Lisson Gallery is one of the world’s most presitigious galleries. Based in London, they representing leading British artists such as Anish Kapoor and Ryan Gander as well as international stars like Ai Wei Wei and Marina Abramovic. This year at Abu Dhabi Art, they are bringing key works of art by Egyptian artist Wael Shawky. Ahead of the fair, I caught up with sales director Nayrouz Tantanaki.
Q: How many years has Lisson Gallery been in attendance at Abu Dhabi Art?
Lisson Gallery has participated in Abu Dhabi Art since 2011. I joined Lisson Gallery in 2012, so this will be my 5th Abu Dhabi Art.
Q: Why does Lisson Gallery choose to come to Abu Dhabi Art rather than the larger fairs in the region like Art Dubai?
Abu Dhabi Art is a very niche art fair that caters to museums, UAE royals as well as seasoned and young collectors.
We saw an opportunity to participate in the growth and development of a vital geo-strategic cultural beacon in the world. This happened in New York at the turn of the 20th century when the American government and cultural enterprise encouraged the rise of Expressionism and the cultural paradigm shifted from Paris to New York. Abu Dhabi presents a new opportunity to engage in a new cultural epoch.
Q: In my opinion, galleries tend to bring “big ticket” items to Abu Dhabi, which seem to be aimed at the institutions - would you agree with that?
The works presented at our booth target a wide collector base, which includes museums, the royals and young collectors looking for dynamic and captivating art work.
Q: For this year, you are showing Wael Shawky, who has become extremely successful in recent years and is of course, pertinent to this region given his nationality and his continued involvement with the Arab community and narratives. Do you bear matters of geography in mind whilst making your selection of artists?
Lisson Gallery chooses artists on basis of merit – not ethnicity. Wael Shawky is an incredibly important artist addressing very relevant issues pertaining to today’s politics and culture, especially in the reading of histories and offering new interpretations of them. His work is not geographically limited but instead applies to the current globalised state of affairs, similar to another one of our artists, Ai Weiwei, who uses Chinese materials and techniques to pose questions related to freedom of speech and human relativity in the world. Both artists tap into their national cultural language to raise global concerns.
Q: In your opinion, has the maturity of the collectors in Abu Dhabi improved over the years? Do you feel this is reflected in the quality of the conversations and audience you see coming to the booth?
Absolutely. Collectors in Abu Dhabi have always been inquisitive and interested in new expressions of language, however, the maturity of the collectors have improved as well as our understanding of the area and UAE culture.