The Dubai-based artist will present 70 paintings digitally, marking one of the world’s largest online exhibitions to date .
As nations around the world continue to grapple with the novel coronavirus, particularly as many parts of the globe enter into what is being called the pandemic’s second wave, Dubai-based self-taught painter has decided to stage a major exhibition online with the scope of bringing hope and positivity to people around the world. The exhibition, which will launch on November 5th, will be displayed digitally on a specially designated site using virtual reality technology so that viewers can almost have the same experience viewing the paintings as they would physically. And during the month of November, selected paintings from this exhibition will be on view at Rowaida Interiors Gallery in JLT.
“The main drive behind staging this large-scale virtual exhibition was to send a message to everyone that we can and achieve our goals and dreams at any time,” says Hakim. “Whether it be coronavirus or other obstacles, we are able attain our aspirations if we believe we can and do so with a positive vision and manner.”
Working in an abstract and expressionist style, Hakim’s works on canvas combine vibrant colors with her signature use of gold leaf and metal leaf. Once again, in this virtual exhibition, titled Hope, she explores themes relating to Positivity , humanity, cultural understanding, peace and the beauty of nature, and specifically, the need to find positivity and motivation and continue to dream even amidst the turbulence and challenges of these present times.
On view will be paintings created in a variety of styles but always with the incorporation of Hakim’s signature gold and metal leafs, made over the last 10 years and featuring such popular works as Dubai Nights and Dancing Colors . Hakim’s new exhibition Hope will include works such as Romance, painted in 2018, featuring a entirely hot pink canvas, My garden (2020), portraying a series of trees painted with green leaves in a gold trunk with semi-precious stones, the Silent Messages collection painted in acrylic with gold leaf on canvas, Golden key, a key painted in gold leaf against a black background and and Happy flowers (2020) Canvas in golden with one side filled meticulously painted flowers .
The painting that symbolizes the theme of the show, also called Hope (2020) filled with cherry blossom flowers painted on a blue painted Canvas, each with its distinct color and form, with gold mountains in the background. “I love this work because it transmits a very warm feeling of happiness and it reflects how the flowers open after the winter , ” after every hard times there is beauty coming out , let us hope good is coming ” It took almost 6 month to do, and I had to do it in a very intricate style.”
And the Universe collection, a series of paintings done in 2020, the main painting, which is titled also Universe, features a large acrylic abstract painting with 24-carat gold leaf, real diamond stones , rubies and emeralds, in a replication of the beauty of the galaxies and our solar system. Other previous works on show feature rich and expressive slabs of color across the canvas, sometimes in the form of colorful rows of squares and other times through anamorphic indeterminate shapes in 24-carat gold. There is also THE STAIRS it’s a painting with sky background painted in a shape of stairs where steps made with different colors white green white orange grey and gold , the grey to remind how we sometime feel to quit before we are about to achieve our goals ” so please go ahead up You will reach your goals” There’s also Baraka, which means “blessing” in Arabic and “ijabiya” which means “positive “in arabic reveals a multitude of calligraphic-styled lines across the canvas painted once again in gold leaf on acrylic on canvas.
One of the highlights of the show is the diversity of techniques that Hakim exhibits. In Mountains of Love painting a range of delicately painted mountain tops in 24 karat gold leaf extend into the gray and starry night sky. “I wanted to replicate a winter scene with snow-capped mountains against a cool gray sky,” explains Hakim. “I tried to endow the painting with the feeling of a cozy winter in the evening with a beautiful star-lit sky.”
At other times Hakim incorporates an intriguing use of materials. In one monochrome orange painting she used saffron with water. “It’s a work that replicates the desert and thanks the natural world around us,” she says. “Every painting I have made is endowed with a special meaning.” And her I want to say “thank You nature “
“The main reason I am creating such a large-scale virtual art exhibition is to show how nothing can stop us,” continued Hakim. “We must always have hope, even during the most challenging times. We must never give up under any condition, whether it is because of coronavirus or other circumstances. We must always retain hope and the will from inside of us to do the best that we can do in every aspect of our lives. We must continue to enjoy our lives and be happy. We must not give ourselves an excuse to feel sad. With every challenge there is opportunity and a solution that can help us move to a better place. Every obstacle is a way for us to transcend our difficulties and become a better version of ourselves.”
Additional paintings on show are painted with determined slogans such as “Successful”, “You can”, “I am unstoppable”, “Powerful”, and “Do” offering positive motivational message through art. Rowaida’s aims with these works, which are painted in vibrant colors with big lettering against her signature gold leaf, is to deliver these statements to everyone who views her work, offering hope, encouragement and belief in the future. She believes that everyone can attain their dreams, they just need to keep believing in them and thinking positively.
“I want to thank everyone for the support I received to make this show successful,” says Hakim. Thank You to my role model in life H.H Sheik Mohamad Bin Rasihd Al Maktoum whose words are the main inspiration , thanks as well to the Galleria Mall Barsha and the Four Seasons Hotel for helping me with the photoshoot. I am so grateful to everyone who has inspired me and helped me along the way.” ,
Hakim was born in Lebanon and has lived in Dubai for most of her life where she runs several successful businesses, including Rowaida Interiors, a high-end design company in Dubai specialized in luxury interiors, and multiple real estate companies. has been selling her paintings directly to her interior design clients for years. In 2018, she staged a unique one-day viewing of her work Sotheby’s Dubai marking the first time she showed her paintings to a public audience. This was followed by several solo exhibitions in Dubai and also participation in the Salon d’Art, an international art fair at the Carrousel du Louvre in Paris.