ALI KAAF
“ZWISCHEN JA UND NEIN FLIEGT DIE SEELE”
SEPTEMBR 2020
Ali Kaaf – Zwischen Ja und Nein fliegt die Seele/Between Yes and No Flies the Soul
Ali Kaaf – Zwischen Ja und Nein fliegt die Seele/Between Yes and No Flies the Soul
Arbeiten auf Papier/Works on paper
5. September – 10. Oktober 2020/September 5 – October, 10, 2020
Soft Opening: Freitag, 4. September 2020, 17–21 Uhr/Friday, September 4, 2020, 5-9 pm
Öffnungszeiten: Mittwoch – Freitag 12-18 Uhr; Samstag 12-16 Uhr u. n. V.
Opening hours: Wednesday – Friday 12-18 pm; Saturday 12-4 pm or by appointment
“Between Yes and No Flies the Soul” with new works by Ali Kaaf is presented as part of the Artist in Residence Programme of the German Foreign Office in cooperation with the Landesverband Berliner Galerien (lvbg). From February to April/May 2020 Kaaf worked in the artists’ studio on the rooftop of the Federal Foreign Office. The lockdown meant that the events planned there in the roof studio had to be cancelled. This makes it all the more important to show the current works on paper in this exhibition now.
Ali Kaaf’s main focus was Islamic mysticism and philosophy of the Middle Ages, which was strongly influenced by Greek Neo-Platonism.The exhibition title, which stems from the dialogue between two 12th century philosophers, Averroes and Ibn Arabi, reflects this inspiration. The line symbolizes the search for perfection, which can only be experienced in the intermediate realm of yes – no. Kaaf translates this striving for knowledge into his own pictorial language, in which he attempts to probe the depths of the unspeakable. To this end, he creates spaces, often through superimposed papers, where an impression of transcendental absoluteness can unfold. Under the influence of the 20th century history of art, Ibn Arabi’s words transform Kaaf into the visual language of a contemporary artist. The exhibition brings together works on paper from 2018–2020, combining artistic techniques such as collage, burn-out, incisions, ink, digital processing, photography in a highly concentrated manner and with a wide range of variations.
Ali Kaaf, Syrian, born in 1977 in Oran, Algeria; lives and works in Berlin since 2000; studied fine arts at the Institut des Beaux-Arts in Beirut (1994–98) and at the UdK Berlin with Marwan and Rebecca Horn (2000–05); numerous awards and scholarships and prizes et al. 2020 AArtist in Residence, Federal Foreign Office in cooperation with the lvbg; 2015 Kala Art Institute, Berkeley, USA; collections et al. Collection Solidere Beirut, Lebanon; MAXXI National Museum for the Art of the XXI. Century, Rome; Museum of Islamic Art, Berlin.
PresseEcho
On Air – kulturradio rbb – Ali Kaaf. Ein Porträt von Thomas Fitzel
| 1977 | Syrer, geboren in Oran, Algerien/Syrian, born in Oran, Algeria |
| 1994-1998 | Studium der bildenden Kunst an der Académie Libanaise des Beaux Arts, Beirut/studied fine arts at Académie Libanaise des Beaux Arts, Beirut |
| 2000 | Sommer Akademie bei/studied fine arts with Marwan Kassab Bachi, Darat al Funun, Amman, Jordan; Studium der bildenden Kunst an der Universität der Künste (UdK) Berlin bei Marwan/studied fine arts at UdK Berlin with Marwan |
| 2002-2005 | Studium der bildenden Kunst bei Rebecca Horn, Universität der Künste (UdK) Berlin/studied fine arts at UdK Berlin with Rebecca Horn |
| 2015 | „Intima“ (Tanzprojekt/Dance Project)), kuratorische Zusammenarbeit mit/in cooperation with Choreograph Gregory Dawson und/and company Dawson Dance SF, San Francisco |
| seit/since 2016 | Lehrtätigkeit an der/lectureship at Kunsthochschule Berlin-Weißensee, foundationClass, Berlin |
| 2019 | Symposium — Yemen and Syria: making art today, British Museum, London |
| Lecture + Workshop “Beyond the Painting”, Yellowstone Art Museum, Billings (MT), USA |
