How a German expat artist's pomegranate art is bridging UAE and Germany
Dubai: As the UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan held talks in Berlin this week, one Dubai-based artist is a living symbol of the friendship being celebrated between the two nations. Petra Kaltenbach, 64, a German painter, designer and sculptor who has called Dubai home since 2004, has spent the past few years building a growing body of work, especially around a single…
Dubai-based German artist Petra Kaltenbach, 64, is using the humble pomegranate to foster cultural ties between the UAE and Germany. Since moving to Dubai in 2004 after a long career in advertising, Kaltenbach has dedicated herself to creating art that intertwines her passion for the fruit with modern technology such as QR codes, NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) and augmented reality.
Her latest series, "Everybody's Darling," features pomegranate sculptures that explore themes of love, wealth, and spirituality. The 3D-printed pieces, ranging from 15 centimetres to over a metre in diameter, are hand-finished with some painted using Arabic-inspired patterns. The sculptures will be exhibited at World Art Dubai, an art fair that Petra currently advises on.
Kaltenbach's work aims to bridge cultures and promote understanding between the German and UAE communities. She has previously created a series of paintings, videos, and an augmented reality installation marking 50 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Her German community ties in the UAE have also grown stronger, with the German community nearly doubling in the past four to five years.
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