Norwegian artist Henrik Placht will hold the exhibition “Eye of the Rose (Part II)” at the Dar al-Anda Art Gallery, opening 28 February 2008 at 1800 hrs. This will be the highly renowned artist’s very first exhibition in the Arab world, showing a wide variety of his contemporary art paintings. Mr. Placht’s work has a clearly recognizable Arab influence, stemming from more than five years of work in Ramallah, establishing and managing the International Academy of Art Palestine (IAAP). A similar exhibition recently held in Oslo, Norway, was sold out and received astonishing reviews.
“Jordan is a natural place for me to hold my first exhibition in the Arab world. Visiting Jordan, I have been inspired by the Kingdom’s friendly people, the magnificent landscape of Wadi Rum and astonishing architecture of Petra – truly among the greatest wonders of the world”, Mr. Placht says.
Placht is greatly inspired by Arab society and culture, due to his close relationship to artists from Palestine and other Arab nationalities. His paintings hold numerous references to historical Arab art, such as embroidery and architecture. The colours of his paintings are usually very “pitched” and strong, and characterized by the abundance of geometrical systems of transparent layers of paint and resin (lacquer) which the viewer can see through.
“We are very honoured to host Mr. Placht's exhibition”, says Majdoline al-Ghesawi
al-Ghoul of Dar al-Anda Art Gallery. “He has a very noble mission and vision, serving the global community as a whole. He is a staunch believer in that through art one can introduce cultures and stress causes, such as the Palestinian”, she continues.
Henrik Placht, 35, received his education at the Academies of Fine Art in Bergen, Norway, and Berlin-Weissensee, Germany. He has held exhibitions at such places as the Norwegian National Gallery and the United Nations Headquarters in New York. Placht is represented in several public and private collections around the world, and has held lectures at various institutions including Columbia University in New York, the Nobel Peace Centre in Oslo and the An Najah Islamic University in Nablus, Palestine.
Dar al-Anda Art Gallery is situated in Dirar bin al-Azwar Street in Jabal al-Weibdah, Amman. “Eye of the Rose (Part II)” will run for three weeks.
The exhibition is under the patronage of H.E. Mrs. Mette Ravn, Norway's ambassador to The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and supported by the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Mr. Placht will also hold a lecture titled “Art and Identity in Palestine: A Case Study of the International Academy of Art in Palestine” at Jordan University’s Faculty of Art and Design on Wednesday 27 February.
He will be available for interviews with the press between 25-28 February.
For further information about the exhibition, please contact Majdoline al-Ghesawi al-Ghour:
Tel.: + 962 79 555 75 70; E-mail: majdo@enena.com