth PayneMay 3, 2017Marwan Sahmarani, Tribute to a Tragedy, Leila Heller Gallery, I Had a Dream, The Second Coming, Bruce High Quality Foundation, Drifting Island Comment

On Existentialism and Materiality with Tony Cragg

"My interest is not what things look like, but why they look like that," he says. "I don’t want to represent something or reproduce something we are already familiar with. I want to be involved with the internal structure of the material."

Features, Editor's PicksBeth PayneFebruary 5, 2017Tony Cragg, Turner Prize, Kunstakademie Dusseldorf, Venice Biennale, Centre Georges Pompidou, Royal Academy, Musee du Louvre, Hermitage Museum Comment