Art Writing, Criticism and Reviews Blog Post

  

"Dima Srouji is an architect and visual artist who explores the Earth as a deep space with a rich cultural weight. Working with glass, texts, archives, maps, gypsum and film, she understands each as an evocative object and emotional companion that helps her question what cultural heritage and public space mean in the larger context of the Middle East." https://www.dimasrouji.com/about  

 
 

 Dima Srouji, installation view of Maintaining the Sacred, 2023, at the Islamic Arts Biennale, 2023. Photo by Sueraya Shaheen. Courtesy of Sueraya Shaheen. 
 

"Dima Srouji collected shards of stained glass, a replica of 30 destroyed windows in the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque during the Israeli incursion into Jerusalem on April 15, 2022. The resulting work, Maintenance of the Holy (2023), shines as if it were an altar. In this gesture toward reform, which would in fact take 15 years to complete (six months to individually insert each stone-carved window with glass), the broken world is reconfigured with elegant but asymmetrical compositions.The arched shape of the work references classical Islamic architectural motifs while the indentations in the wood and plaster structure take a kintsugi-like approach." https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-10-standout-artists-inaugural-islamic-arts-biennale  

 
 

"Diaa Murad is a Lebanese visual artist working in the field of photography. Through his work, Mourad captures the changing urban environment from aesthetic, social, economic and cultural perspectives. Focusing heavily on Beirut, the artist depicts buildings as silent witnesses alluding to themes of identity and their transience. He applies the same documentary approach while visiting other sites around the world as a means of deciphering hidden narratives about human act." https://zawyeh.net/dia-mrad/ 

 
 

Dia Mrad, Always Forever (2020), FineArt Inkjet print on archival paper (Hahnemühle 310 gsm), 75 x 110 cm









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"Diaa Murad in the Corner gallery Showcasing images large and small of the Lebanese capital, it reveals contrasting scenes of beauty, damage, and neglect. On August 4, 2020, Beirut was rocked by a massive explosion that claimed countless lives and destroyed buildings, including homes and cultural venues. Dia Murad was there on site documenting everything. "  https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-10-best-booths-middle-eastern-galleries-art-dubai-2022 https://zawyeh.net/art-dubai/  

Dima Srouji and Diaa Murad are wonderful artists, different in artistic media, but similar in artistic thought. Their work express the memories and cultural heritage of their countries and present contradictory scenes of beauty and harm. I liked their artworks because they produce for us beauty, happiness, and hope from destruction, sadness, and pain. Diaa and Dima are artists with dazzling vision and different imprint in the art world. 

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