Art of knot: Iwan Maktabi transforms artworks into carpet art collectibles

Muhammad Yusuf, Features Writer

Iwan Maktabi, one of the Middle East region’s leading handmade carpet houses, presented a first-time collaboration with legendary Emirati artist Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim at Editions, part of Dubai Design Week’s presentations (DDW, Nov. 5 – 10). The Lebanese carpet maker was returning to Downtown Design at DDW, dedicated to editioned works, to launch Ibrahim’s limited-edition collection and also showcase a curation of earlier collaborations with regional design stars. The collection was a creative re-interpretation of Ibrahim’s iconic paintings and drawings turned into carpet art collectibles by Iwan Maktabi. It is the artist’s first collaboration of its kind in his career spanning almost 40 years.

Part of UAE’s first generation of contemporary artists to emerge from the country in the late 1980s, Ibrahim is best known for his abstract works influenced by primeval symbols and the landscape of Khor Fakkan, his place of birth. “Featuring bright, playful colours and minimalist yet bold graphics, Ibrahim’s works lend itself naturally to be reimagined as rugs woven in wool, silk and cotton,” said the carpet maker. The partnership with Iwan Maktabi emerged as the result of synergies between the artist and the brand, both known for avant-garde expressions that push creative boundaries in their respective spheres.

In addition to the launch of the new capsule collection, Iwan Maktabi also featured a curated selection of earlier collaborations with regionally celebrated names like Saudi Prince and artist Sultan Bin Fahad; Emirati artist and curator Noor Al Suwaidi; and Lebanese painter, Marwan Sahmarani. ‘Delights’ by Sultan Bin Fahad, was a limited-edition collection created for Terminal G – an Iwan Maktabi initiative that presents contemporary Khaliji culture through the art of weaving, another highlight at Editions. Inspired by traditional tin boxes offered to guests at weddings, the assemblage featured familiar motifs: the hands of the bride and the groom’s father entwined to seal the promise of everlasting union, with red rose petals and phrases traditionally used during weddings in abundance, to depict scenes of unity and adoration.

‘The Eye of the Beholder’ by Noor Al Suwaidi — another outcome of the Terminal G programme — found its way to Editions after its successful launch at Dubai Art Week in February.
The limited-edition collection, with playful collages of shapes and a colour palette that evoked emotions inspired by nature, invited the viewer to interpret the work, thus inspiring the name of the collection. As part of the carpet maker’s commitment to promoting Lebanese talent, the exhibition also included the work of Marwan Sahmarani titled ‘Crying Man’, an intricate carpet creation in wool. Iwan Maktabi’s showcase was complemented with bespoke ceramic creations by Zein Daouk, Hala Matta, Rasha Nawwan and Marilyn Massoud.

Artworks making their presence felt.

Emirati artist Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim is part of the UAE’s first generation of contemporary artists from the late 1980s, an avant-garde cohort that included Hassan Sharif, Abdullah Al Saadi, Hussein Sharif, and Mohammed Kazem. Khor Fakkan, Ibrahim’s birthplace, with the Gulf of Oman on one side and the Hajar Mountains on the other, has been his artistic inspiration. The deep connection to his local environment repeats itself throughout his studio practice, whether through his installations, drawings or objects, and the materials he has worked with for over three decades. His hand made objects are shaped like primitive tools, bones or parts of trees and appear to have been unearthed from some ancient cave, rather than handcrafted currently.

His works on paper reveal his own form of language — inscriptions, lines and abstract forms that are reminiscent of ancient cave drawings -— marking time and memory through meditative repetition.

Saudi artist Sultan Bin Fahad’s conceptually guided practice incorporates drawing, painting, sculpture and installation. His work explores expressions of Islamic and Saudi identity, histories and national narratives through attention to the products of his homeland’s prodigious material culture. By amassing and rearranging eclectic domestic objects such as flasks, prayer mats, air conditioning units and chandeliers – Bin Fahad connects past to present. Noor Al Suwaidi is an artist, curator and cultural producer with over 15 years of experience in her field. She graduated in 2004 with a bachelor’s degree in Studio Art from American University in Washington, D.C., and in 2009, obtained a master’s degree in Curating Contemporary Design from Kingston University, London. Al Suwaidi’s artwork has been exhibited in gallery shows in London, Kuwait, Berlin, Washington, D.C., Dubai, Sharjah, Al Ain, and Abu Dhabi.

Highlights of her career include co-curating ‘Past Forward’, the first touring exhibition of UAE artists in the USA; ‘Desert Storm’, presenting performing artists from the Gulf at New York University’s Art Center in Abu Dhabi; and working on the public programming of Louvre Abu Dhabi. Marwan Sahmarani is based between Beirut and the small Mediterranean mountain village of Tarbena, Spain. With strong brushstrokes and vivid colours, his practice reflects the increasing political turmoil and tension of his native Lebanon.

Founded in 1995 by Hajj Abbas Maktabi, Iwan Maktabi is as the offshoot of a legacy started in 1926 by family patriarch Hajj Hussein Maktabi, a connoisseur from Isfahan with a deep passion for Islamic art and oriental carpets. Today the business, run by the third generation, strives to embody the dual commitment of honouring the timeless beauty of handmade carpets and embracing the innovative potential of contemporary designs and materials. With a passion for hand-knotted carpets, the brand specialises in antique rugs, modern collectibles and bespoke pieces created in collaboration with artists and designers.