Contemporary Art Platform: Opening of the exhibition “Method to the Madness”

Until May 9 2012, the Contemporary Art Platform (Kuwait) host Cuadro art gallery based in Dubai Financial International Centre (DIFC). Cuadro’s exhibition titled “Method to the Madness” features artists Jowhara AlSaud (Saudi Arabia), Noor Al Suwaidi (UAE), Nadine Kanso (Lebanon), and Jaffar Al Oraibi (Bahrain). The Method to the Madness education program led by Roberto Lopardo (US) take place until April 23, 2012.

In the Method to the Madness exhibition, Cuadro (Dubai) and CAP Kuwait delve into the issue of subjectivity in the judgment of art. The following questions are addressed:

When is an artwork complete? How can we better understand the artistic process and evolution? Is there a method to the madness?

The exhibition will display finished works by contemporary Middle Eastern artists, alongside the studies representing the different stages that lead to the final work. Peripheral materials typically found in an artist’s studio will be displayed as well, giving an comprehensive view of the artistic evolution. Viewers are invited to step into the mind of the artist and experience the work through the choices taken to make the art.

April 21, 22 & 23 – 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Workshop “When is an Artwork Complete?”
2 hours each day, 60 kd for all three days. 40 kd for students.

An intellectual is a man who says a simple thing in a difficult way; an artist is a man who says a difficult thing in a simple way.
–Charles Bukowski

For artists, the act of subtraction and addition serve as important tools in the art studio, creating opportunities for inquisition, discovery, synthesis, and evolution. Artists often find focus while they lose clutter; create order and harmony while they destroy chaos and confusion. In doing so, they are able to focus their attention on specific visual phenomenon and study that phenomenon. While the act of deconstruction is a simple process to learn, it can be an almost impossible process to perfect.