Ways of Seeing brings together 26 internationally acclaimed artists and art collectives from the region and the world, working in a variety of media, including painting, sculpture, photography, sound, film, and installation. This exhibition is curated by Sam Bardaouil and Till Fellrath, founders of the multidisciplinary curatorial platform Art Reoriented, and co-chairmen of the Montblanc Cultural Foundation.

The exhibition is based on John Berger’s seminal 1972 text on visual culture, Ways of Seeing, in which he shifted the emphasis of art criticism away from the professional art-expert and relocated it within the grasp of the layperson. In taking its cue from Berger’s groundbreaking argument, this exhibition invites the viewer to actively engage with the artwork, and to explore the ways by which artists assign forms and concepts that seem familiar with renewed appearances and meanings.

Ways of Seeing first opened at ARTER — Space for Art in in Istanbul last summer. The curators then reconfigured the exhibition for its second venue, the Boghossian Foundation — Villa Empain in Brussels last winter, bringing in a number of new artists and artworks. The third iteration of the exhibition premieres in Abu Dhabi, and includes new works by Andreas Gursky, Mona Hatoum, Lateefa bint Maktoum, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Hassan Sharif, Cindy Sherman, and Thomans Struth, among others.

Artists featured in Ways of Seeing include: Ghada Amer, Frédéric Borgella, James Casebere, David Claerbout, Salvador Dali, Hans-Peter Feldmann, Andreas Gursky, Mona Hatoum, Paul and Marlene Kos, Alicja Kwade, Lateefa bint Maktoum, Gustav Metzger, Shana Moulton, Vik Muniz, Grayson Perry, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Fred Sandback, Markus Schinwald, Hassan Sharif, Cindy Sherman, Jojakim Cortis and Adrian Sonderegger, John Speed, Thomas Struth, Kim Tschang-Yeul, James Turrell, and James Webb.

Ways of Seeing will be accompanied by a full program of publics events, including talks, workshops, and family-friendly activities.

Curated by
  • Sam Bardaouil, Founder, Art Reoriented
  • Till Fellrath, Founder, Art Reoriented

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