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| lebt und arbeitet in Berlin/lives and works in Berlin | |
| Preise und Stipendien/Awards and scholarships | |
| 2020 | AArtist in Residence, Programm des Auswärtigen Amts in Zusammenarbeit mit dem Landesverband Berliner Galerien (lvbg), Berlin |
| 2015 | Artist-in-Residence, Kala Art Institute, Berkeley, CA |
| 2014 | Honorary AIR Awardees, Kala Art Institute, Berkeley |
| 2010 | Young Collectors for MAXXI 2010, Young Collectors Association - Fair ROMA. The Road to Contemporary Art, Rome |
| 2005-2006 | Solidere's Artists in Residence Program, Beirut |
| 2004 | DAAD-Preis der UdK Berlin/German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) Prize for Outstanding International Students, assigned by UdK Berlin |
| Einzelausstellungen (Auswahl)/selected solo exhibitions | |
| 2021 | "Goodbye Mschatta - 'Ich bin Fremder. Zweifach Fremder'/ "I Am a Stranger: Twofold a Stranger'", Pergamonmuseum, Museum für Islamische Kunst, Berlin |
| 2020 | „Zwischen Ja und Nein fliegt die Seele", C&K Galerie, Berlin |
| 2018 | „Die byzantinische Ecke", C&K Galerie, Berlin |
| „Dins un garbell no es pot guardar el sol", Galeria Maior, Palma, Spanien/Spain | |
| 2016 | „Box of Pain“, Kühlhaus Berlin |
| „Ali Kaaf – The Colour of The Water is The Colour of its Vessel“, The Bumiller Collection, Studio Berlin | |
| „Ali Kaaf – Unsilenced“, Pacific Felt Factory, San Francisco, CA | |
| 2015 | „Ali Kaaf – Papier und Glas“, Kunsthaus Langenberg – Alldiekunst, Velbert, Germany |
| 2014 | „RISS“ (mit/with Said Baalbaki), C&Kunterwegs Galerie, Berlin |
| “Scherben Mantra”, Bomb Gallery, Mostar, Bosnien/Bosnia | |
| 2013 | Mihrab, Moontower Foundation, Bad König-Zell, Germany |
| “Paper and Glass”, Salon Neucologne, Berlin | |
| 2012 | “Hollowing Light”, Custer County Art & Heritage Center, Miles City, USA |
| 2010 | “Fragile Strength”, Yellowstone Art Museum, Billings, USA |
| “Gubar”, Gallery Rafia, Damascus, Syrien/Syria | |
| 2009 | “Eclipse”, Galleria Marie-Laure Fleisch, Roma |
| 2008 | “Oh nein Oh”, Gallery Naprzeciw, Poznan, Polen/Poland |
| “RAS RAS/Der Schwarze Garten”, Galerie Sakamoto Contemporary | |
| 2007 | „Schwarz“, Galerie Haus am Lützowplatz, Berlin |
| 2006 | “Ali Kaaf, Discovery Planet”, Solidere, Beirut |
| “Ali Kaaf, Khan Ashad-Bacha”, in collaboration with the Goethe-Institut Syrien Damaskus, Syrien/Syria | |
| 2004 | “Aswad”, Darat al Funun, Khalid Shoman Foundation, Amman, Jordan |
| Gruppenausstellungen (Auswahl)/selected group exhibitions | |
| 2020 | „In weiter Ferne so nah" - AArtist in Residence Programm 2016-2020, Haus am Lützowplatz (HaL), Berlin |
| 2019 | „8 Künstler, 8 Unikate, 8 neue Editionen“, youngcollectors zu Gast in raum 2810, Bonn, Germany |
| “FOURFOLD Positions from Berlin”, Salon Galic, Split, Kroatien/Croatia | |
| “Die haben einen Vogel - Die Vogelmänner von Istanbul" 30 Jahre Galeristin, eine Jubiläumsausstellung von Christiane Bühling-Schultz, C&K Galerie, Berlin | |
| “A Journey of Belonging - Part II”, CAACONTEMPORARYARTSALLIANCEBERLIN, Bikini-Haus, Berlin | |
| 2018 | „Caravane Culturelle Syrienne“, Kunstverlag Galerie Till Breckner, Düsseldorf, Germany |
| „Hommage à Marwan", Galerie Pankow, Berlin |
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| 2017 | “Syria: Into the Light”, Atassi Foundation, At Concrete-AIserkal Avenue, Dubai |
| 2016 | “The Red Gaze”, curated by A. S. Bruckstein Çoruh, Zilberman Gallery, Berlin |
| “As If, At Home”, Artists in Europe, Box Freiraum, Berlin | |
| “Clearly Ambiguous”, SMAC, Berlin | |
| 2015 | “Mixed Pickles”, C&Kunterwegs Galerie, Berlin |
| “Ortstermin mit Leoni Wirth - Modelle und Entwürfe aus dem Atelier von Leoni Wirth und zeitgenössische Positionen zu Abstraktion und Moderne”, Kunsthaus Dresden, Dresden, Germay | |
