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| Source: Louvre Abu Dhabi. The museum city. |
The Louvre Abu Dhabi has commissioned two internationally-acclaimed artists to create site-specific artworks that will be displayed in the museum when opening in 2017. French architect Jean Nouvel’s ‘museum city’ with its streets, plazas and waterways will feature artworks exhibited both inside the galleries as well as outside.
Italian artist Giuseppe Penone and American artist Jenny Holzer have worked closely with the Louvre Abu Dhabi team to develop sculptures and installations reflecting the universal stories of the museum and in harmony with the iconic building. These are the first of a number of commissions for Louvre Abu Dhabi which will through a diversity of artists, reflect the universal nature of the museum.
Penone is one of the youngest members of the Arte Povera movement*. He has created Germination, a four-part installation that reveals the artist’s fascination with the use of organic materials, such as trees, to highlight the connection between man, nature and art. The central element of the installation is Leaves of Light, a bronze tree which interacts with Nouvel’s architectural design through mirrors placed on its branches reflecting the Rain of Light. Soaring towards the dome covering the museum’s outdoor walkways, the tree becomes a symbol of life, as shared by all cultures.
Through an exceptional collaboration with the workshops of Sèvres – Cité de la céramique, a museum in France, Penone has also created several works including Propagation, a wall of porcelain tiles representing concentric circles drawn by hands. The lines of the drawing germinate from Sheikh Zayed’s fingerprint to show how a simple action can create an infinite space.
Holzer, whose work has been widely exhibited at international exhibitions, has created three engraved stone walls of texts from important historical sources from across the world. These walls will feature excerpts from historian Ibn Khaldun's Muqaddimah (مقدّمة ابن خلدون) - a work on universal history - from the Atif Efendi Library collection in Istanbul, Turkey; the Mesopotamian bilingual (Acadian /Sumerian) Creation Myth tablet from the Vorderasiatisches Museum in Berlin, Germany, and the 1588 annotated edition of philosopher Michel de Montaigne's Essais - a collection of essays on various topics - from the Bordeaux Municipal Library in France.
Works from the permanent collection will be displayed alongside these commissions in the outdoor areas of the museum. Recreating the atmosphere of an Islamic courtyard, an Ottoman octagonal fountain and pavement (18th century, Damascus, Syria) will be integrated in a contemporary scenography flooded with light.
Overlooking the Arabian Gulf, Louvre Abu Dhabi features a series of white buildings inspired by the madinah (city) and low-lying Arab settlements. Visitors can wander from the indoor galleries to the open-air areas of the museum, which are cooled by traditional Arabic architectural techniques. The museum will also offer temporary exhibitions, a children’s museum, restaurants, a shop, promenades and gardens.
*Arte povera makes use of common materials or materials of no value to create art.