Abu Dhabi Art Fair: Gabriela Giroletti, Alexandra Searle, Rabia Akhtar

For these new works to be presented at Abu Dhabi Art Fair Gabriela Giroletti explored ideas of networks, boundaries, pathways, transitions and relational spaces. Alongside the visual references taken from nature, these works simultaneously create a sense of containment and dynamic tension, challenging the physical limits of the paintings and the viewer’s perception.

 

Painting for Giroletti is both an intellectual and physical process. She manipulates paint as both substance and colour, treating the medium with a sculptural approach. The textured surfaces invite viewers to engage beyond sight, mirroring Giroletti’s own hands-on experience with materials. The tactile quality of the works—built with thick layers of paint and unconventional tools like combs and forks— creates a rich dimensionality that invites physical engagement and interaction. This corporeal aspect is central to Giroletti’s work, emphasising that paintings are not just images, but objects to be experienced fully.

 

These latest works capture Gabriela Giroletti’s continuous interest in the interconnectedness of nature, life, and artistic expression. They serve as metaphors for human experience, suggesting transformation, touch, and invention, much like the natural elements they abstractly represent.

 

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These sculptures by Alexandra Searle, inspired by the writings of Sylvia Plath and Lydia Davis, explore themes of isolation, alienation, and the complexities of aging and bodily decay.

 

Ceramic is an inherently fragile and rigid material; to see it under such pressure invites an intimate, yet unsettling engagement. Its associations with impermeable containers, such as sanitaryware or drinking receptacles, speak to the vessel-like quality of the body, and express a dialogue between fullness and hollowness.

 

The steel frames are tall and clinical, precariously perched on pale yellow, unfunctional wheels, and clutching the most delicate of cargo. They allude to medical apparatuses designed for constriction and examination, but instead offer a feeling of redundancy and absurdity, of display and exposure.

 

Resulting from casts taken from clamped balloons, just before the point of bursting, the works possess an anticipatory quality. They strive to capture a transitory moment and preserve the fragile balance of life before inevitable collapse. In this way, the work considers our common vulnerabilities through a visceral lens, delving deep into the pliable essence of the mediums Searle employs.