| “Living with endangered Languages in the information age”, Root Division, San Francisco | |
| “Hidden Treasures“ - I AMsterdam you BErlin, Sankt-Johannes-Evangelist-Kirche, Berlin | |
| 2014 | “Be my guest”, Galerie E.G.P, Paris |
| “Kunststoff Syrien 2014“, Forum Factory, Ber“Kunststoff Syrien 2014“, Forum Factory, Berlin | |
| „Scherben Mantra“, official selection, Alfilm - Arab Filmfestival, Berlin 2013 | |
| 2013 | „Syrian Diaries“, Korridor No. 33, Kopenhagen, Dänemark/Denmark |
| “SyriArt, Institut du Monde Arabe”, Paris | |
| 2012 | „Kunststoff Syrien“, Forum Factory, Berlin |
| „Maribor Project - Rebecca Horn and Guests”, Contemporary Art Museum, Maribor, Slowenien/Slovenia | |
| “Arrivi e Partenze 2012“, Mole Vanvitelliana, Ancona, Italien/Italy | |
| 2010 | “Moontower Foundation”, Bad König-Zell, Germany |
| „FestArte”, Video Art Festival, (Section OFF), MACRO, Museum of Contemporary Art, Roma | |
| “Spiegel im Spiegel“, Horb am Neckar, Germany | |
| „Glass Works”, Global Health Equity Foundation, San Francisco, USA | |
| 2009 | „Taswir – Islamische Bildwelten und Moderne“, Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin |
| „Ode“, Kommunale Galerie Berlin, Berlin | |
| 2008 | „Rites of Passage“, Galería Maior, Pollença, Spanien/Spain |
| 2007 | „Flowing Times“, Galerie Schüppenhauer, Köln |
| „Back and Forth”, Villa Grisebach, Berlin | |
| “Château Ivre“, Schloss Sacrow, kuratiert von/curated by Rebecca Horn, Potsdam, Germany | |
| 2005 | „Haus im Körper“, Galerie Haus am Lützowplatz, Berlin |
| „Durchzug im Löwenpalais“, Stiftung Starke, Löwenpalais, Berlin | |
| 2003 | „213“, UdK Berlin |
| 2002 | „UdK - Beaux Arts”, Sciences Politiques, Saint-Germain, Paris |
| „Montags“, Klasse Marwan 1977-2002, UdK Berlin | |
| Sammlungen/Collections | |
| The Khalid Shoman Foundation Darat Al Funun, Amman, Jordan | |
| Collection Solidere Beirut, Libanon / Lebanon | |
| MAXXI - Museo nazionale delle arti del XXI secolo, Roma / MAXXI - Nationalmuseum für die Kunst des XXI. Jahrhunderts, Rom | |
| Moontower Foundation, Frankfurt am Main | |
| Museum für Islamische Kunst, Berlin | |
| Peter-Raue-Sammlung, Berlin | |
| sowie internationale Privatsammlungen/and international private collections | |
| Bibliografie/Bibliography (ausgewählt/selected) | |
| 2021 | In weiter Ferne so nah, hrsg./ed. Landesverband Berliner Galerien, Berlin |
| 2019 | Die haben einen Vogel - Die Vogelmänner von Istanbul - 30 Jahre Galeristin, eine Jubiläumsausstellung von Christiane Bühling-Schultz, hrsg./ed. Christiane Bühling-Schultz |
| 2017 | Syria: Into The Light, Selection of Portraits and Figures in Syrian art from the Collection of the Atassi Foundation, Dubai |
| 2016 | The Red Gaze, hrsg. von/ed. A.S. Bruckstein Çoruh und/and Lotte Laub Berlin |
| Ali Kaaf:The Colour of Water is the Clour of its Vessel, hrsg. von/ed. The Bumiller Collection Berlin-Bamberg | |
| Ali Kaaf in: KWER - Magazin der Abstraktion, Nr.1 (Eins), Berlin | |
| 2014 | Maribor Project - Rebecca Horn and Guests, hrsg. von. /ed. Ifa, Moontower Foundation, Galerija Maribor |
| 2013 | Doris von Drathen: Ali Kaaf, in: Kuenstler – Kritisches Lexikon der Gegenwartskunst, (Ausgabe Nr. 104, Heft 22, Quartal 2013), hrsg./ed. Detlef Bluemler, Lothar Romain, München, Germany |
| 2010 | Alexandra von Stosch, Dramaturgie der Zeichen, in: Gubar, hrsg./ed. Galeria Rafia, Damaskus |
| Spiegel im Spiegel, hrsg./ed.Kunstverein Oberer Neckar, Horb, Germany | |
| 2009 | Taswir – Islamische Bildwelten und Moderne, Ausstellung im Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin, hrsg. von/ed. Almut Sh. Bruckstein Çoruh |
| Anke M. Ulrich in: Ode, hrsg./ed. Kommunale Galerie, Berlin | |
| 2006 | Ali Kaaf, hrsg. von/ed. Solidere Beirut |