About the Book
An illuminating look at one of the Middle East's most fascinating contemporary artists, this survey is the first to explore the extraordinary life and work of Saudi artist Dr Ahmed Mater. Mater's work, exhibited at the Venice Biennale and in the collections of the British Museum and Los Angeles County Museum of Art, is informed by his education and life as a medical doctor, as well as by his traditional religious upbringing and Saudi culture. His work, which encompasses photography, calligraphy, painting, installation and video, explores the narratives and aesthetics of Islamic culture in an era of globalization, consumerism and dramatic flux.
The book examines four of Mater's most important artistic projects, and includes contributions from leading scholars and commentators writing from London, Riyadh, Los Angeles, Paris, Abha, Sana'a and Amsterdam. Catherine David's foreword positions Mater's work within the cultural context of the Arabian Gulf, while the book's elegant design evokes the artist's Middle Eastern sensibility.
About the Author:
Venetia Porter is Curator of Islamic and Contemporary Middle East Department at the British Museum, and a leading figure in the field of Middle Eastern contemporary art. Porter made the purchase of an Ahmed Mater painting in 2003 on behalf of the British Museum, for the exhibition for Word into Art, the first comprehensive exhibition of contemporary Middle Eastern art, featuring over 90 artists of which Mater was one of only two Saudis included.
Catherine David
is currently head curator at the Direction des Musées de France and was previously curator at the Centre Pompidou. She has become a prolific curator on the Middle East art scene and recently curated the prestigious project Documenta X. She curated the Abu Dhabi Authority Culture and Heritage (ADACH) platform in the Venice Biennale and included Ahmed Mater as one of leading artists of the Gulf
Linda Komaroff is Head Curator of Islamic Art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Tim Mackintosh Smith is an award-winning British writer based in Yemen. He has written numerous books on his travels in the Middle East, and edited the infamous Travels of Ibn Battutah. He has lectured at the Royal Geographic Society and hosted BBC documentaries on his travels.
Ahmed Al Omran is a leading Saudi commentator with one of the most well-known and longstanding blogs on the Middle East. Has become a leading figure often touching on controversial, political, and societal matters, engaging Saudi youth in positive debate with over 4 million followers in Saudi Arabia alone.
Aarnout Helb is the Founder and Director of the world's first museum dedicated to contemporary art from Saudi Arabia, in in Amsterdam.
Ashraf Fayyad is a published Palestinian poet and artist living in Abha, Saudi Arabia.
Stephen Stapleton is an artist and founder of Edge of Arabia, a leading platform for promoting contemporary art from Saudi Arabia.
