Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Bahraini sculptor and painter Jamal Abdul Rahim is showcasing his printmaking prowess in his latest exhibition in a bid to ignite people’s passion for the art form.
The multi-talented, self-taught artist and father-of-three is featuring 41 pieces in a variety of sizes in ‘The Art of Printmaking between Yesterday and Today’ exhibit at the Bahrain Arts Society.
The event is being held under the patronage of National Arts Council chairman and society honorary president Shaikh Rashid bin Khalifa Al Khalifa.
“During 34 years of my life with the art of handmade printmaking, I have been privy to a lot of its secrets and charms,” said the award-winning artist who has exhibited his work globally. His printmaking workshop, probably the largest in the Gulf, creates handmade books that have been part of many roving exhibitions all over the region.
“In this exhibition, I am presenting some of the techniques that I have been working on, in a modern vision, through my experience in this field.
“I tried to show and express my inner self and transfer all images into symbols that can be translated into the audience’s souls. The exhibition creates dialogues with the art pieces as well as psychological and emotional provocation.”
During the opening night of the showcase, on November 20, Shaikh Rashid and Jamal roamed the society and discussed the works of art made using the lithography technique, woodcut or etching on copper plates, light-sensitive photopolymer material as well as monotype printing. Lithography is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water.
“Printing is an ancient art initiated by man since the era of the caves; when man stamped his hand on walls,” he explained. “It is the ‘Art of Technique’. This art has gone through many development processes throughout the years.”
Albrecht Dürer, for example, is a German painter, printmaker and theorist of the German Renaissance who played an important role in transforming printmaking from a craft into an art in the 15th century.
“He succeeded through his research to achieve complex and naturalistic designs rather than the simple illustrations that was produced during this period,” continued Jamal. “This art developed with Rembrandt. He was distinguished for his use of acids for engraving and he had many experiments that led to great results.”
Jamal also highlighted the works of Francisco José de Goya, a romantic painter and printmaker who was considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
“Goya took advantage of previous etching techniques and innovated in the field of Aquatint (water-based engraving) and dry point,” he said. “In his later years, he moved to lithography (stone printing).
“It is a renewable and boundless art when it comes to technique; it coincides with all new technical developments, thus enriching it. Dealing with this kind of art requires a continuous follow-up of all the new developments in this field.
“We can say that most modern life sciences depend on printing technology, starting from the mobile devices in our hands to transmitting images from outer space.
“The technique is not just restricted to the tools used, printing provides the artist with vast freedom to innovate and renovate his own tools to accomplish all the works of art in his mind with new concepts.
“Hence I showcased what I have achieved over the years working with different mediums of handmade artwork printmaking.”
While he doesn’t have any favourite pieces, one that is quite close to his heart is a large scale (300cmx500cm) Palestine-inspired print called From the River to the Sea.
According to Jamal, most of the visitors at his opening night were related to the art movement in our society and he has even received a lot of people after the opening day…with hopefully more to come as the exhibition runs until December 3.
“I hope more people will enjoy the exhibition,” added Jamal who participated in his first joint exhibition at Al Hala Club in Muharraq in 1987.
Jamal also paints using paper and pencil, canvas, oil colours, acrylic and mixed media.
For his handmade art prints, he uses acid-free paper, special types of ink and a press machine. He has 36 handmade books and artistic collections.
For his sculptures, he uses different types of stones, including marble and granite, as well as bronze.
He has participated in 31 individual exhibitions in Bahrain and 30 Arab and international showcases.
Jamal has also taken part in many joint exhibitions, including Biennales and Triennials and has achieved 14 national and international prizes.
Not one to rest on his laurels, Jamal is currently working on a different project — a jewellery collection inspired by his sculptures and some of the poems he uses in his handmade books — which will be released soon.
Jamal is thankful for the support of his wife, Margaret Kamal, and his children Mariam, 13, Ikar, 10, and Rita, nine, as well as to Shaikh Rashid, his friends and the Bahrain Arts Society.
For further details on his work, follow @jamalarahim_official on Instagram.
