{
  "id": 20107455,
  "title": "Shaikha Al Mazrou explores space between perception and reality in Abu Dhabi exhibition",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/15/shaikha-al-mazrou-explores-space-between-perception-and-reality-in-20107455",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-15T03:02:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The National UAE",
    "slug": "the-national-uae",
    "url": "https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/2026/11/15/shaikha-al-mazrou-explores-space-between-perception-and-reality-in-abu-dhabi-exhibition/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Marble sculptures in Shaikha Al Mazrou's latest exhibition at Abu Dhabi's Cultural Foundation appear to defy expectations. Her work Two Horizons explores the gap between perception and reality through everyday materials that seem to challenge their own nature. The show, running until July 18, 2027, combines existing pieces with new commissions and is divided into four sections throughout the building's atrium and galleries. Curated by Reem Fadda, the exhibition aims to provoke contemplation about the horizon, distance, and the fluidity of color.\n\nAl Mazrou, a sculptor with a fascination for horizons, often ponders their distance during her travels. She is drawn to the horizon's ambiguity and uses it as a central theme in her art. In \"Fragmented Horizons,\" she creates a series of oxidized steel poles that trace an artificial horizon through the building itself, questioning perspective and the viewer's relationship with the artwork. Another piece, \"Water Was Never Blue,\" challenges assumptions about color and the natural world, using the cyanometer to explore the blue sky's appearance.\n\nA notable work in the exhibition is \"A Throw of the Dice Will Never Abolish Chance,\" a black jade marble sculpture that appears to be water disturbed by gentle waves. This piece was created for the Aichi Triennale in Japan and represents Al Mazrou's exploration of chance, language, and the unpredictable nature of water. Made from solid stone, the sculpture showcases her ability to transform materials into something almost liquid.\n\nAl Mazrou's sculptures often combine geometric forms, steel structures, and industrial surfaces with soft, fragile qualities. She is influenced by minimalism but maintains a distinct approach, combining art history, industrial materials, and research into her practice. Her sculptures are designed to challenge perceptions, using visual metaphors to question familiar assumptions about strength and permanence. She believes that the experience of moving through a sculpture's environment is as important as observing the object itself, particularly in public spaces like those at the Cultural Foundation.\n\nFor Al Mazrou, the Cultural Foundation holds a special place in Abu Dhabi's artistic history, offering an incubator for expression and a gathering place for people since its opening in 1981. As an assistant professor of arts practice at New York University Abu Dhabi, she has witnessed significant changes in the UAE's cultural landscape, but remains dedicated to pushing boundaries and exploring the relationship between perception and reality through her art.",
  "summary": "Marble ripples like water, steel folds like paper and heavy industrial materials appear almost weightless. In Shaikha Al Mazrou's sculptures, the familiar properties of everyday materials become difficult to reconcile with what the eye sees. These contradictions are central to Two Horizons, her solo exhibition at Abu Dhabi's Cultural Foundation . Bringing together existing works and new…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}