Art of summer: Artbooth Gallery show captures spirit of season

Artbooth Gallery, a leading art space in the national capital, is hosting Summered, a group exhibition that brings together a constellation of artists whose expressive works span continents and sensibilities (July 21 - Sept. 7).

- Muhammad Yusuf, Features Writer

The public can immerse themselves in a universe where summer turns into an inner season, a state of mind or a breath of inspiration that ties together nature, memory, and imagination. Soraya Abu Naba'a, Gilbert Halaby, Asaad Arabi, James Matthews, Habuba Farah, Noor Bahjat, Bruno Sfeir, Oussama Diab, Layal Khawly and Elias Naman, are the artists who create a dialogue through works that blend contrast, symbolism, vibrant forms, and sculpted silences.

From the dreamlike and meticulous florals of Soraya Abu Naba'a to the introspective paintings of Gilbert Halaby, Summered reveals, through each work, a fragment of a personal world that opens itself to collective reflection. James Matthews, a visual artist and educator based in Abu Dhabi since 2007, brings to the exhibition a visual language shaped by international experience. Asaad Arabi offers lyrical cityscapes where colours dance like suspended musical notes, while Habuba Farah weaves geometric abstraction into a poetic modernity, rooted in sound and rhythm.

Noor Bahjat presents surreal and densely narrative self-portraits, while Bruno Sfeir explores interior worlds with symbolic depth. Oussama Diab expresses displacement and memory with gentle irony and sharp cultural references. Layal Khawly, penultimately through architectural compositions, seeks unity between art and social engagement. Finally Elias Naman, a sculptor of silence, reveals raw, pure, and timeless emotion through hand-carved stone.