Published for Biennale Art 2022, and edited by Maya Allison and Cristiana de Marchi, the monograph is the first comprehensive publication on the Emirati artist, covering his biomorphic abstraction paintings of the 1980s, his land art experiments and immersive installations of the 1990s, and the evolution of his papier-mâché sculptures over the last two decades.
The monograph, edited by Maya Allison, curator of the National Pavilion UAE 2022 exhibition and Executive Director of The New York University Abu Dhabi Art Gallery, and Cristiana de Marchi, artist, curator, and poet, was published by Kaph Books. The publication launched with the Pavilion’s exhibition in April.
Retracing Ibrahim’s body of work to date, the publication contextualizes the artist within the UAE’s contemporary art scene and his contribution to its development over the last four decades. Through a series of essays and interviews by prominent figures in the art world and in his own art community, the texts bring to life Ibrahim’s journey, personality, and work process. The book tracks his early formation as an artist, framed against the historical backdrop of a country that came into being during his lifetime (the UAE was founded in 1971, a decade after his birth). Arising from the contributors’ in-depth research, and personal interactions with the artist, the authors trace his rise as one of the leading experimental artists of the UAE, and situate his work today in its local and global context.
